The Flying Death

Adams, Samuel Hopkins, 1871-1958Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 257K words
Chapters: 26

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 Flying Death by Samuel Hopkins AdamsAuthor: Adams, Samuel Hopkins, 1871-1958,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 1, 2013

Editor's review

Samuel Hopkins Adams was an important writer in early American popular literature and muckraking journalism. The Flying Death has elements of adventure and suspense, with brisk narrative pacing, and serves as a sample of early twentieth-century American popular fiction. The Project Gutenberg edition is the original English eBook, preserving the original text. It is moderate in length and strongly plot-driven, reading more briskly than the literary short stories of the same period. Its value lies not in deep literary experimentation but in presenting the tastes of mass reading in that era: mysterious events, tense scenes, and how characters respond. Read it as a historical slice of genre fiction and pay attention to narrative rhythm and suspense technique. Note that the text has no modern annotations, so some background and wording require readers to look them up themselves; those expecting rigorous deduction or modern thriller intensity may find the period feel obvious.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early English adventure-suspense fiction
Those who want to understand the historical face of American popular literature
Readers who can accept the original English and prefer plot-driven stories
People who need lightweight English reading material to practice reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the rigorous logic of honkaku mystery
Those with very little English reading experience who are unwilling to look up words
People who prefer contemporary thriller pacing and strong reversals

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to judge the narrative rhythm, then decide how much to read at a time, avoiding too many pauses over period wording.
Keep a vocabulary notebook and record only key words that recur; there is no need to look up every word.
After finishing, try to retell the core suspense and its resolution in three sentences to check whether you have grasped the main line.
If interested in the author's background, look up biographical material separately, but do not interrupt the plot while reading.

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 mystery or an adventure novel?

Based on the material, it is closer to early popular adventure fiction with suspense elements, focusing on the advancement of events and a tense atmosphere rather than a rigorous chain of deduction. Readers can regard it as a sample of early twentieth-century mass genre fiction.

Is the original English difficult to read?

The text is a public-domain original English edition. Its syntax and wording bear traces of the period, but it is overall plot-driven and not especially difficult. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who are willing to look up words can try it; it is advisable to sample the opening pages first before deciding.

Why are there no modern annotations or introduction?

This is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, intended to provide the original text and usually without modern editorial annotations. Readers who need background information can consult material on the author and the period as supplementary aid.

Comments

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About the author

Adams, Samuel Hopkins, 1871-1958 Author

Adams, Samuel Hopkins (1871-1958) was an American author known for both fiction and nonfiction, with fifteen of his works recorded in Chinese library resources. His representative works include The Great American Fraud, as well as Common Cause: A Novel of the War in America, Average Jones, The Secret of Lonesome Cove, Little Miss Grouch, The Flying Death, Success: A Novel, and The Unspeakable Perk. Judging from these titles, his writing spans social exposé, war themes, and detective fiction, and also includes lighter, humorous character stories. Because public information is limited, this note makes no conjectures about his specific life experiences, education, or honors, focusing instead on the subjects and style of his works. His narratives often move forward through social reality and suspense, interweaving characters' circumstances with plot turns. They are readable and bear the marks of their time, offering readers insight into early twentieth-century American popular literature and social writing.