The Daredevil

Maria Thompson DaviessProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 346K words
Chapters: 35

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 Daredevil by Maria Thompson Daviess. Author: Daviess, Maria Thompson, 1872-1924. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Jul 17, 2004

Editor's review

This is a novel by the American writer Maria Thompson Daviess, released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Daviess was active in the early twentieth century and often wrote about life in the American South and the growth of young women; this book follows that vein, telling in a light, brisk style of a daring protagonist's adventures in community and family. The dialogue is lively, the local color strong, and the plot moves quickly, combining the readability of popular fiction with a slice of Southern American society in that era. For readers studying early twentieth-century American popular literature, the shaping of female characters, or Southern regional writing, it offers a light and engaging primary text. It is best read not for grand plot but as a window onto old small-town American life, taken in segments on a commute or before bed for its humor and warmth. Note that the language is English and the book is early, so some social attitudes and expressions carry the limitations of their time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Readers studying Southern American regional literature and the portrayal of women
Readers who enjoy light, humorous novels with lively dialogue
Learners who want a free electronic text for extended English reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation and are not comfortable with the English original
Readers who prefer strong plots, suspense, or fast-paced modern narrative
Readers sensitive to the period attitudes found in early works

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get a feel for the characters and narrative pace, then decide whether to read it through
Read alongside other works by Daviess to observe the recurring themes of her Southern writing
Make brief notes on expressions strongly marked by their era for later review and discussion

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?

The original is in English, released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg; the available information shows no Chinese translation. Readers with some English proficiency can read the original directly; those with weaker English can use a dictionary or comparison tools to help.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free eBooks. Founded by Michael Hart in 1971, it works to digitize public-domain books and make them freely available to the public. This book is one of its electronic texts, which is why the publisher listed in the edition information is Project Gutenberg.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but note that the book is early and some vocabulary and sentence patterns are dated, so it is not suitable as a sole English-learning textbook. Read mainly for interest, guess unfamiliar words from context, and focus on the narrative language and the rhythm of dialogue.

Comments

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About the author

Maria Thompson Daviess Author · American · 1872–1924

Maria Thompson Daviess (1872–1924) was an American novelist, painter, and suffragist. She was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, in 1872 and died in New York in 1924. From 1909 onward she published a number of optimistic novels, among which The Melting of Molly is her best-known work; titles such as Phyllis, Rose of Old Harpeth, and Blue-grass and Broadway generally depict Southern life and human relationships in a light, cheerful tone. Beyond writing, she helped found the Nashville Equal Suffrage League and took an active part in the campaign for women's right to vote. Twelve of her works are held in this collection, though common classification information is currently unavailable and public sources are limited, so further biographical detail cannot be given. Her fiction and her suffrage work together reflect the participation of American women in literature and public affairs in the early twentieth century.