The Faith

Palacio Valdés, Armando, 1853-1938Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 514K words
Chapters: 52

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.La Fe by Armando Palacio ValdésAuthor: Palacio Valdés, Armando, 1853-1938,Language: Spanish, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 14, 2010

Editor's review

La Fe is a novel by the Spanish writer Armando Palacio Valdés (1853–1938), released free of charge in electronic form by Project Gutenberg in Spanish. Palacio Valdés was one of the leading figures of nineteenth-century Spanish realism, and his work is known for its delicate psychological portraiture and observation of social customs. As a public-domain ebook, its chief value lies in giving readers barrier-free access to a classic of Spanish literature; it suits Spanish learners as reading material in the original, and readers of foreign literature seeking to broaden their knowledge of the Spanish realist tradition. The electronic edition is easy to search and excerpt, and can be called up at any time while commuting, as a classroom aid, or for self-study. Note that this is a Spanish original, not a translation or a study guide, so it demands some command of the language; and since the electronic edition is text-only, lacking the layout and annotations of a print book, readers are advised to keep a dictionary at hand or consult a translation alongside it.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with intermediate or higher Spanish reading ability who want to read the original
University readers who study or enjoy nineteenth-century Spanish realist literature
Teachers who need a free public-domain Spanish text as supplementary course material
Readers who like to learn about Spanish social customs and religious atmosphere through fiction

Not a good fit for

General readers with no Spanish at all who want a Chinese translation
Beginners who expect modern typesetting, detailed annotations, or an introduction
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and lack patience for nineteenth-century realist narrative

Reading tips

Start by learning about the author's life and the context of nineteenth-century Spanish realism; this reduces obstacles to understanding the text.
Read one or two chapters at a fixed weekly pace, marking unfamiliar words and looking them up afterward rather than constantly interrupting the flow.
Read alongside a Chinese translation or an annotated Spanish edition, focusing on the psychological portrayal of characters and the tone of dialogue.
After finishing, organize the character relationships and main conflicts, and write a short reading note to consolidate your understanding.

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

What language is this book written in, and what level is needed to read it?

This is a Spanish original with no Chinese parallel text. Intermediate or higher Spanish reading ability is recommended, enough to understand long sentences and literary description with the help of a dictionary; beginners are better off starting with a translation or bilingual edition and returning to the original later.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

This is a free public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, mainly plain text, easy to search, copy, and read offline, but it usually lacks the annotations, introduction, or fine typesetting of a modern publisher's edition, so readers need to supply background material themselves.

Can I understand it without knowing Spanish literature?

You can read it, but your understanding will suffer. It is advisable to spend a little time first on the basic features of nineteenth-century Spanish realist literature and the author's historical context before reading the text; this makes it easier to grasp the work's social observation and character portrayal.

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About the author

Palacio Valdés, Armando, 1853-1938 Author

Armando Palacio Valdés (1853–1938) was a Spanish novelist. Thirty-two of his works are held in this collection, though public information about his life is limited and biographical details remain unclear. He is known chiefly for his novels of manners; the subtitle of his representative work Marta y María: novela de costumbres explicitly identifies it as a novel of customs, devoted to local settings and everyday human relations. Works such as Los majos de Cádiz and La hermana San Sulpicio likewise draw on Spanish urban and rural life, with a gentle tone that blends realism and lyricism. He also wrote La alegría del capitán Ribot, La Espuma, Riverita, and the two-volume The Fourth Estate, whose subjects range across social life and class observation. His works circulated widely in the Spanish-speaking world, some were translated into English, and he belongs to the realist novel tradition in Spain from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century.