The Deserter

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 38K words
Chapters: 4

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 Deserter by Richard Harding DavisAuthor: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 17, 2005

Editor's review

The Deserter is a short work by Richard Harding Davis, available in Project Gutenberg's free ebook library. Davis is known as a war correspondent and popular fiction writer; his narratives are typically brisk and vivid, with a strong knack for creating dramatic tension within a limited space. This piece revolves around the central image of the deserter and serves as an accessible sample of American popular fiction style from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The work is short, and the English is generally plain, making it friendly to readers with intermediate English reading ability. As you read, notice how the author advances the plot through dialogue and action, and the human dilemma and moral judgment behind the label of deserter. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to open on a phone or e-reader, suitable for completing a full short-story reading experience in fragmented time such as commuting or before bed, and can also serve as supplementary material for discussing narrative technique in an English literature course.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice reading with a short original English text
Readers interested in American popular fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century
Ebook users who need reading material for commutes or before bed
Literature enthusiasts interested in themes of war and personal moral conflict

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a long, complex plot or grand battle scenes
Beginners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who need Chinese annotations
Readers who prefer contemporary urban or suspense fiction

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then read again to look up unfamiliar words and notice how dialogue shapes character.
As you read, consider Davis's background as a war correspondent and think about the relationship between narrative perspective and moral judgment.
If using it for English study, excerpt short sentences describing action and scene, and imitate their concise style.

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 a novel or a short story?

Judging from its inclusion in Project Gutenberg, The Deserter is a short narrative work, suitable for reading in one or two sittings. The exact page count varies with ebook formatting, but the overall reading burden is light, making it suitable for fragmented time.

How difficult is the English?

The work dates from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The language is generally plain, though there are a few period expressions and colloquialisms. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who are used to reading original English works should be able to finish it smoothly, using a dictionary for unfamiliar words.

Do I need to know the author's background to understand it?

Not necessarily. The story is relatively self-contained, and you can grasp the main plot by reading directly. For deeper understanding, a brief acquaintance with Davis's identity as a war correspondent and popular fiction writer helps in appreciating how he handles war scenes and character psychology.

Is it suitable for classroom use?

It can serve as a supplementary short piece for an English literature course, used to discuss narrative pace, the function of dialogue, and moral conflict. Because it is a public-domain ebook, it is easy to obtain and for students to download and preview, but teachers need to design discussion questions according to course objectives.

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About the author

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916 Author

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was an American writer and war correspondent, with 49 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, yet the range of his writing can be seen from the titles listed here: he wrote both war reportage and fiction and character sketches. Notes of a War Correspondent records a reporter's firsthand experiences in the field, Real Soldiers of Fortune tells of adventurous soldiers, while Gallegher and Other Stories and Van Bibber and Others show his skill in the short story, with a light touch and a gift for portraying city life and a variety of characters. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have circulated among young readers, combining the immediacy of journalism with the readability of fiction; they have influenced later war reporting and popular narrative.