The Abyss cover

The Abyss

Rating 3.2
Word count
303K words
Chapters
31

Tags

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. L'abîme by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens. Author: Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Language: French. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Mar 27, 2006

Editor's review

This is a French translation of a work by Dickens and Wilkie Collins, from Project Gutenberg, the long-running free e-book platform. For readers studying Victorian literary collaboration, translation history or French reading practice, it offers a concrete textual sample. Its value lies not in bestseller appeal or modern relevance but in being an early representative of public-domain e-books, showing how classic texts reach a wider readership through digital means. It suits a documentary or language-learning approach rather than a hunt for plot excitement. Being in French, it requires some reading ability in the language, or a willingness to read it alongside the English original. Overall it is a reference work for literary scholars and language learners rather than popular entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Literature students studying the Dickens–Collins collaborations
  • Intermediate and advanced French learners who need French literary texts for language practice
  • Publishing researchers interested in Project Gutenberg and early e-book history
  • E-book collectors building a library of public-domain classics

Not a good fit for

  • General readers without French who read only Chinese or English
  • Casual readers expecting tense suspense or modern narrative pacing
  • Beginners in literature who need detailed notes or introductions

Reading tips

  1. Learn the background of the Dickens–Collins collaboration first to reduce obstacles to understanding.
  2. Readers with limited French can read alongside the English original, focusing on dialogue and scene description.
  3. Treat the book as a documentary sample and note the Gutenberg edition's details and textual arrangement.
  4. Write a short summary after each reading session, tracing the possible division of labor between the co-authors.

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

FAQ

Is this book in English or French?
According to the source, the book is in French, a French version of a work by Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Readers need French reading ability, or should use a dictionary or a parallel text.
What is Project Gutenberg?
Project Gutenberg, founded by Michael Hart in 1971, is the earliest project offering free e-books. It digitizes public-domain texts, and this book is one of its releases.
Can I read this book without any French?
It would be difficult. Without French, you might first consult an English or Chinese translation to grasp the content, then decide whether to study the original with translation tools.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Charles Dickens (Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870) is one of the most influential novelists in the history of English literature. The library holds 115 of his works, including novels, novellas and short stories; representative titles include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. He was known for serialized fiction, with plot twists and vivid characters, and he used humor and satire to portray Victorian society, paying particular attention to poor children, the lower classes and education, and his works often convey warmth and moral concern. In the library his works are often classified under "inspirational growth," and many of his novels have been adapted for stage and screen and are widely circulated. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

More by the same author

Top rated in the same category