The First Easter

Willard, J. H. (James Hartwell), 1847-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 22K words
Chapters: 3

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 First Easter by J. H. WillardAuthor: Willard, J. H. (James Hartwell), 1847-,Language: English, Class: BT: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Doctrinal theology, God, Christology, Release Date: Feb 6, 2012

Editor's review

This is a religious work on the theme of Easter from the Project Gutenberg collection. Its author, Willard, was born in the mid-nineteenth century, and the writing bears the distinct theological stamp of its era. The book is built around the core narratives of Christianity and is suitable as background reading for those interested in Western religious tradition and the origins and symbolism of Easter. As an early public-domain electronic text, its style is rather classical and its mode of argument stands at a clear remove from contemporary scholarship, so a sense of historical context is needed when reading. Its value lies not in offering cutting-edge research but in presenting a typical nineteenth-century English-language understanding of Easter; it can serve as a primary source for readers interested in religious or cultural history. Best read slowly in a quiet setting, ideally alongside biblical texts or church-history materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Religious and cultural enthusiasts interested in the origins and symbolism of Christian festivals
Researchers and students studying nineteenth-century English religious writing
Literary or historical writers needing Easter background material
Readers accustomed to classical English religious texts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting contemporary theological scholarship or academic annotation
Casual readers who prefer light narrative and have no interest in religious themes
Readers with limited English proficiency who would struggle with the classical style

Reading tips

Familiarize yourself with the basic background of Easter and the relevant biblical passages before entering the text
Read slowly chapter by chapter; where classical expressions occur, infer meaning from context rather than checking every word
Read alongside modern works on religious history on the same theme to discern the differences between eras

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 religious treatise?

According to the available information, the book is classified under Christian doctrinal theology and Christology; it is a religious work on the theme of Easter, not a novel or story collection, and should be approached as a religious-cultural text.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for non-native readers?

The author is a nineteenth-century figure, and the style is classical, with sentence patterns and vocabulary at some distance from contemporary English. Readers with upper-intermediate English and some familiarity with religious vocabulary can attempt it; beginners are advised to use annotations or a translation as support.

Why is this book available for free?

The book is distributed by Project Gutenberg, which provides free electronic books in the public domain. The author lived in the nineteenth century, and the work is no longer under copyright, so it can be legally read and shared at no cost.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Willard, J. H. (James Hartwell), 1847- Author

J. H. Willard (James Hartwell Willard, born 1847) was an English-language author of the later nineteenth century; little is publicly known about his life, nationality, or dates. Five of his works are held here, most drawing on biblical figures and festivals: A Farmer's Wife, on the story of Ruth; The Man Who Did Not Die, on Elijah; The Farmer Boy, on Jacob; The Adopted Son, on Moses; and The First Easter, centered on the Easter story. These books retell ancient narratives as accessible popular stories, and their titles often begin from everyday roles or concrete scenes, bringing the figures closer to ordinary readers. His writing emphasizes narrative and readability in plain language, with the character of popular religious literature for a general audience, earning him a place among retellings of biblical stories.