Larkspur

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 294K words
Chapters: 30

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.Larkspur by Jane AbbottAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: May 31, 2015

Editor's review

This work is a young adult novel by Jane Abbott, made available as a free ebook by Project Gutenberg. As the earliest provider of free electronic books, Project Gutenberg was founded by Michael Hart in 1971, and its ethos of open sharing allows such early juvenile fiction to be rediscovered by contemporary readers. The narrative centers on growing up and everyday adventures, written in relatively plain prose that makes it a suitable entry point to young adult literature in English. The electronic edition is easy to search and excerpt, making it especially useful for readers who wish to compare it with the original text for language study or to research early twentieth-century juvenile literature. Readers are advised to understand its textual source in light of Project Gutenberg's public-domain status, and not to expect the pacing of a contemporary bestseller, but rather to attend to its narrative mode and character development within its historical context.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Student readers who wish to approach early juvenile fiction in the original English
Readers interested in Project Gutenberg and public-domain ebooks
English learners seeking light English reading for extensive reading practice
Enthusiasts researching early twentieth-century juvenile literature materials

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced contemporary YA fiction with strong plot
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Researchers seeking detailed annotations and scholarly introductions

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide on an intensive or extensive reading pace.
Consult the Project Gutenberg page for version information, and note down unfamiliar words and period expressions.
For language study, write a three-sentence summary in English after each chapter.
Read alongside juvenile fiction of the same era and note differences in narrative perspective.

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 book suitable for English beginners to read directly?

It requires some English proficiency. As early juvenile fiction, the language is not overly difficult, but period expressions and narrative conventions differ. Intermediate readers may attempt it; beginners may first choose simpler contemporary graded readers as a bridge.

What is special about the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest provider of free ebooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. This edition is a public-domain electronic text, freely accessible, searchable, and reproducible, but it usually contains no modern annotations or introduction, so readers must supply background material themselves.

What should I pay attention to while reading?

Note the differences in pacing and values between the work's era and contemporary YA fiction, and avoid judging it by bestseller standards. Attend to the character's growth arc and narrative language, and understand the textual source in light of the version information, taking care not to mistake formatting issues in the electronic edition for the original text.

Comments

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