The Great Captain: A Story of the Days of Sir Walter Raleigh

Katharine Tynan (also known as Katharine Tynan Hinkson)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8

Word count: 93K words
Chapters: 10

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 Great Captain: A Story of the Days of Sir Walter Raleigh by Katharine TynanAuthor: Tynan, Katharine, 1861-1931,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 17, 2011

Editor's review

Set against the age of Sir Walter Raleigh, this novel combines historical narrative with a portrait of a remarkable figure. Katharine Tynan has a fine touch for situation and feeling, and through her story readers can sense the atmosphere of the late Elizabethan court, the adventures of seafaring, and the political currents of the time. As a free public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, its value lies in offering low-threshold access to the narrative style of late Victorian English historical fiction and in showing how later writers imagined and shaped Raleigh as a historical figure. Its treatment of loyalty, ambition, and the turns of fortune makes it a suitable introduction to the tradition of English historical fiction. It is best read not as strict history but as literary imagination marked by its era; with some basic background on Raleigh's life, the author's choices between fact and invention become easier to appreciate. Overall, it suits readers willing to read the English original at a slower pace and interested in the transition from Tudor to Jacobean England.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English historical fiction and are willing to read the original at a slower pace
Those interested in the Elizabethan court and seafaring themes
Students who want a public-domain ebook for insight into late Victorian narrative style
Intermediate and advanced learners who need English originals for extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Historians expecting rigorous historical verification or scholarly annotation
Readers of popular fiction who prefer fast plotting and strong suspense
Beginners whose English reading is not yet fluent and who need Chinese annotation

Reading tips

Look up a chronology of Raleigh's life before reading, so as to distinguish fact from fiction.
After each chapter, summarize character motives in two or three sentences to keep up with the narrative pace.
Mark historical terms and check them later in batches, so as to avoid constant interruption.
Read the seafaring and court scenes alongside a map to strengthen the sense of space.

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 biography of Sir Walter Raleigh?

Not in the strict sense. It is a story-driven narrative set in Raleigh's age, shaped by the author's literary imagination of a historical figure. Readers can take in the atmosphere of the period, but should not treat the plot as historical fact.

How difficult is the English?

It is late Victorian narrative prose, with long sentences and fairly formal diction. Intermediate and advanced learners can read it through with a dictionary; beginners are better served by annotated adaptations or by reading background material in Chinese first.

Why is background knowledge recommended?

The novel involves court politics, seafaring exploration, and personal relationships. Without a basic sense of Raleigh's era, literary invention is easily mistaken for fact. A little background first makes the story easier to follow.

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About the author

Katharine Tynan (also known as Katharine Tynan Hinkson) Author · Irish · 1861–1931

Katharine Tynan (1861–1931) was an Irish poet and novelist, born near Dublin and died in Wimbledon, London. Her writing was deeply shaped by her Catholic faith and Irish nationalist sympathies, and she was closely associated with the poets W. B. Yeats and Gerard Manley Hopkins. After her marriage she often published under the name Katharine Tynan Hinkson. A prolific author, she wrote numerous novels, eighteen volumes of poetry and several volumes of autobiography, and was an important participant in the Celtic Revival. Her work ranges widely, from narratives set in Irish rural life to historical tales and children's books, marked by a plain, delicate style with a strong sense of place and religious feeling. Six of her works are held in this collection, including The Story of Bawn and An Isle in the Water.