The Red Eric

Robert Michael BallantyneProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 542K words
Chapters: 55

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 Red Eric by R. M. BallantyneAuthor: Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael), 1825-1894,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Jun 7, 2007

Editor's review

The Red Eric is a young-adult adventure novel by the nineteenth-century British author R. M. Ballantyne, representative of the Victorian tradition of sea and exotic narrative. Ballantyne himself had seafaring and overseas experience, and his works typically centre on a boy's coming of age, weaving courage, responsibility, teamwork and natural challenges into the plot. Through the protagonist's adventures the book shows judgement and responsibility in the face of hardship; the language is plain and the pace brisk, making it a good entry point for reading in the original English. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easy to obtain and convenient for classroom distribution or self-study. When reading, note how the author handles the boy's psychological changes and the moral-educational intent behind the adventure narrative; also be aware of the period limitations of nineteenth-century works regarding race and views of civilisation, and read with a critical eye for greater benefit.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle-school readers trying English-language young-adult adventure fiction for the first time
Literature students studying Victorian children's literature and adventure narrative
English teachers who need free English graded-reading material
Casual readers who enjoy sea, maritime and exotic subjects

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for modern fast-paced suspense or science fiction
Beginners with limited English vocabulary who need Chinese annotations
Readers impatient with nineteenth-century values and narrative pace

Reading tips

Skim the chapter titles first to grasp the plot direction, then read closely chapter by chapter to ease the pressure of long sentences.
Keep a vocabulary notebook, focusing on nautical and natural-environment words and memorising them in context.
After finishing, write a short review of which of the protagonist's choices moved you most, as practice in English output.
Read alongside other young-adult adventure novels of the same period to observe similarities and differences in narrative mode.

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

What English level is this book suitable for?

Overall it is a nineteenth-century young-adult novel, with longer sentences than modern popular reading and vocabulary coloured by seamanship and the period. It is recommended for readers at high-school level or above, or those who can persevere through a chapter with a dictionary. If your vocabulary is weaker, read a Chinese summary first to grasp the plot, then return to the English original.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free electronic texts that are easy to download, print and distribute in class, and it usually preserves the original language and chapter structure. It is not a modern annotated edition and lacks a glossary or introduction, so it is better suited to readers with some independent reading ability.

What period limitations should I watch for while reading?

Nineteenth-century adventure novels often carry the civilisational hierarchies and stereotypes of their time, and their depictions of exotic peoples and nature may discomfort modern readers. It is best to understand such content as historical context and to examine the author's stance as you read, rather than accepting the narrative's value judgements wholesale.

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About the author

Robert Michael Ballantyne Author · United Kingdom · 1825–1894

Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825–1894) was a Scottish writer of children's literature, born in Edinburgh. At sixteen he went to Canada and worked for the Hudson's Bay Company for six years, an experience that later supplied material for his adventure stories; after returning to Scotland in 1847 he devoted himself to writing and produced more than a hundred adventure novels, of which ninety-seven are held in this collection. His representative works include The Coral Island, The Dog Crusoe and his Master, Black Ivory, The Lighthouse and Martin Rattler, mostly drawing on seafaring, desert-island and frontier adventure, with tight plots and solid detail that combine instruction with appeal for young readers. He was also skilled in watercolour painting. Public information on his early education and private life is limited.