Quentin Durward cover

Quentin Durward

Rating 3.8
Word count
1.1M words
Chapters
106

Tags

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.Quentin Durward by Walter ScottAuthor: Scott, Walter, 1771-1832,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2005

Editor's review

Quentin Durward is one of Walter Scott's representative historical novels. Set in fifteenth-century France during the reign of Louis XI, it tells of the adventures and growth of a young Scot, Quentin Durward, at the French court. Scott excelled at interweaving real historical figures with fictional characters: Louis XI's statecraft, the feuds of the feudal nobility, and the hero's loyalty and chivalry set one another off, and the plot combines romance with historical depth. This is an English-language public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, easy to search and carry, and well suited as an introductory text for understanding Scott's narrative style and the tradition of the European historical novel. As you read, note how the author handles the relationship between historical fact and literary imagination, and the choices the hero makes in a complex political environment. For readers who love chivalric romance, court intrigue, and historical subjects, this is a classic worth reading closely; paired with background material on late medieval French history, the reading will be all the richer.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who enjoy Scott and European historical fiction
  • Readers curious about 15th-century French court politics and chivalric culture
  • Students and teachers seeking an English public-domain text for reading or research
  • General readers drawn to adventure and character growth

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who want a Chinese translation only
  • Readers impatient with 19th-century English narrative pacing
  • Readers expecting a fast-paced modern mystery

Reading tips

  1. Start with background on the 15th-century conflict between France and Burgundy before entering the plot.
  2. Read chapter by chapter and note how historical figures intertwine with fictional characters.
  3. Compare with Scott's other historical novels to see how his narrative technique works.
  4. Keep a dictionary handy when reading the English original and note unfamiliar historical terms.

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
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  35. 35
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  37. 37
  38. 38
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  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
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  46. 46
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  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
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  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
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  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
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  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
  82. 82
  83. 83
  84. 84
  85. 85
  86. 86
  87. 87
  88. 88
  89. 89
  90. 90
  91. 91
  92. 92
  93. 93
  94. 94
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  97. 97
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  99. 99
  100. 100
  101. 101
  102. 102
  103. 103
  104. 104
  105. 105
  106. 106

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?
This is an English public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with the main text in English and no Chinese translation. It suits readers with some English ability who want direct access to the original.
Can I understand it without a European history background?
The main plot is understandable, but the 15th-century French court relationships and political background add difficulty. Skim a relevant historical overview first, or look up names and events as you read.
Is this book suitable as a historical research source?
It is a historical novel, not a historical record, so it should not be used directly as factual evidence. It can, however, support research on Scott's view of history, the 19th-century historical novel tradition, and literary portrayals of Louis XI.

Comments

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About the author

Walter Scott (Scott, Walter, 1771-1832) was a British writer known for his historical novels and narrative poetry. The library holds 94 of his works, including the representative Ivanhoe and Waverley Or ‘Tis Sixty Years Since — Complete, as well as The Heart of Mid-Lothian, Volume 2. His historical novels often draw on the history of Scotland and England, weaving real historical events into the fates of fictional characters, with unhurried plotting and vivid characterization; they exercised a profound influence on the development of the European historical novel. Ivanhoe, set in medieval England, is among his most widely read works. Publicly available information on his nationality, dates of birth and death, and other biographical details is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

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