Madame Midas

Fergus Hume (Fergusson Wright Hume)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 589K words
Chapters: 59

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.Madame Midas by Fergus HumeAuthor: Hume, Fergus, 1859-1932,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 2004

Editor's review

Madame Midas is an English novel by Fergus Hume, part of the free eBook collection of Project Gutenberg. Hume was known for intricate plotting and suspense, and this book centers on a woman known as "Madame Midas"; the title borrows from the Greek myth of King Midas, who turned all he touched to gold, hinting at themes of wealth and desire. The work continues the narrative style of Victorian popular fiction, with tangled relationships and frequent twists, making it a useful sample of late nineteenth-century English popular literature. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy to obtain and convenient to read on electronic devices at any time. Readers need not expect the depth of a literary classic; it is better enjoyed as a period plot novel for diversion, while noting how money, marriage, and social class are handled, which offers an entry point for observing the social attitudes of the time. For those studying popular literature or practicing English reading, it is a light and interesting supplementary text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers who enjoy Victorian popular fiction and suspenseful plots
Intermediate to advanced learners who want to use public-domain eBooks for extensive English reading practice
Literature enthusiasts interested in social themes such as wealth and marriage
Researchers and collectors studying late nineteenth-century English popular literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who read only Chinese and do not wish to read the English original
Readers expecting the depth and polished prose of a serious literary classic
Beginners who need annotations, introductions, or scholarly editions

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to sort out the characters, then proceed chapter by chapter to avoid confusing roles midway.
When encountering unfamiliar words, first guess from context and look them up after finishing the chapter, to keep the reading rhythm.
Using the Midas allusion in the title, note as you read how the theme of wealth appears in the plot.
After finishing, summarize the main storyline and twists in a few sentences to check whether you have grasped the narrative thread.

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 in Chinese or English?

The original is in English, a free public-domain eBook provided by Project Gutenberg, classified under PR (English literature). Readers need some English reading ability; only the English original is provided, with no Chinese translation.

What does the title Madame Midas mean?

Midas is the king in Greek myth who turned everything he touched to gold, and the title uses this allusion to hint at the theme of wealth. The heroine is called "Madame Midas," and readers may note how wealth affects characters' circumstances and relationships; this allusion is a key to understanding the book's tone.

Can I understand it without an introduction or notes?

This is a public-domain eBook and usually contains no modern introduction or notes. Readers with intermediate to advanced English can read it smoothly with a dictionary and context; those who want detailed annotations may find an annotated edition or read it alongside background material on the period.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It is suitable as extensive reading material. It is a plot-driven popular novel with generally moderate sentence difficulty and a manageable length, making it easy to finish. However, the language bears marks of its era, and some expressions differ from modern English; it is best to focus on understanding the plot rather than analyzing every sentence.

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About the author

Fergus Hume (Fergusson Wright Hume) Author · English · 1859–1932

Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist. Born in England, he moved with his family to New Zealand as a child, studied at the University of Otago and qualified as a lawyer. In 1885 he went to Melbourne, and the following year he published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab at his own expense, achieving instant fame; the book is regarded as a bestselling classic in the history of detective fiction. In 1888 Hume returned to England to settle, and thereafter devoted himself to detective and suspense fiction, producing more than a hundred works in his lifetime, of which 66 are held in this collection, including The Silent House, The Gentleman Who Vanished and The Spider. He died in Essex in 1932.