The Golden Grasshopper: A Story of the Days of Sir Thomas Gresham

William Henry Giles KingstonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
581K words
Chapters
59

Tags

English Originals World HistoryFinance and Economics Business DecisionsFinancial DynastyBusiness rivalryBusiness MagnatePower GameWorldly WisdomBusiness WisdomWealth StoriesElizabethan EraSocial Observation

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 Golden Grasshopper: A story of the days of Sir Thomas Gresham by KingstonAuthor: Kingston, William Henry Giles, 1814-1880,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: May 8, 2007

Editor's review

Set in England during the age of Sir Thomas Gresham, this book unfolds as a historical adventure that evokes the commercial, financial, and urban atmosphere of the sixteenth century. Gresham was a key financial figure of the Tudor period, and the novel uses his era as a backdrop for its plot, bringing readers into contact with exchanges, lending, and trade as the story progresses. Kingston's narrative is aimed primarily at young readers, emphasizing character and responsibility, with a clear plot and a strong sense of period. For Chinese readers, it is better suited as supplementary reading for understanding the atmosphere of early modern English commercial society than as a textbook on financial history. While reading, pay attention to how the story combines historical figures with fictional events, and how the author uses his characters to convey values such as diligence and integrity.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Reading is more rewarding if you first learn a little about Thomas Gresham and the background of sixteenth-century English trade.
  2. Compare the commercial episodes in the story with real financial concepts; brief notes can help clarify the differences between the periods.
  3. If reading the original English, read through the plot first, then return to sort out the historical background and character relationships.
  4. After reading, compare it with other historical novels by the same author to observe common features of his narrative patterns and expression of values.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59

FAQ

Is Thomas Gresham in the story a real historical figure? Thomas Gresham was a real financial figure in sixteenth-century England. This book sets a fictional story against the backdrop of his era, interweaving historical figures with fictional events; readers need to distinguish historical fact from literary invention.
Can this book be used to learn about finance? It cannot serve as a finance textbook. It mainly presents the atmosphere of the period and commercial activity through story, and its financial concepts are not systematic. Those who want to study financial history should choose specialist works; this book is suitable only as background supplementation.
Why is it recommended to learn the historical background before reading? The work was written relatively early and assumes some familiarity with English history. Learning in advance about Tudor trade and finance reduces the distance felt while reading and makes it easier to understand the characters' motives.

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About the author

William Henry Giles Kingston Author · British · 1814–1880

William Henry Giles Kingston (1814–1880) was a British author of adventure stories for young readers. Born in London, he spent part of his youth with his father in Porto, Portugal. He rose to fame in 1851 with Peter the Whaler and thereafter devoted himself to tales of the sea and exploration, writing more than a hundred books over his lifetime and also translating works by Jules Verne. His notable works include The Three Midshipmen, Captain Cook: His Life, Voyages, and Discoveries, and Great African Travellers: From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley, most of them drawing on seafaring, exotic adventure, and the deeds of the British Navy. He excelled at linking the adventures of young protagonists with informative and moral content, in briskly paced stories rich in maritime atmosphere that were widely popular with young readers in the Victorian era. The collection here contains 133 of his works. Public information on his early education and specific experiences is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.