Marie

Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe, 1850-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 111K words
Chapters: 12

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.Marie by Laura Elizabeth Howe RichardsAuthor: Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe, 1850-1943,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 11, 2004

Editor's review

Marie is a work of juvenile literature by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards, available from Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain eBook. Richards was an American writer of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and her novels for children and young adults typically explore family life, growth and education, and moral character, in a gentle, clear narrative style. As an early juvenile reader, its value lies less in thrilling plot than in letting readers experience the narrative pace and values of children's literature of its time. For readers studying the history of children's literature or nineteenth-century American family literature, it is a light, readable primary text; for general readers, it works well as English-language extensive reading, being short and moderate in difficulty. Read it within the development of children's literature, note where period attitudes differ from today's, and appreciate its warmth and simplicity while keeping a critical eye.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners of children's literature and American literary history who need sample primary texts
Intermediate English readers who want to do extensive reading of short classic novels in the original
Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century family and coming-of-age themes and gently paced narratives
Educators looking for public-domain reading material for young readers

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plots, fast pacing, or suspenseful conflict
Readers hoping for modern views of childhood and contemporary issues
English beginners, who may struggle with long sentences and old-fashioned expressions in the original

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide between intensive and extensive reading
Keep a notebook of unfamiliar words and period expressions to aid understanding of the context
After finishing, consult histories of children's literature to place the work in its period
Read alongside other juvenile novels of the same era and compare themes

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

What English level is this book suitable for?

Overall it is moderately difficult: sentence structures are fairly traditional, and the vocabulary is not obscure but carries a period flavor. Readers with roughly CET-4-level reading ability who are used to nineteenth-century English novels will find it suitable; beginners may wish to start with an abridged edition or a parallel translation before attempting the original.

Why read this early juvenile novel?

Its value lies in providing a genuine text from the early development of children's literature, showing how family, growth, and character education were presented at the time. For researchers, it is a historical source; for general readers, it is a light entry point into a literary tradition, and it also helps in understanding how children's literature has changed today.

What should readers pay special attention to?

Distinguish the work's period attitudes from contemporary values; do not simply reject the text by today's views of childhood, nor accept it uncritically. Note unfamiliar expressions and ideas as you read, then discuss them in light of present-day concerns; this will make the reading more rewarding.

Comments

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About the author

Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe, 1850-1943 Author

Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards (1850–1943) was an American writer of children's literature and biography. Public information is limited, and few details of her life are recorded here, yet her work offers a clear sense of her range. She wrote children's stories such as Captain January and Toto's Merry Winter, told in a bright, warm style suited to young readers, and also produced biographical writing, including Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910, which traces a life and its era. The collection holds 45 of her works, spanning children's fiction and biography, with historical portraits such as Abigail Adams and Her Times, showing a writer who combined popular narrative with careful attention to historical sources.