Home Again

MacDonald, George, 1824-1905Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 271K words
Chapters: 28

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.Home Again by George MacDonaldAuthor: MacDonald, George, 1824-1905,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 1, 2005

Editor's review

Home Again is a late novel by George MacDonald. MacDonald is known for fantasy literature and works steeped in religious reflection, and this novel likewise continues his concern with human nature, redemption, and the theme of home. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, its greatest value is that it lets readers encounter, at no cost, the original text of a Victorian author who influenced later writers such as C. S. Lewis. The narrative moves slowly, with much space given to dialogue and psychological description, and bears clear marks of its era and of moral instruction; it suits readers willing to settle into classical English prose. Rather than rushing after plot, readers should note how the author uses everyday scenes to convey thoughts on belonging and spiritual return. For those studying the Victorian novel or MacDonald's development, this is usable source material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian English fiction who are willing to read originals in English
Fans of fantasy literature studying George MacDonald's work or his influence
Patient readers who enjoy slow-paced narrative rich in psychological and moral description
Readers seeking low-cost access to classics through public-domain ebooks

Not a good fit for

Readers after fast-paced plots and strong dramatic conflict
Beginners with limited English reading ability unaccustomed to nineteenth-century style
Researchers wanting a heavily annotated or scholarly introduced edition

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two to feel the pace of the language before deciding whether to read it through; do not force speed.
Keep pen and paper to track character relationships; Victorian novels often require sorting out many threads.
Read alongside a biography of MacDonald or background on the era to understand his religious reflection.
If the English is difficult, read a Chinese translation first for the plot, then return to the original for the language.

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.

FAQ

Is this the original English edition, and how difficult is the language?

According to the information, the book is in English and is a public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg. The text is nineteenth-century English, with sentence structures and wording at some distance from modern English; vocabulary is not especially obscure, but sentences are long, suiting readers with some grounding in reading English originals.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project offering free ebooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. This edition is a free public-domain ebook, easy to obtain on a computer or e-reader, but it usually contains no modern scholarly annotation, introduction, or detailed publication information.

Do I need to know MacDonald's other works first?

No. The book can be read independently. MacDonald, however, repeatedly writes on redemption and belonging at the level of human nature and faith; if you have read his other works, the intellectual threads here are easier to grasp. First-time readers can simply read it as an ordinary novel.

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About the author

MacDonald, George, 1824-1905 Author

George MacDonald (1824–1905) was a Scottish author known for his fairy tales, fantasy novels and religious sermons. This library holds 68 of his works, including The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women, Sir Gibbie and the three series of Unspoken Sermons. His fairy tales often centre on children, weaving adventure with questions of morality and faith in plain, imaginative prose, while his fantasy works are regarded as forerunners of modern fantasy literature and have influenced later writers of the genre. Public information is limited, so no biographical details are speculated here; his works alone show him to be skilled in both storytelling and spiritual reflection, writing for children and adults alike.