Lewis Rand

Johnston, Mary, 1870-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 852K words
Chapters: 86

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.Lewis Rand by Mary JohnstonAuthor: Johnston, Mary, 1870-1936,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 15, 2005

Editor's review

Lewis Rand is a historical novel by Mary Johnston set against the backdrop of early American history, centering on the rise and fall of its protagonist. Johnston exceled at placing individual choices within the sweep of their times; the novel interweaves political atmosphere, family ties, and moral dilemmas as the plot unfolds, offering both the weight of historical fiction and the tension of personal growth. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is freely and easily accessible, making it suitable supplementary reading for those interested in American historical fiction. Readers may wish to note how the author handles the relationship between historical events and fictional characters, and how the protagonist wavers between ideals and reality. The book is long, so reading it in stages and consulting an early American history timeline to track the characters' circumstances will make it easier to enter the story. For readers seeking a sense of how American historical fiction was written in the early twentieth century, this book offers a useful reference point.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy American historical fiction and are willing to take on a long novel
Students who want to understand the style of early twentieth-century American historical fiction
Students who need public-domain English novels as material for reading practice
General readers interested in early American history and political atmosphere

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for light, short reads who do not want to commit to a long book
English beginners unfamiliar with the historical background who are unwilling to consult supplementary material
Readers who prefer modern narrative pacing and lack patience for long classical novels

Reading tips

First review the historical timeline involved in the story, then begin reading the main text.
Read in batches by chapter, reviewing changes in the protagonist's circumstances after each part.
Take brief notes on historical figures and events to reduce comprehension difficulties.
Compare with other historical novels by the same author to observe her narrative techniques.

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

Do I need to know American history first to read this book?

It helps somewhat. The book involves early American historical background; if it is completely unfamiliar, some characters' motivations will be hard to understand. It is advisable to read a brief historical overview before starting the novel.

How difficult is the English?

It is an early twentieth-century English novel with fairly long sentences; the vocabulary is not obscure, but the narrative is dense. Readers with college-level English reading ability can attempt it, using a dictionary as needed.

Is it suitable for middle school students?

The English original may be difficult for middle school students. If reading it for interest in historical fiction, supplementary materials or excerpts are recommended. Chinese readers may also read a plot summary first before deciding whether to read the original.

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About the author

Johnston, Mary, 1870-1936 Author

Mary Johnston (Johnston, Mary, 1870-1936) was an American novelist, with 18 of her works held in this collection. Public information about her is limited, and many details of her life are difficult to verify, yet her fiction is fairly consistent in subject matter: she was skilled at narrative set against historical backgrounds, especially the society and fates of characters in colonial Virginia. Prisoners of Hope: A Tale of Colonial Virginia, By Order of the Company, and 1492 all draw on the early colonial and maritime era, while The Long Roll and Cease Firing concern the American Civil War. Her writing often uses love, loyalty, and conflict as threads, placing individual lives within large historical change; her plots move briskly and the atmosphere of the period is distinct. Representative works such as To Have and to Hold and Lewis Rand had some influence among readers of popular historical fiction at the time, making her one of the notable writers of early twentieth-century American historical romance.