Old Crow

Alice BrownProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 862K words
Chapters: 87

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. Old Crow by Alice Brown. Author: Brown, Alice, 1857-1948. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Feb 24, 2010

Editor's review

Old Crow is by the American writer Alice Brown (1857–1948), falls under American and Canadian literature, and has been made available as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Brown is known for her New England regional material; this short work is a good entry point to her narrative style. The language carries the feel of late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century American literature, with dialogue and local color as points to watch. Its value lies not in intense plotting but in atmosphere and character touches, suiting quiet, attentive reading. As a public-domain original, the electronic edition has no modern notes, so readers should keep a dictionary at hand. Overall, it suits readers with some English reading experience and an interest in American regional literature rather than those seeking fast-paced stories.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American regional literature and New England subjects
Self-learners with intermediate English who are willing to read older narrative styles closely
Literature lovers who want a short work to sample Alice Brown's style
Readers who need public-domain English texts for extensive reading or sentence-study practice

Not a good fit for

Readers with weak English who need line-by-line notes
Readers of popular fiction who prefer strong plots and fast pacing
Academic readers seeking systematic study of the author's life and works

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to get the rhythm of the language, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Pay attention to dialogue and local color, and note distinctive expressions as you go.
After finishing, retell the story in three to five sentences to check your grasp of the older English narrative.

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

How difficult is the language of this book?

It is on the upper-intermediate side for reading an English original: sentence structure and diction carry early twentieth-century American literary features, and there are no modern notes. Readers with a decent vocabulary and experience with long sentences will find it easier to enter; beginners should use a dictionary and slow down.

What kind of writer is Alice Brown?

She was an American writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, whose works often use New England regional life as a backdrop and emphasize character and atmosphere. This work can serve as a short entry point to her narrative style, but it should not be used to make sweeping judgments about her entire body of work.

Is it suitable as English-learning material?

It can serve as advanced extensive reading material, but not for absolute beginners. Focus on grasping the general meaning; guess unfamiliar words before checking them, and choose striking passages for reading aloud or imitation writing to combine reading with language output.

Comments

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About the author

Alice Brown Author · American · 1857–1948

Alice Brown (1857–1948) was an American novelist, poet, and playwright, and one of the representative writers of New England local color literature. Born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, she is known for works including Meadow Grass: Tales of New England Life, Tiverton Tales, Rose MacLeod, Old Crow, Country Neighbors, The Day of His Youth, and The Prisoner. Her writing is mostly set in rural New England and portrays the daily lives, social relations, and local scenery of ordinary residents, with delicate prose and a strong sense of place. Public information is limited, so beyond the biographical and bibliographic details given here, her specific experiences and literary standing cannot be described in detail; nine of her works are held in this collection, allowing readers to learn more about her writing.