Miriam: A Tale of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills

Sykes, D. F. E., 1856-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8
Word count
453K words
Chapters
46

Tags

English Originals Social Fiction Local ChroniclePortrait GalleryFate and FortuneFamily BondsLove EntanglementsLife PhilosophyGrowing UpHeartwarming NarrativeRegional CultureBritish Milieu

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.Miriam: A Tale of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills by D. F. E. SykesAuthor: Sykes, D. F. E., 1856-1920,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 9, 2017

Editor's review

This novel by the English writer D. F. E. Sykes is set in the region of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills and tells the story of Miriam. Sykes long engaged with Yorkshire local life and dialect writing, and this book continues his approach of using a specific geographical space to carry the fate of his characters: the moors, hills, and villages are not mere backdrop but help shape character and choice. For Chinese readers its appeal lies in the atmosphere of late-Victorian regional fiction—festivals, neighbors, religious life, and class differences weave a dense social texture. The narrative pace is slow, emphasizing scene and relationships rather than strong plot momentum. It suits supplementary reading in English regional literature and rural social history, and readers who enjoy a slow pace and atmosphere. The original is a public-domain English e-book. If entirely unfamiliar with Yorkshire geography and dialect, read the preface or a background introduction first, then enter the text; while reading, note the interplay between environmental description and character psychology.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Learn the geographical background of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills first; the sense of space becomes easier to enter.
  2. Read environmental description alongside changes in character psychology, noting how the moors and hills participate in the narrative.
  3. Do not agonize over dialect expressions word by word; grasp the tone and relationships first, then revisit details.
  4. Read in sections by scene, concentrating on one or two scenes at a time to keep sensitivity to atmosphere.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46

FAQ

What is the narrative pace of this book like? It is generally slow, emphasizing scene, atmosphere, and character relationships rather than strong plot. The author devotes considerable space to the moors, hills, and village life, with conflict unfolding mostly in daily life and among neighbors. It suits readers willing to read slowly and savor atmosphere; those used to fast-paced genre fiction may find it slow.
Can I read it without knowing Yorkshire background? You can, but it will take longer to get into. Geography and local life are important components of the narrative, and without background one may mistake environmental description for filler. It is advisable to read the preface or a brief local background introduction first, and to note the connection between space and character while reading; understanding will be much smoother.
Will the dialect in the book affect understanding? It will have some effect, but do not be deterred. Dialect is mainly used to shape character identity and local color, and individual words do not affect understanding of the main line. Grasp tone and relationships first; look up or skip truly puzzling expressions rather than agonizing over every word.
Is this book suitable as course material for literature? It can serve as supplementary text for British regional literature and rural narrative, especially for discussing how geographical space participates in character formation and how local dialect constructs social texture. But it is not suitable as the sole representative text; it is best used alongside other novels of the period, with the instructor supplying historical and geographical background.

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About the author

Sykes, D. F. E., 1856-1920 Author

D. F. E. Sykes (1856–1920) is an English author about whom relatively little is publicly known; available sources give no clear record of his nationality, education, or professional career, and three of his works are held in this collection. Judging from the works that survive, his writing draws heavily on the local history and folk memory of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and he liked to build his stories around real places and events. Tom Pinder, Foundling: A Story of the Holmfirth Flood takes the Holmfirth flood as its thread, while Sister Gertrude: A Tale of the West Riding and Miriam: A Tale of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills are set in the West Riding and the Greenfield hill country. Overall his work has a strong regional flavour and a tendency toward local realism, with plots grounded in local scenery and historical incident; it may interest readers concerned with English local history and Victorian regional fiction.