The Lost Road

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

3.2

Word count: 417K words
Chapters: 42

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 Road by Richard Harding DavisAuthor: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 1, 2000

Editor's review

The Lost Road is a short story collection by Richard Harding Davis, belonging to the public-domain category of American literature. Davis, a former journalist, is known for his keen observation and concise, forceful narration; the stories in this collection mostly revolve around adventure, travel, twists of fate, and human encounters, bearing the distinct flavor of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American popular fiction. Its value lies not in grand narrative but in the completeness and vivid sense of scene of its short pieces: characters often make choices in unfamiliar environments or unexpected situations, the plot moves briskly, and the endings frequently linger in the mind. For readers wishing to understand American short fiction of that period, this is a light and engaging sample; for writers, it offers an opportunity to observe how Davis builds suspense and brings a story to a close within limited space. It is well suited to reading a piece at a time during commutes or travels, without any need for continuous reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American short fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century
Casual readers who enjoy adventure and travel-themed short stories
Writing students studying narrative techniques in popular fiction
Readers looking to fill fragmented reading time with short pieces

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long continuous plots and complex character arcs
Readers expecting profound social critique or modernist experimental writing
Readers intolerant of early English short-story language style

Reading tips

Read each piece independently; after finishing one, pause and recall the story's central turning point.
Especially suitable for reading while traveling—compare the stories with the unfamiliar environment around you.
If using it for writing study, read each piece twice, focusing the second time only on how the opening quickly establishes the situation.
No need to finish it in one sitting; keep the collection at hand and take one or two pieces at a time.

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

Are the stories in this collection connected to one another?

The stories are basically independent, with no continuous main character or plot. They can be read in any order, or you can simply pick the ones that interest you.

Is Davis's writing style suitable for modern readers?

His narration is direct and vivid in scene, and the stories move quickly, so modern readers should find them easy to enter. However, some language and period background bear the marks of early American popular fiction and require a little adjustment.

Is this book suitable as English-learning reading material?

It can serve as extensive reading material, as sentence structures are not overly complex and the stories are short. But the book contains period expressions and some old-fashioned usage, so it is best attempted after gaining some foundation in English reading.

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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.