Midnight

Cohen, Octavus Roy, 1891-1959Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 281K words
Chapters: 29

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.Midnight by Octavus Roy CohenAuthor: Cohen, Octavus Roy, 1891-1959,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 2004

Editor's review

This work comes from the American popular novelist Octavus Roy Cohen and belongs to early twentieth-century American literary production, presented by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Its value lies in preserving for today's readers a window onto early American popular narrative: the plot relies on dramatic tension, and character relationships and suspenseful atmosphere generally serve readability, making it suitable for a light literary excursion on the commute, while traveling, or before bed. As a public-domain e-book, its greatest advantage is low barriers to access and a complete text, convenient for casual and fragmentary reading. Be warned that the work carries distinctly period vocabulary and narrative pacing, and some descriptions may feel slow or dated to contemporary readers; the Project Gutenberg edition is in the original English, so non-native readers need some English proficiency. Overall, this is a work for exploratory reading by those interested in early American fiction and public-domain literature, rather than a first choice for those seeking contemporary narrative technique or depth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
English learners seeking low-cost exposure to public-domain works in the original English
Readers who enjoy suspenseful, dramatic plots and fragmented reading
Enthusiasts studying Project Gutenberg and early e-book texts

Not a good fit for

Readers with limited English who need a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer contemporary fast-paced suspense or complex narrative structures
Readers impatient with period vocabulary and old-fashioned expression

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to judge whether the pacing suits you, then decide between close and casual reading.
Keep a vocabulary notebook for recurring period expressions to reduce friction with the original English.
Suited to short bedtime or commute sessions, one or two chapters at a time, to preserve plot continuity.
After reading, check the bibliographic information on the Project Gutenberg page to understand the work's place in the author's output.

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 e-book in Chinese or English?

This is the original English e-book from Project Gutenberg, with the text in English and no accompanying Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English proficiency or dictionary tools to assist.

What is special about the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project offering free e-books; its editions are usually complete and free, readable directly on a computer, phone, or e-reader. This book is one such public-domain electronic text.

Do I need to know the author's background to read this book?

There is no need to study the author's biography beforehand; just start the story. But if you are unfamiliar with the writing habits of early twentieth-century American popular fiction, a brief sense of the publishing and reading environment of the time will make it easier to enter the text's rhythm.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material but is not recommended as a primary textbook. The language carries period features, and its sentence patterns and vocabulary are distant from modern English, making it more suitable for readers with some foundation who want to build language sense through original reading.

Comments

Find this book

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

Cohen, Octavus Roy, 1891-1959 Author · American · 1891–1959

Octavus Roy Cohen (1891–1959) was an American humorist and screenwriter, best known for his short stories set in the American South. He drew humor from everyday scenes and the speech and behavior of local characters, writing in a light, comic vein with a strong flavor of social comedy; his work found a place both in the popular magazines of his day and in screen adaptations. One of his works, Midnight, is held in this collection. Public information on the details of his life—his education, career history, and awards—is limited, so this entry makes no conjectures about them; readers may consider his Southern-themed short stories and his screenwriting career together to understand his position between popular literature and the film industry in the early twentieth-century United States.