Old Mole

Cannan, Gilbert, 1884-1955Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 494K words
Chapters: 50

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 Mole by Gilbert CannanAuthor: Cannan, Gilbert, 1884-1955,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 8, 2013

Editor's review

Gilbert Cannan's Old Mole is an English novel with elements of social observation and psychological characterization, circulated as a public-domain e-book by Project Gutenberg. Judging from the English literature classification of the author, it is closer to the strand of early twentieth-century English fiction concerned with individual circumstances and family relations; its narrative focus is not strong plot but the elaboration of characters' states and everyday atmosphere. For today's readers, its value lies in offering a window onto the English middle-class life and moral context of that era, and it is also suitable as supplementary reading for studying Cannan's work or marginal works of modern English fiction. Reading requires patience, as the pace is slow and dramatic conflict is not dense; those expecting a tight story or strong suspense may find it flat. As a free public-domain book, it is better suited to readers with a clear reading purpose using it as needed rather than to those seeking casual reading from cover to cover.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early twentieth-century English fiction and social life
Enthusiasts studying Gilbert Cannan or marginal works of modern English literature
Literary readers accustomed to slow pacing and emphasis on character psychology and atmosphere
English majors who need public-domain English novels for textual analysis practice

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer strong plot and fast pacing
Beginners with limited English reading stamina who need extensive annotation support
Readers seeking clear historical events or social data

Reading tips

First learn about the author's era and the English novel tradition, then read the text; this helps grasp the narrative register.
Make a simple relationship chart by character thread, recording who appears and their family relations, to reduce the disorientation caused by the slow pace.
Read a fixed one or two chapters a day; do not chase speed, and focus on dialogue and psychological description.
After finishing, revisit the opening chapters and compare changes in the characters' circumstances to test your understanding of the book's structure.

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 Old Mole a detective or suspense novel?

No. The title may bring a detective figure to mind, but this work belongs to the English literature category of fiction; its focus is on characters' circumstances and everyday relationships rather than case deduction or suspense, so reading expectations should be adjusted accordingly.

Is the book's reading threshold high?

The text is in English, with syntax and diction characteristic of early twentieth-century English fiction, a slow pace, and much description. Readers with a solid English reading foundation who are used to literary narration will find it easier to enter; beginners may struggle.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain e-books; this entry is the English original text, easy to obtain and search, but without Chinese annotations or an introduction. Readers need to supplement background material on the author and era themselves; the reading experience depends on personal preparation.

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About the author

Cannan, Gilbert, 1884-1955 Author

Gilbert Cannan (1884-1955) was a British writer active in the first half of the twentieth century, though public information about him is limited and many details of his life are not widely known to general readers. Five of his works are held in the collection: Mummery: A Tale of Three Idealists, Old Mole, Mendel: A Story of Youth, Round the Corner, and Young Earnest: The Romance of a Bad Start in Life. Judging from these titles and the terms in them—such as "idealists," "youth," and "a bad start in life"—he was chiefly concerned with young people's growth and the gap between ideals and reality, writing in a tone that combines irony with sentiment and showing a gift for portraying the confusion and choices of characters in their early years. Though not household names, his works offer a useful sample for observing early twentieth-century British social attitudes and the fiction of youth.