Bad Times cover

Bad Times

Rating 4.3
Word count
655K words
Chapters
66

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.Slechte Tijden by Charles DickensAuthor: Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870,Language: Dutch, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Dec 26, 2015

Editor's review

This is the Dutch translation of Dickens's Hard Times, released free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. For Chinese readers its value lies not in replacing a Chinese translation but in offering a perspective for language comparison and textual study: Dickens's critique of industrial society, utilitarian education and class rigidity still carries its narrative rhythm and satirical edge in Dutch rendering. The book suits as supplementary material for reading the original in a foreign language, or for readers who know Dutch and study translation and Victorian literature. Note that this is an ebook edition, digitized by Project Gutenberg, with layout and notes less polished than commercial editions. If you are learning Dutch and want to train long-form reading with literature, this is a moderately long, clearly plotted choice; if you only want the story, a reliable Chinese translation is preferable.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who know Dutch and want to practice long-form reading with a classic novel
  • Literary scholars studying translations and textual history of Dickens's works
  • Foreign-language teachers who need public-domain electronic texts for teaching or classroom comparison
  • Readers interested in Victorian social critique who are willing to compare multilingual editions

Not a good fit for

  • Chinese readers with no Dutch who only want the story of Hard Times
  • Collectors of paper editions who need detailed notes, introductions and fine typography
  • General readers expecting the fluency and editing of a modern commercial translation

Reading tips

  1. First read a reliable Chinese translation to grasp plot and characters, then compare the Dutch text to sense the differences in language transfer.
  2. Take bilingual notes chapter by chapter, recording key dialogue and satirical passages to compare choices across translations.
  3. Use the search function of the Gutenberg ebook to read the chapters on education, industry and family as three threads.

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
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  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
  65. 65
  66. 66

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or Dutch?
This is the Dutch translation of Dickens's Hard Times, in Dutch, released by Project Gutenberg as a free ebook. It is not a Chinese translation; Chinese readers need Dutch reading ability, or should use it only as comparative material for textual and translation study.
What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?
Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain electronic texts, prioritizing accessibility over commercial typesetting. This edition is easy to search, copy and use in teaching, but usually lacks detailed notes, introductions and modern editing; the reading experience depends on the reader's language ability and edition needs.
Can I read this book without knowing Dutch?
If you know no Dutch, reading it directly will be difficult, and you will hardly feel Dickens's satire and narrative rhythm. Read a reliable Chinese translation first to understand the content, then use this book as supplementary material for language learning or translation comparison, not as an introductory reader.

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About the author

Charles Dickens (Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870) is one of the most influential novelists in the history of English literature. The library holds 115 of his works, including novels, novellas and short stories; representative titles include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. He was known for serialized fiction, with plot twists and vivid characters, and he used humor and satire to portray Victorian society, paying particular attention to poor children, the lower classes and education, and his works often convey warmth and moral concern. In the library his works are often classified under "inspirational growth," and many of his novels have been adapted for stage and screen and are widely circulated. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

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