Susâni

Becke, Louis, 1855-1913Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 19K words
Chapters: 2

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.Susâni by Louis BeckeAuthor: Becke, Louis, 1855-1913,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 19, 2008

Editor's review

"Susâni" is a South Seas novel by the Australian writer Louis Becke, who lived for years in the Pacific islands; his work often takes colonial-era island society as its setting and depicts the dealings, conflicts, and daily life between white traders and islanders. Through specific characters and scenes, the book presents the complex face of South Seas life, offering adventure and exotic atmosphere along with observations of the colonizers' situation. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in giving Chinese readers an entry point to the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century English-language South Seas narrative tradition; it is short and relatively plain in language, suitable as supplementary reading for those interested in maritime literature, colonial themes, or Australian literature. As you read, note the narrator's stance and the limitations of the period, treating it as a historical text rather than a mere exotic tale.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in South Seas themes and maritime adventure literature
Literature enthusiasts studying Australian literature or English colonial narrative
Readers who want a short work showing how late nineteenth-century island society was depicted
Advanced readers who enjoy public-domain ebooks and are willing to read English originals

Not a good fit for

Beginners who want a Chinese translation and are unused to English originals
Serious researchers expecting full historical verification or scholarly annotation
Readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary narrative and have little patience for old-fashioned prose

Reading tips

Read the whole book first to grasp the plot, then revisit the turning points in character relations in key scenes.
Note the different tones the narrator uses for islanders and colonizers, and keep brief notes.
Cross-reference with general background on late nineteenth-century South Seas trade and colonialism.
If the English is difficult, read chapter summaries first, then closely read the dialogue sections chapter by chapter.

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 language is this book written in? Can Chinese readers read it?

The original is in English and is a public-domain ebook. Readers with basic English can work through it with a dictionary; those with weaker English should first learn the plot summary and South Seas background, then read selected key chapters, or use reliable supplementary material.

What do Louis Becke's works have in common?

According to public-domain information, Becke lived for years in the Pacific islands, and his works mostly take South Seas island society as their setting and depict the dealings of white traders, sailors, and islanders. This book continues that thematic direction, emphasizing scenes and characters' situations, and carries a pronounced period perspective that should be read against colonial history.

Is this book suitable for citation as historical material?

It is a literary work, not a historical study. Although it involves South Seas social scenes, its characters and plot contain fiction and period prejudice. For research, treat it as a text reflecting the English-speaking world's South Seas imagination of the time and compare it with formal historical sources; do not cite it directly as fact.

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About the author

Becke, Louis, 1855-1913 Author

Louis Becke (1855–1913) was an English-language writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; details of his life and nationality are limited in publicly available sources. The library holds thirty-eight of his works, including novels and short-story collections, mostly concerned with seafaring, island life and adventure. Representative titles include By Reef and Palm, Rídan The Devil And Other Stories, Rodman The Boatsteerer And Other Stories, The Trader's Wife, Yorke The Adventurer and Tessa. His writing is often set against the backdrop of Pacific islands and maritime experience, with a realistic tone that portrays sailors, traders and islanders in foreign settings and the human nature they reveal, giving his work a distinct flavour of sea adventure. The library classifies his works under inspirational growth; his books retain a readership within the tradition of maritime adventure fiction, though overall scholarly material on him remains limited.