Mr. Opp

Alice Caldwell Hegan RiceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 283K 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.Mr. Opp by Alice Caldwell Hegan RiceAuthor: Rice, Alice Caldwell Hegan, 1870-1942,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 14, 2008

Editor's review

This novel is a fairly representative work of early twentieth-century American popular fiction; its author, Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice, was known for depicting ordinary people and social manners in a light, brisk style. The protagonist, Mr. Opp, embodies the author's concern with kindness, a sense of responsibility, and personal growth, and the story unfolds through details of everyday life with gentle humor and moral interest. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, it has documentary value for readers studying American popular fiction, women's writing, and early twentieth-century reading tastes. Readers need not look for intense plot conflict; it is better approached as a window onto the social mores and popular narrative traditions of the period. The English original is relatively plain and accessible, making it suitable for readers motivated by an interest in literary history and for English extensive reading. The book's attitudes bear the marks of their era, and readers may weigh them against their historical context.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature fans interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Students of literature and history studying American women writers and popular fiction
Readers seeking plain English original texts for extensive reading practice
General readers drawn to themes of ordinary people's growth and morality

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced suspense or fantasy
Readers who want a Chinese translation and would rather not read English
Readers sensitive to old-fashioned values and lacking historical context

Reading tips

Learn about the author and the period in which the book was written before starting, to better understand the characters' behavior and logic
Read a chapter or two a day as extensive reading, noting period details in dialogue and everyday scenes
When you come across strongly moralizing passages, note them and compare them with present-day attitudes
If the English is difficult, use a dictionary and read for plot first, then return to the language details

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 for English beginners to read directly?

The original language is generally plain, but it is still early twentieth-century English, with sentence patterns and vocabulary somewhat removed from modern speech. Readers with intermediate reading skills will find it easier to get started; beginners can use a dictionary or a bilingual edition, first grasping the main plot and then reading the language in more detail.

What kind of novel is this?

It is early twentieth-century American popular fiction, centered on the everyday experiences of the protagonist, Mr. Opp, with a gentle and humorous tone and themes of kindness, responsibility, and personal growth. It does not rely on intense plot conflict and is better suited to readers interested in character and period atmosphere.

What should I keep in mind when using the Gutenberg edition?

This edition is a free eBook from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain English original, usually without modern notes or an introduction. Readers may want to supplement it with background on the author and the period; formatting varies by download source, so choose a version suited to your reading device.

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About the author

Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice Author · American · 1870–1942

Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice (1870–1942) was an American novelist born in Shelbyville, Kentucky. She is best known for her bestselling 1901 novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, which was later adapted many times for the stage and screen. Beyond that signature work, the collection also includes Lovey Mary, Calvary Alley, A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill, The Honorable Percival, Quin, and Captain June, among ten titles in total. Her fiction often draws on everyday life in the towns and countryside of the American South, written in a gentle, humorous tone and frequently moving readers through the circumstances and kindness of ordinary people. Rice also founded the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville and devoted herself to poverty relief, so that her writing and her social concern illuminate each other.