That Stick

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 403K words
Chapters: 41

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. That Stick by Charlotte M. Yonge. Author: Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: January 9, 2007.

Editor's review

That Stick is an English novel by Charlotte M. Yonge, part of Project Gutenberg's free eBook collection. Yonge was a nineteenth-century British author known for her domestic and moral fiction, and this book continues her gentle, mildly didactic narrative style. The word "stick" in English can mean both a walking stick and, figuratively, a stubborn person, and the story unfolds around personal relationships and family ethics, with a leisurely pace and finely drawn characters. It will appeal to readers who wish to experience the pleasures of a Victorian novel. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy to obtain and can be read at any time on a phone or e-reader. Note that this is the original English text, with nineteenth-century syntax and vocabulary, and that its early date means a slow narrative pace; it is not well suited to readers who want strong plotting or who are attempting English literature for the first time. Taken as long-term English reading practice, with a dictionary and chapter-by-chapter progress, it will repay the effort.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to encounter a Victorian English novel through a public-domain eBook
Learners with some English who want to practise reading a full-length original
Literature lovers who enjoy domestic ethics and character relationships
Teachers who need a free electronic text for classroom or book-club discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers new to English reading who still struggle with long sentences and old-fashioned usage
Readers of modern fiction who prefer a fast pace and strong conflict
Readers who want a Chinese translation rather than the English original

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to confirm you can adapt to the nineteenth-century rhythm before committing to the whole book.
Keep an electronic dictionary handy and look up old-fashioned words as you go, so you don't give up when meaning stalls.
Read in chapter-sized sessions and briefly retell each chapter afterwards, combining comprehension with language practice.
Read a short introduction to the author's other works to understand her background before starting this book.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English text, released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain eBook, with no Chinese translation included. Reading it requires some English, especially tolerance for nineteenth-century English syntax and vocabulary.

What does "Stick" in the title mean?

In English, "stick" can mean a walking stick or, colloquially, a stubborn or rigid person. Given the novel's domestic-ethics theme, the title carries a metaphorical hint about a character's personality or situation. Its precise meaning should be felt through the plot rather than over-inferred outside the text.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is an early project providing free eBooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971, dedicated to digitizing public-domain works for free public reading. This book is one of its public-domain texts and can therefore be obtained legally and free of charge.

What preparation is needed to read this book?

It is advisable to have a reading device with a dictionary and to accept a slow narrative pace. Read the opening pages first to judge the language difficulty; if it doesn't suit you, switch to a fixed daily amount with brief notes, treating it as long-form English reading practice.

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About the author

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901 Author

Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901) was a prolific nineteenth-century British novelist and writer of children's literature, with 65 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, but her representative works reveal the range of her writing: family novels such as The Heir of Redclyffe and The Daisy Chain centre on everyday life and moral growth; A Book of Golden Deeds and The Little Duke, aimed at young readers, recount historical stories and heroic character; she also wrote a life of John Coleridge Patteson, missionary bishop of the Melanesian Islands. Her works generally deal with family, faith, duty and history in a gentle, realistic style, and were influential among Victorian readers, with many long surviving as reading for young people.