The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls

Overton, Jacqueline, 1887-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
169K words
Chapters
17

Tags

English Originals Literary FiguresChildren's Literature Literary EnlightenmentSea AdventureLegendary LivesAuthor BiographyLiterary GiantsFighting IllnessInspirationComing of AgeScottish FlavorYouth Reading

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 Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls by Jacqueline OvertonAuthor: Overton, Jacqueline, 1887-,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 4, 2005

Editor's review

This is a children's biography of Robert Louis Stevenson by Jacqueline Overton, an early author of books for young readers, and a public-domain title in the Project Gutenberg free ebook collection. Its value lies not in scholarly rigor but in telling a writer's life as a readable story in relatively plain, narrative language, making it suitable as an entry point to children's literature or biography. Since the original is in English and moderately challenging, readers can encounter the English biographical style while learning about Stevenson and the background of his works. It should not be used as research material; it is better suited to shared parent-child reading, extensive reading by English learners, or as light supplementary reading on the nineteenth-century British literary scene. The electronic edition has no guaranteed illustrations, so the reading experience depends on the device and the formatting of the edition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read a brief introduction to Stevenson's major works first, then return to the biography; the thread of his life will be clearer.
  2. Read chapter by chapter; after each chapter, retell the content in two or three sentences to combine comprehension with English practice.
  3. For shared parent-child reading, have an adult explain the gist first, then let the child choose passages of interest to read aloud.
  4. Do not look up every place name and personal name; grasp the main narrative first and deal with new words on the second pass.

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

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English beginners to read directly? Not really for complete beginners. The original is a biography for native English-speaking children, and its sentences and vocabulary are still difficult for beginners. It is better to read it extensively after gaining some foundation, or to read it with an adult, understanding the gist first and then dealing with language details.
Do I need to know Stevenson's works before reading this book? Not necessarily, but knowing his major works such as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in advance will help. The biography focuses on telling the story of his life, and understanding the background of his works helps readers connect his experiences with his writing, making the reading more engaging.
Does this edition have illustrations or annotations? The information indicates that it is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, with no mention of illustrations or annotations. The actual reading experience depends on the edition you obtain and your device; it is advisable to choose a reader with clear formatting and to have a dictionary tool at hand.
Can it be used as school classroom material? It can be used as public-domain supplementary English reading, especially suitable for extensive reading or light tasks involving the writer's background. But it is not a pedagogical adaptation and lacks vocabulary lists and exercises, so teachers need to design reading tasks and control the difficulty themselves.

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About the author

Overton, Jacqueline, 1887- Author · American · 1887

Jacqueline Overton (born 1887) was an American author who wrote popular works on Long Island and local history. Public information about her life is limited, and details of her early education, career, and writing life are difficult to verify; what can be confirmed is chiefly that her works were addressed to general readers, especially young people. Her book The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls is among her better-known works, noted for its clear narrative and accessible language, helping young readers learn about the life and writings of the Scottish author. Overall, Overton's writing focused on making history and biography accessible, emphasizing readability and the communication of knowledge, and she left a modest mark in local history and biographical works for young readers.