The Lost House

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 106K words
Chapters: 11

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 Lost House by Richard Harding DavisAuthor: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 1999

Editor's review

The Lost House is an English-language work by Richard Harding Davis, made available as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Davis was active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and his fiction is known for tight plotting and vivid scenes; this work likewise serves as an accessible entry point into American popular narrative of that period. The electronic edition preserves the original chapter structure and language, is not long, and has a moderate reading threshold. For readers who want to encounter public-domain English originals at low cost, it is a friendly choice: it conveys the narrative rhythm of older fiction and can also serve as English extensive reading material. Note that this is the original English text, not a translation, and the Gutenberg edition prioritizes textual readability, with no modern notes or introduction, so readers must handle the background themselves. If you prefer plot-driven fiction, or are looking for English extracurricular reading for a child, you can add it to your list; if you need in-depth literary analysis or teaching support, it is better paired with other materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want low-cost access to public-domain English novels
Learners who need English extensive reading material and prefer plot-driven narrative
Readers interested in American popular literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Parents who want to supplement their children's English extracurricular reading

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Readers who want modern notes, introductions, and teaching support materials
Readers who prefer long-form in-depth literary analysis or academic research texts

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot; guess unfamiliar words first and look them up later, avoiding frequent interruptions to the reading rhythm.
After each chapter, retell the gist in English in two or three sentences, combining comprehension with language output.
If using it for English study, choose a favorite scene for close reading and organize high-frequency expressions.
Before reading, briefly learn about the author's era; this helps in understanding the characters' words and behavior and the narrative interest.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English eBook provided by Project Gutenberg, not a Chinese translation. The language preserves the original's style, and it suits readers with some English foundation or willingness to read with a dictionary. If you need a Chinese parallel text, you must find a translation separately.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg aims to provide free public-domain eBooks, and its editions focus on textual completeness and readability, usually without modern notes, introductions, or illustration descriptions. Readers can obtain it free of charge but must supplement background knowledge themselves; the reading experience is relatively plain.

Can I understand it without notes?

The plot is relatively clear and the language difficulty moderate; most readers can finish it with a dictionary or the word-lookup function of an e-reader. If unfamiliar with the historical background, some details may require outside reference, but this does not affect overall understanding.

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About the author

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916 Author

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was an American writer and war correspondent, with 49 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, yet the range of his writing can be seen from the titles listed here: he wrote both war reportage and fiction and character sketches. Notes of a War Correspondent records a reporter's firsthand experiences in the field, Real Soldiers of Fortune tells of adventurous soldiers, while Gallegher and Other Stories and Van Bibber and Others show his skill in the short story, with a light touch and a gift for portraying city life and a variety of characters. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have circulated among young readers, combining the immediacy of journalism with the readability of fiction; they have influenced later war reporting and popular narrative.