Rezanov

Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn, 1857-1948Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 371K words
Chapters: 38

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.Rezanov by Gertrude Franklin Horn AthertonAuthor: Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn, 1857-1948,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 1996

Editor's review

Rezanov is a novel by Atherton built around the historical figure Nikolai Rezanov, set against the early nineteenth-century Russian-American Company's explorations of Alaska and California and Rezanov's entanglement with the daughter of a Spanish fort commander. Atherton excels at unfolding character and emotion within a historical frame while rendering a strong sense of place; the book interweaves imperial expansion, commercial interest, and personal destiny, combining the immediacy of historical fiction with the dramatic tension of popular romance. The public-domain English text from Project Gutenberg gives readers direct access to the original and will appeal to those interested in the history of Russian-American relations, early California, or nineteenth-century American popular fiction. Readers may note how the author draws the line between historical record and invention, and how she portrays her female characters and cross-cultural relationships.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the Russian-American Company and the early history of Alaska and California
Adult readers who enjoy historical fiction and cross-cultural love stories
Readers studying nineteenth-century American popular literature and women writers
Readers who need a public-domain English text for reference or comparative reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and have little patience for historical background
Readers seeking strictly scholarly history rather than fiction
Young readers or those whose English reading ability is not yet up to long sentences

Reading tips

Learn the basic facts about Rezanov and the Russian-American Company before entering the plot
Distinguish historical background from the author's invention while reading, and note character relationships as you go
Pay attention to the descriptions of California and Alaska's nature and society, and appreciate the regional narrative
After finishing, compare with a historical overview and consider the author's tendencies in selecting material

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

Who was Rezanov in history?

Nikolai Rezanov was an early nineteenth-century Russian official and merchant who held posts connected with the Russian-American Company and took part in Russia's trade and diplomatic activities along the Pacific coast of North America. The novel centers on him, but its plot includes fictional and romanticized treatment and should not be read directly as a work of history.

How difficult is the English in this book?

As an American novel from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, it has longer sentences than modern popular fiction and many historical and geographical terms, suiting readers with intermediate English or above. If your main goal is the story, you might first read a Chinese translation or related historical background before tackling the original.

Is the Gutenberg edition suitable for scholarly citation?

Project Gutenberg provides public-domain electronic texts that are easy to search, copy, and quote, making them a useful basis for reading and preliminary research. But such editions usually lack scholarly notes and textual apparatus, so formal research should still check authoritative print or critical editions.

Comments

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About the author

Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn, 1857-1948 Author

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (1857–1948) was an American novelist, with twenty-six of her works held in this collection. Public information about her life is limited, and biographical details are difficult to verify. Judging from the works available, she excelled in both historical fiction and novels of social manners. The former includes The Conqueror: Being the True and Romantic Story of Alexander Hamilton, which reimagines a founding figure of the United States in a biographical mode. The latter, such as Patience Sparhawk and Her Times, The Californians, The Sisters-in-Law, Mrs. Balfame, and Black Oxen, draw on California life and contemporary urban society, with a sharp edge that often engages marriage, women's circumstances, and social class. The story collection The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories shows her command of Gothic and psychological suspense. Her narrative combines realism with romance and vivid characterization, making her a noteworthy figure in the study of American women's writing from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century.