The Feather

Ford, Ford Madox, 1873-1939Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 172K words
Chapters: 18

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 Feather by Ford Madox FordAuthor: Ford, Ford Madox, 1873-1939,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Dec 10, 2015

Editor's review

Ford Madox Ford is a writer of delicate style in twentieth-century English literature. This short work, The Feather, is classified as juvenile literature, yet it does not lapse into simple moralizing. It continues Ford's characteristic restraint and psychological portraiture, using a light object or event to draw out misunderstanding, propriety, and goodwill between people, with a gentle tension in the reading. For readers approaching English originals, the language is moderately difficult and the narrative pace clear, making it a bridge from simplified readers to literary originals. Its emotional layers and moral choices also suit parent-child reading followed by discussion. Note that this edition is a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, with English text only and no Chinese notes or introduction; readers need basic English reading ability.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle school students with basic English reading ability who want to try short literary originals in English
Parents who wish to read English stories with their children and discuss right and wrong and feelings
Literature lovers who enjoy finely drawn psychology and slow-paced classic short stories
English learners who need light extensive reading material and plan to read a small amount each day

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners who need Chinese translation or notes to read English
Readers who prefer strong plot, fast pace, or genre adventure stories
Research-oriented readers seeking detailed author biography and background analysis

Reading tips

Read through once without looking up words to grasp character relationships and the story's direction, then read a second time closely for new words and sentences.
Read a short section each day, then retell the plot in two or three English sentences to train comprehension and expression.
If reading with a child, pause at key turning points and ask the child to guess the character's next choice and reasons.
After reading, note the scene that impressed you most and think about why the author presents it with restraint rather than directly.

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 English level is this book suitable for?

The text is in English, fairly short, and not very difficult in sentence structure. It is roughly suitable for readers with junior high school English or above who can finish a short piece with a dictionary. Complete beginners will find it hard and should start with graded readers.

Is this a translation or the English original?

This is an English public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg. The text is the English original, with no Chinese translation, notes, or introduction. Readers can obtain the electronic text free and read it themselves.

Does the juvenile literature classification mean the content is childish?

The classification only indicates that it is aimed at younger readers; it does not mean the content is thin. Ford excels at portraying psychology through everyday details, and the story still has emotional and moral layers that adult readers can appreciate.

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About the author

Ford, Ford Madox, 1873-1939 Author

Ford Madox Ford (1873–1939) was a British novelist, poet and critic. Nine of his works are held here, spanning novels and fairy tales. Among the novels, The Good Soldier is the best known; the Fifth Queen series (The Fifth Queen, The Fifth Queen Crowned and Privy Seal: His Last Venture) deals with court and political themes, while Romance and The Inheritors were written in collaboration with others. His fairy tales include The Brown Owl: A Fairy Story and The Queen Who Flew: A Fairy Tale, showing that he wrote for different kinds of readers. Public information is limited and biographical details are hard to verify, but his works range widely in subject, are carefully structured and psychologically attentive, and hold a place in the history of the modern British novel.