Lea Margareta

Aleksis KiviProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 96K words
Chapters: 10

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.Lea; Margareta by Aleksis KiviAuthor: Kivi, Aleksis, 1834-1872,Language: Finnish, Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures, Release Date: Jul 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is the Finnish-language electronic edition of a work by the Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Kivi is a foundational figure in the history of Finnish literature; his language is plain and rich in folk flavor, and his works often take rural life and the fate of ordinary people as their point of entry. This work is in the original Finnish and is suited to readers who wish to encounter Finnish literature directly in its original form, as well as to those using it as supplementary reading for learning Finnish and understanding nineteenth-century Finnish narrative traditions. The advantage of the Gutenberg edition lies in its easy access and open text, which make it convenient to search and cite and suitable for close reading in language study, comparative literature, or Nordic cultural research. Note that the book is in Finnish and offers neither a bilingual format nor annotations; reading it depends to some extent on prior language ability, and a dictionary or relevant background materials are recommended for a fuller understanding.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with some foundation in Finnish who wish to read the original text
Readers and researchers studying Finnish or Nordic literature
Readers who need a free public-domain electronic text for courses or citation

Not a good fit for

General readers with no Finnish who wish to read a Chinese translation
Beginners who need detailed annotations, an introduction, or a bilingual edition
Readers who prefer modern typography and hardcover print editions

Reading tips

Begin with Kivi's life and the background of Finnish literature; the text will be easier to follow.
Keep a Finnish dictionary at hand and jot down folk and rural expressions as you go.
Read alongside other Finnish public-domain works to observe differences in language and narrative style.
For study, read a fixed portion closely each day and read aloud to feel 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 book a Chinese translation?

No. According to the information, the book is in Finnish; it is a free electronic text released by Project Gutenberg and contains no Chinese translation, so reading it requires Finnish.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the first project to offer free electronic books. This book is its public-domain electronic text, easy to obtain, search, and cite, but it usually contains no modern annotations or introduction.

Can I read it without any Finnish?

Not really. The book is in the original Finnish with no bilingual text or annotations, so it is difficult for complete beginners; it suits readers with some language foundation or those using a dictionary and background materials.

Comments

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About the author

Aleksis Kivi Author · Finnish · 1834–1872

Aleksis Kivi (1834–1872), originally named Alexis Stenvall, was a Finnish writer hailed as the father of Finnish national literature. His masterpiece Seitsemän veljestä (1870) is the first important novel in Finnish, and he also wrote more than ten plays, including Nummisuutarit and Kullervo, as well as poetry and short stories; ten of his works are held in this collection. His writing draws largely on Finnish rural life and national tradition, with plain, vivid language and careful character portrayal, and it has had a profound influence on the establishment and development of Finnish-language literature. He lived in poverty and gained wide renown only after his death; his birthday, October 10, is observed as Finnish Literature Day. Public information on his early life and education is limited, so no speculation is offered here.