The Black Barque

Thornton Jenkins HainsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 378K words
Chapters: 38

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.The Black Barque by T. Jenkins HainsAuthor: Hains, T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins), 1866-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 20, 2017

Editor's review

The Black Barque is a sea story by T. Jenkins Hains, an author born in 1866 who knew life at sea and whose descriptions of rigging, sea conditions, and shipboard order are concrete and credible. The book is classified under American and Canadian literature, and its narrative carries the typical character of late-nineteenth-century maritime adventure fiction: the ship as stage, and the tensions between people and the sea and among shipmates. Its value lies not in outlandish plotting but in its restoration of the texture of life at sea in the age of sail, making it a good entry point to the maritime narrative tradition of that period. Readers might attend to how the author handles the claustrophobia of shipboard space and shifts in relationships among the characters, and may also read it alongside other sea fiction of the time to see how the genre evolved. For readers who prefer modern psychological fiction or fast-paced narrative, the vocabulary and pacing may feel unfamiliar and require some patience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy maritime adventure and the age of sail
Those interested in late-nineteenth-century American popular literature
Readers who want to learn about the details of life at sea and shipboard order
English learners willing to read classic English narrative slowly and build a feel for the language

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern narrative with strong suspense
Readers with little interest in nautical terminology and ship description
Serious literary readers expecting deep psychological analysis or social critique

Reading tips

Learn the basic structure of a sailing ship and terms for stations and cabins before starting the text.
Treat the claustrophobia of shipboard space as a reading thread and watch how relationships change over the voyage.
Read it alongside maritime adventure fiction of the same period and compare narrative conventions and characterization.
English readers can note nautical vocabulary chapter by chapter and build it up as they go, without looking up every word.

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 kind of story does this book tell?

It is a maritime adventure narrative centered on life aboard a sailing ship and the relationships among those on board. It has the typical character of late-nineteenth-century popular sea fiction rather than being strict historical reportage.

Can I understand it without nautical knowledge?

You can follow the main story, but the book contains many terms for rigging and seamanship. It helps to look up the basic structure of a sailing ship and common terms first; while reading, don't dwell on every word—focus on the characters and events.

How difficult is the original English?

The original is in English, with narrative language marked by its period. Sentence structure is somewhat more complex than in modern popular fiction, and nautical vocabulary is mixed in. Readers with college-level English reading ability who are willing to look up words and read slowly can finish it.

Is this book suitable for English study?

It works as extended reading but is not recommended as a beginner's textbook. Its value lies in exposure to late-nineteenth-century narrative style and nautical vocabulary; it is best read after building some foundation, with vocabulary notes alongside.

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About the author

Thornton Jenkins Hains Author · American · 1866–1953

Thornton Jenkins Hains (1866–1953) was an American writer of sea fiction, born in Washington, D.C. He went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of twelve and later obtained master's certificates in both the United States and Britain, and his experience at sea became the foundation of his writing. Between 1894 and 1908 he published more than ten works of maritime fiction, including Mr. Trunnell, Mate of the Ship Pirate, The Black Barque, The Wind-Jammers, The Chief Mate's Yarns, and Richard Judkins' Wooing. His novels, mostly concerned with ocean voyages, shipwrecks, and life aboard ship, are tightly plotted and rich in precise nautical detail, with a marked realism of the sea. In later years he also published The White Ghost of Disaster under the pen name Mayn Clew Garnett.