Henry of Guise, or The States of Blois

George Payne Rainsford JamesProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.1
Word count
333K words
Chapters
34

Tags

English Originals Historical Fiction French Wars of ReligionHistorical LegendFate and FortunePalace IntriguePower GameAntihero

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Henry of Guise; or, The States of Blois (Vol. 2 of 3) by G. P. R. JamesAuthor: James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford), 1801?-1860,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 9, 2012

Editor's review

This is the second volume of G. P. R. James's three-volume historical novel Henry of Guise; or, The States of Blois, a representative work in the nineteenth-century British historical novel tradition. Set against the French Wars of Religion, with the Duke of Guise and the States of Blois as backdrop, it interweaves aristocratic intrigue, courtly maneuvering, and the fates of its characters to portray loyalty and betrayal amid the struggle for power. This volume continues the plot of the previous one, further developing character relationships and political conflict; it will appeal to readers interested in early modern European history and the historical novel as a form. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easily accessible and well suited to reading in segments during a commute or in the evening. Note that the novel reflects Victorian historical imagination and narrative pacing rather than contemporary historical scholarship; readers should treat it as literature, not as a historical source. Some basic background on the French Wars of Religion is recommended to better understand character motives and the sequence of events.

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Reading tips

  1. Read Volume 1 first or review the previous plot so as not to lose track of character relationships.
  2. Spend ten minutes before reading on the basic background of the States of Blois and the Guise family.
  3. Read in sections by chapter, briefly noting each character's allegiance and key events after every chapter.
  4. For course discussion, compare this volume's narrative techniques with those of Scott's historical novels.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34

FAQ

Can this book be read on its own? This is the second of three volumes, and its plot and character relationships continue from the previous volume. It can still convey the narrative atmosphere and historical setting on its own, but character motives and the causes of events may be hard to grasp; at minimum, read a summary of Volume 1 first.
Is it a work of history or a novel? This is a historical novel by G. P. R. James, a literary narrative set during the French Wars of Religion. It offers period atmosphere and imagined characters but is no substitute for serious historical research or primary sources.
How difficult is the English, and what level is it suitable for? The text is nineteenth-century English with long sentences and formal vocabulary, suitable for readers with university-level English reading ability or an habit of reading public-domain English novels. Beginners may benefit from an annotated edition or background materials.

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About the author

George Payne Rainsford James Author · British · 1801–1860

George Payne Rainsford James was a British historical novelist. Born in London in 1801 and died in Venice in 1860, he received the title of Royal Historiographer in 1837 and later served as British consul in the United States and consul-general in Venice. He wrote more than a hundred volumes of historical fiction; this collection holds 50 of his works, including Richelieu: A Tale of France, The Old Dominion, Arabella Stuart: A Romance from English History, Forest Days, and The Convict: A Tale. His fiction is mostly drawn from English and European history, placing fictional characters within real historical events, with detailed plotting and a romantic, legendary flavour. Public information is limited, and details of his life and critical assessment of his works remain to be further examined.