The Fourth Watch

Hiram Alfred CodyProject Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

3.0

Word count: 404K words
Chapters: 41

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 Fourth Watch by H. A. CodyAuthor: Cody, H. A. (Hiram Alfred), 1872-1948,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 2005

Editor's review

The Fourth Watch is a novel by Canadian author H. A. Cody, falling under the category of American and Canadian literature. Cody's works are often set against the northern wilderness and the lives of ordinary people, focusing on moral choices and emotional shifts in times of hardship. The title's "fourth watch" itself carries connotations of waiting and vigilance; the story unfolds around characters' perseverance and transformation in particular circumstances, with a traditional narrative pace and plain language. As a free eBook from Project Gutenberg, it serves as an accessible introduction to early twentieth-century Canadian fiction in English, and as a reference for readers studying North American popular literature of that period. While reading, one might note how the author handles the relationships between people and nature, and between individuals and community, as well as the religious and moral concerns that surface in the novel. Given the limited available material, readers are advised to consult the original text and form their own judgment of its literary interest.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Canadian literature and North American fiction in English
General readers looking for free public-domain literary works
Researchers studying narrative in early twentieth-century popular fiction
Literature lovers who enjoy plain narrative and moral themes

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced, plot-driven modern fiction
Readers unaccustomed to English originals and older modes of expression
Casual readers seeking only contemporary bestsellers

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to grasp the characters' relationships and background, then decide your reading pace.
Consult reference materials on northern Canadian geography and history to aid understanding.
Take notes on moral discussions in characters' dialogue to better appreciate the author's intent.
When reading the English original, keep a dictionary at hand and pay attention to older expressions.

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 suitable for English beginners?

Not really. This is an early twentieth-century English novel whose sentence structures and vocabulary bear the marks of their era, making it somewhat difficult for beginners. It is better suited to readers with intermediate or higher reading ability who are willing to consult a dictionary.

Why is this work worth reading?

As a free public-domain eBook, it is easy to obtain and gives readers access to the fictional style of Canadian author H. A. Cody and a glimpse of early twentieth-century North American popular literature, offering some value as a reference in literary history.

Do I need to know the author's biography before reading?

Not necessarily. Reading the main text first is enough to grasp the story; for deeper understanding, you may look up publicly available biographical information on H. A. Cody to learn about his creative background, but there is no need to rely on a biography to understand the novel itself.

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

Hiram Alfred Cody Author · Canadian · 1872–1948

Hiram Alfred Cody (1872–1948) was a Canadian Anglican priest and novelist. Born in Codys, New Brunswick, in 1872, he was ordained in 1896. He spent five years as a missionary in Whitehorse, Yukon, and kept forty-three diaries there; this northern experience supplied material for his later writing. Cody published twenty-five novels in his lifetime, drawing largely on the northern wilderness, seafaring adventure and United Empire Loyalist pioneering. His representative works include The King's Arrow, The Fourth Watch, Glen of the High North and his Yukon tales, and his books are commonly classed as inspirational coming-of-age fiction. He became archdeacon of Saint John in 1927 and died there in 1948. Eleven of his works are held in this collection.