The Shades of the Wilderness: A Story of Lee's Great Stand

Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5
Word count
496K words
Chapters
50

Tags

English Originals Historical Fiction Historical ReappraisalMilitary StrategyWilderness SurvivalBrotherhoodHeroismHuman NatureAdventure NarrativeTurbulent EraAmerican Civil WarYouth 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 Shades of the Wilderness: A Story of Lee's Great Stand by Joseph A. AltshelerAuthor: Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Jun 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Shades of the Wilderness: A Story of Lee's Great Stand is a historical novel by Altsheler set against the American Civil War, part of his related series of historical adventures for young readers. The author excels at weaving the course of battles into the observations and actions of a young protagonist, bringing grand history down to concrete human situations with brisk pacing and vivid scenes. Centered on Lee's great stand, the book can serve both as an entry point for understanding the course of a phase of the war and as a sample of historical fiction for young readers. Note that it is a fictionalized narrative, marked by the limitations and perspective of its era, and should not be used as a strict work of history. Readers may consult a concise Civil War timeline alongside the book to clarify the chronology of battles; for younger readers, parents or teachers can help distinguish fact from literary invention and discuss how the author shapes characters and images of friend and foe.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Consult a concise American Civil War timeline first, then read the corresponding chapters.
  2. Mark historical facts versus fictional episodes while reading, and make a brief comparison afterward.
  3. Young readers can read with a parent and discuss the characters' choices and the cost of war.
  4. If reading the English original, read a whole chapter first and look up unfamiliar words afterward to keep the narrative flowing.

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
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50

FAQ

Is this book a work of history or a novel? The sources classify it as juvenile literature, a historical novel by Altsheler. It builds its story around Lee's great stand within a historical framework, but the characters and plot involve literary invention and it should not be cited directly as a work of history.
Can I read it without knowing about the American Civil War? Yes, but it is advisable to learn the basic timeline and main generals first, or you may get lost among battles and names. The book is strongly narrative, and with minimal background even beginners can follow it.
What age of young readers is it suitable for? The sources give no specific age rating. Given the subject and length, it suits middle-school readers and above with reasonable English reading ability and an interest in historical stories; younger readers should read with a parent or teacher and added background explanation.

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About the author

Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919 Author

Joseph A. Altsheler (1862–1919) was an American author known for historical adventure novels, with 33 of his works held in this collection. Because public information is limited, details of his life are difficult to set out, yet his works show that he drew on American history, especially the frontier and the Civil War era. Representative titles include The Riflemen of the Ohio, The Guns of Bull Run, The Forest Runners, The Hunters of the Hills, The Rulers of the Lakes and The Shades of the Wilderness, most set in early Kentucky, the Great Lakes region or the Civil War. His novels are tightly plotted, stress historical atmosphere and youthful adventure, and often appear in series; they had a certain influence on early twentieth-century American historical reading for young people.