Manuel Pereira Or, The Sovereign Rule of South Carolina

Francis Colburn AdamsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.3

Word count: 486K words
Chapters: 49

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.Manuel Pereira; Or, The Sovereign Rule of South Carolina by F. Colburn AdamsAuthor: Adams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn),Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2003

Editor's review

Tracing the trials of its titular hero, Manuel Pereira, this novel carries readers into nineteenth-century South Carolina and uses fictional narrative to dramatize the tension between state authority and federal power. The phrase "sovereign rule" in the title names the book's central concern: what ordinary people pay when local power grows large enough to override individual lives. A public-domain work by F. Colburn Adams, now released free by Project Gutenberg, its value lies chiefly as a historical text—readers can observe the social attitudes, legal rhetoric, and narrative style of its time rather than expect a finely crafted modern novel. The prose has the typical pacing of nineteenth-century writing, with ample exposition and a relatively slow plot, making it suitable for readers willing to slow down and read it as a historical document. Those interested in Southern history, states' rights controversies, or literary representations of the slavery era will find a literary window here; those seeking a tightly plotted diversion may find it heavy going.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students studying or taking courses in Southern American history or nineteenth-century American literature
Readers interested in the historical debate over states' rights and federal authority in the United States
Lovers of public-domain classics who can accept older narrative pacing
Researchers who need nineteenth-century social texts as reference material

Not a good fit for

Contemporary fiction readers who prefer fast plots and strong suspense
Readers seeking systematic historical argument rather than fictional narrative
Beginners with little patience for the long-winded exposition of nineteenth-century prose

Reading tips

Read the preface or look up background first to grasp the basic outlines of South Carolina's states' rights controversy before entering the text.
Read the novel as a historical text and note passages concerning law, power, and class.
When chapters drag, read in sections rather than forcing yourself through in one sitting, and stay alert to the era's context.
After finishing, compare it with other nineteenth-century Southern American works to see how narrative perspective and stance differ.

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 work of history or a novel?

It is a novel: F. Colburn Adams uses characters and plot to present South Carolina's social and power conditions rather than offering strict historical research. Readers may treat it as a literary text reflecting the attitudes of its time, but should not cite its plot as historical fact.

Why does the publication information say 2019?

The book is a free eBook released by Project Gutenberg, and 2019 is the release year of that project entry or version, not the year the work was originally written or published. The original dates from the nineteenth century, and its first edition can be verified separately.

Can I read this book if my English is not good?

The original is in English and carries nineteenth-century sentence patterns and vocabulary, which poses a hurdle for non-native readers. If your English reading is limited, first consult background material in Chinese on the era and issues, then decide whether to tackle the original or read it alongside supplementary aids.

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

Francis Colburn Adams Author · American · 1850–1891

Francis Colburn Adams (1850–1891) was an American novelist, journalist and editor who long resided in Charleston, South Carolina, and often published under several pen names. Seven of his works are held in the collection, most of them centered on social realities in the American South. His representative works include Manuel Pereira, Our World; or, the Slaveholder's Daughter, Justice in the By-Ways, and The Von Toodleburgs. Writing from an abolitionist standpoint, he exposed the legal oppression and social hypocrisy of Southern slavery with a sharp, morally charged style. During the Civil War he also wrote a cavalry memoir, A Soldier's Story, recording his wartime experiences. Public information on his early education and journalistic career remains limited.