Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill; Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret

Emerson, Alice B.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3

Word count: 230K words
Chapters: 23

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.Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill; Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret by Alice B. EmersonAuthor: Emerson, Alice B.,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Jan 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is a typical early twentieth-century American coming-of-age novel for girls and the opening book of the "Ruth Fielding" series. The story follows the orphan Ruth as she comes to the Red Mill to join relatives, and through her dealings with the people around her, the secret of Jasper Parloe is gradually revealed. The value of the work lies not in thrilling plot twists but in showing how a girl in adversity wins trust through honesty, diligence, and goodwill; it carries the moral didactic flavor characteristic of youthful literature of that era. The prose is plain, the chapters are short, and the narrative pace suits reading aloud or chapter-by-chapter reading. For readers who want to understand the early American juvenile literature scene or who hope to find an English original as an entry-level reader for children, this book offers a choice with moderate language difficulty and a complete plot. As you read, pay attention to how the author uses everyday small events to shape character, and to the emotional function the Red Mill as a space serves in the story.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Primary and middle school students looking for entry-level English originals; the language is plain and the chapters are short.
Readers interested in early American juvenile literature who want to understand the features of the genre.
Readers who enjoy gentle coming-of-age stories and prefer everyday narrative over strong plot.
Parents or teachers who need English reading-aloud material; chapter lengths make for easy segmentation.

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking tension, suspense, or fast-paced plot; the narrative here is gentle.
Adult readers hoping for deep psychological portrayal or complex character relationships.
Readers put off by the fairly strong moral didactic tone of early twentieth-century writing.

Reading tips

First read through the table of contents to understand the chapter structure, then proceed chapter by chapter, summarizing in one sentence what happened after each chapter.
Mark unfamiliar names and places as you go, and review them after finishing the chapter to avoid frequent dictionary lookups interrupting the rhythm.
If using the book for English study, choose passages with more dialogue to read aloud and feel the characters' tone and word choice.
After finishing, try to sort out several key choices Ruth makes and see how they affect the attitudes of those around her.

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

What English level is this book suitable for?

The language is generally plain, sentences are not long, and the vocabulary is mostly everyday words, so it suits learners with beginner to intermediate English reading ability. The chapters are fairly short, making the book suitable as graded reading material. When you encounter an occasional old-fashioned expression, you can understand it from context; there is no need to check every word.

Which book in the series is this, and does it need to be read in order?

This book is the opening work of the Ruth Fielding series and introduces the main characters and background, so starting here is smoothest. Later works are connected, but each book's plot is relatively independent, so skipping around will not cause serious comprehension problems.

Is the Red Mill just a background location in the story?

The Red Mill is not merely a setting; it is tied to Ruth's living situation after she joins her relatives and also affects the relationships and secrets among the characters. As you read, pay attention to passages where the mill appears and consider how the author uses this space to advance plot and emotion.

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About the author

Emerson, Alice B. Author

Alice B. Emerson is an author represented in this Chinese-language book database, though public information about her true identity and life is limited, with no clear records of nationality, birth and death dates, or education. The collection currently holds 23 of her works, mainly in the inspirational coming-of-age genre. Her representative books center on the girl Ruth Fielding, including Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill, Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch, Ruth Fielding in the Red Cross, Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall, Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island, Ruth Fielding at College, Ruth Fielding in Moving Pictures, and Ruth Fielding in the Great Northwest. These stories place a young girl's growth in varied settings such as a rural mill, a Western ranch, a school campus, an island, and a film set, using suspense and adventure to drive the plot and highlighting courage, responsibility, and a helping spirit. The language is plain and the pace brisk, making the books suitable for young readers.