The Red Planet

Locke, William John, 1863-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 561K words
Chapters: 57

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 Planet by William John LockeAuthor: Locke, William John, 1863-1930,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2003

Editor's review

The Red Planet is a novel by the English author William John Locke (1863–1930). Despite its title, it is not science fiction but a novel of social manners of the kind Locke excelled in. In the early twentieth century Locke wrote of English village and city life in a warm, humorous style; his characters often have comic yet endearing edges, and his plots turn on human entanglements and strokes of chance. This book has been digitized free of charge by Project Gutenberg and is suited to readers who wish to sample the pleasures of Edwardian popular English fiction. As you read, note how the author handles serious emotion in a light comic manner, and how dialogue reflects differences of class and regional accent. Because the book is of considerable age, some of its social attitudes differ from those of today; it is best read as literature in its historical context. The electronic edition makes it easy to search for names and chapters, and is suitable both for extensive reading in the original English and for comparison with Locke's other works, so as to observe the continuity of his narrative style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Edwardian English novels of social manners and a light comic touch
Intermediate learners who wish to read English originals extensively through public-domain e-books
Those interested in early twentieth-century English village life and speech
Readers who wish to understand Locke's novelistic style and broaden their reading of English literature

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting Mars-themed or science-fiction adventure
Readers who prefer taut suspense and have little patience for slow-paced novels of manners
Researchers who need modern annotation and scholarly introduction to read comfortably

Reading tips

Do not be misled by the title; read a chapter or two to confirm that it is a novel of manners, then adjust your expectations.
Note differences of accent and diction in the characters' dialogue; you may copy out passages to appreciate the author's craft in portraying character.
Read it alongside Locke's other works to observe similarities and differences in his humor and structural arrangement.
Use the e-book's search function for names; clarifying the relationships before entering the middle of the plot will make for smoother reading.

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 science fiction?

No. Despite the title The Red Planet, according to available information it is a novel by the English author William John Locke, belonging to his tradition of novels of manners and humor, not a science-fiction story about Mars or space. Readers should adjust their expectations and read it as an early twentieth-century English novel.

What kind of writer is Locke?

William John Locke was an English novelist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, known for light, humorous stories of city and village life with vivid characters. This book follows that vein, emphasizing human feeling and the pleasures of dialogue rather than strong plot momentum, and suits readers who like slow-paced novels of manners.

How is the Gutenberg electronic edition best read?

The Gutenberg edition is a free public-domain text without modern annotation, but easy to download and search in full. It suits reading in installments on a tablet or phone, using the search function to clarify relationships among characters; for a deeper understanding of the period, consult literary-historical sources alongside it.

Can I read it if my English is only average?

The original is early twentieth-century English, with rather long sentences and dialogue colored by dialect. Intermediate readers can read it extensively with a dictionary, focusing on plot and characters; beginners may struggle and are advised to start with a simplified or annotated edition before attempting the original.

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About the author

Locke, William John, 1863-1930 Author

William John Locke (1863–1930) was a British novelist, with 23 of his works held in this collection. His representative works include The Belovéd Vagabond, The Mountebank, The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol, Septimus, The Rough Road, The White Dove, The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne: a Novel, and Jaffery. Public information about his life is limited, so this entry offers only a brief account based on the works in the collection and the clues they provide. Judging from these titles and the character of the works, Locke's novels are largely character-centered, with brisk plots that often carry a romantic and humorous tone, blending vagabondage, adventure, and social observation, and creating many vividly drawn figures whose fortunes rise and fall. His works found a readership in the early twentieth century, and some were adapted for the stage and screen, leaving a mark on popular literature and general reading.