Michael McGrath, Postmaster

Connor, Ralph, 1860-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 48K words
Chapters: 5

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.Michael McGrath, Postmaster by Ralph ConnorAuthor: Connor, Ralph, 1860-1937,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Sep 12, 2006

Editor's review

Michael McGrath, Postmaster is a novel by the Canadian author Ralph Connor and belongs to his narrative tradition grounded in Canadian society and religious ethics. The book centers on the work and life of a postmaster, presenting the daily life, interpersonal trust, and moral choices of a frontier community through a specific occupation. Connor's works often carry a clear moral concern and a thread of character development, and this book is no exception: the postmaster is both an executor of public service and a node in community relations, and the reader can see how a small place maintains order and fellowship. As a public-domain e-book, it has no modern introduction or annotations, and its language carries the narrative rhythm of early twentieth-century English fiction, with the plot advancing at a relatively unhurried pace. It is suited to readers interested in Canadian literature, rural community narrative, and the moral-development novel; those expecting strong suspense or a fast-paced plot may find it flat. While reading, pay attention to the characters' choices between professional duty and personal feeling.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Canadian literature and rural narrative
Readers who enjoy novels of moral development and community life
Scholars studying early twentieth-century English popular fiction
Readers willing to read public-domain English novels slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong suspense and a fast-paced plot
Readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers not interested in works with a strong religious-ethical flavor

Reading tips

First grasp the place of the postmaster's occupation in the community, then understand the characters' choices.
Focus on the characters' choices between duty and feeling; there is no need to rush after the plot.
Read alongside the historical background of Canadian frontier communities to understand the sense of space in the novel.
The English narrative pace is slow; read a fixed amount each day to maintain continuity.

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 suitable as an introduction to Canadian literature?

It can serve as an entry point for understanding Ralph Connor's narrative style, but it is not a panoramic representative of Canadian literature. As an introduction, read works by different authors and in different genres as well, so as not to mistake one kind of moral narrative for the whole picture.

Is there a notable Chinese translation of the novel?

This edition is the English public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg and contains no Chinese translation itself. Whether a Chinese translation exists must be checked separately; this listing makes no guarantee about translations. When reading the English original, use a dictionary for unfamiliar words.

The story is slow; what if I can't get through it?

Read first the passages directly concerned with the postmaster's working life to grasp the character's situation, then go back to fill in the surrounding text. You can also skip ahead along the character lines rather than strictly page by page. If the narrative pace still does not suit you, it means the book does not match your reading expectations.

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About the author

Connor, Ralph, 1860-1937 Author

Ralph Connor (1860–1937) was a Canadian Presbyterian minister and novelist, born Charles William Gordon and best known by his pen name “Ralph Connor.” His representative works include The Man from Glengarry, The Sky Pilot, Black Rock, and Glengarry School Days. His fiction is largely set against the Canadian frontier, Scottish immigrant communities, and missionary life, and is noted for its portrayal of nature and the moral struggles of ordinary people, with a pronounced idealistic and religious tone. The library records 16 of his works. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this introduction draws mainly on the themes and style of his writings.