Motor Matt's Daring Rescue or, The Strange Case of Helen Brady

Matthews, Stanley R.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.2

Word count: 190K words
Chapters: 19

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.Motor Matt's Daring Rescue; or, The Strange Case of Helen Brady by MatthewsAuthor: Matthews, Stanley R.,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Feb 13, 2015

Editor's review

This is a juvenile adventure novel by Stanley R. Matthews, falling under the category of juvenile belles lettres. The title's 'Daring Rescue' and 'The Strange Case of Helen Brady' together foreshadow a suspenseful adventure built around disappearance and rescue. Centered on the action-driven protagonist 'Motor Matt,' the work is briskly paced with direct plot progression, carrying the typical appeal of early juvenile thrillers: machinery, pursuit, and a fearless young hero. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook, it is suitable as an introductory sample of English juvenile adventure fiction and as reference for scholars of early popular juvenile literature. Readers need not seek refined style; the focus should be on how the adventure narrative builds suspense, distributes clues, and brings the rescue to its climax.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English readers who enjoy juvenile adventure and puzzle stories
Parents or teachers seeking public-domain English adventure reading for children
Readers and enthusiasts studying early popular juvenile literature
Intermediate English readers who want lightweight original texts for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong literary quality and deeply detailed psychological portrayal
Readers sensitive to the era-bound expressions in early juvenile fiction
Readers seeking fully annotated or hardcover collector's editions

Reading tips

Proceed chapter by chapter and summarize the suspense's progress in one sentence at each chapter's end
Note how the protagonist obtains clues and map the key points of the rescue operation
Compare with similar juvenile adventure stories to discuss similarities and differences in characterization
For parent-child reading, have an adult explain the historical background first, then read aloud in sections

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 part of a series?

Judging from the title and the protagonist's name, 'Motor Matt' appears to be a recurring adventure character, and this book may be one of a series of stories around him. The information does not list a complete bibliography; readers are advised to search for other related works by the author's name.

What age of child is it suitable for?

The book is juvenile literature, but it is in English and was published long ago, so the language and historical background pose barriers for younger readers. It is recommended for middle school students with some English reading ability, or upper-primary students reading with adult accompaniment.

What is the core suspense of the story?

The title highlights 'The Strange Case of Helen Brady,' indicating that the story unfolds around strange events involving this character, and the protagonist's task is a daring rescue. The specific case and its resolution require reading the main text; readers are advised to enter with the question 'why is she in danger.'

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

Matthews, Stanley R. Author

Stanley R. Matthews is an author in the field of English popular fiction, and public information about his life and nationality is limited; his writing can only be assessed on the basis of the works held in the collection. The collection contains 32 of his works, most of which center on youthful mechanical and adventure themes, with the "Motor Matt" series being the most concentrated, including Motor Matt's Reverse, Motor Matt's Mandarin, Motor Matt's Short Circuit, and Motor Matt's Double Trouble. These works generally follow a young protagonist's experiences with motor vehicles, aircraft, and other new machines, interwoven with puzzle-solving, chases, and exotic adventures; the pace is brisk and the suspense dense, with clear features of early juvenile adventure fiction. The representative works show that the author was skilled at creating dramatic tension through mechanical breakdowns, misunderstandings, and reversals, and often incorporated Chinese elements, circuses, and balloons into the stories. His works are important samples for studying early twentieth-century English juvenile adventure fiction and mechanical imagination.