Romulus

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 336K words
Chapters: 34

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.Romulus by Jacob AbbottAuthor: Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879,Language: English, Class: DG: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Italy, Vatican City, Malta, Release Date: Jan 3, 2009

Editor's review

Jacob Abbott was a prolific nineteenth-century American writer of popular history, and this life of Romulus, one of his historical biography series, narrates the central figure of Rome's founding legend. Written in English at moderate length, it has the elegance and cadence of nineteenth-century popular history: it does not aim at exhaustive scholarship but at telling the legendary tradition as a readable story. For readers who want to encounter the Roman origin narrative in the original English, it offers a lighter entry point than modern academic works and a chance to observe how early English-language history writing handled the relation between legend and fact. Read it as narrative popular history, not as archaeology or source criticism; those already familiar with the Romulus story may also note how the author selects and shapes his material. Well suited to chapter-by-chapter reading in fragmented settings such as commutes or bedtime.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in ancient Roman origin legends who wish to read the English original
Students who want an accessible encounter with nineteenth-century English popular history writing
English learners seeking easy English historical narrative for extensive reading practice
Readers who prefer biographical storytelling over dense scholarship

Not a good fit for

Researchers who need modern archaeological evidence and scholarly annotation
Readers who want a Chinese translation and would rather not work through the English original
Readers seeking tightly plotted historical fiction with strong dramatic conflict

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and chapter titles to grasp how the author organizes the material from founding legend to biography.
After each chapter, retell the main points in two or three sentences, in English or Chinese, to check your grasp of the narrative.
Mark passages where myth and history intertwine, and after finishing consider the author's tendency in handling them.
Read the English original in segments during commutes or before sleep; there is no need to finish it in one sitting.

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 a scholarly work?

No. It is a nineteenth-century work of popular history for general readers, narrating Romulus and the founding legend of Rome. It lacks the notes, bibliography, and archaeological discussion of modern scholarship and is better for introductory reading than for research citation.

How difficult is the English?

It is the English of nineteenth-century popular history: sentences run somewhat longer than in modern English, and the diction is formal but not obscure. Readers with college-level English can work through it with a dictionary, and it can also serve as graded extensive reading material.

Do I need prior knowledge of ancient Roman history?

Not necessarily. The book begins with Romulus's origins and the founding legend, the starting point of the Roman narrative, so beginners can follow along. A little familiarity with the general outline of Rome's regal period will make it easier.

Why read an old book like this?

It shows how the nineteenth-century English-speaking world presented Rome's origins to a general audience. The narrative is clear and highly readable, and comparing it with modern histories reveals how the telling of legend and fact has changed.

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About the author

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879 Author

Jacob Abbott (1803–1879) was an American author and educator best known for his historical and biographical works. The library holds 51 of his works, including Darius the Great, History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, History of Julius Caesar, Richard II, Cyrus the Great, Pyrrhus, Cleopatra, and Peter the Great. Writing for young readers, he wove individual lives into the broader context of their times, narrating the rise and fall of rulers and figures in clear, accessible prose that made history both readable and instructive. His historical biographies circulated widely and helped popularize history reading. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this profile focuses on the subjects and style of his works.