The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador: A Boy's Life of Wilfred T. Grenfell

Dillon WallaceProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.1

Word count: 301K words
Chapters: 31

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 Story of Grenfell of the Labrador: A Boy's Life of Wilfred T. GrenfellAuthor: Wallace, Dillon, 1863-1939,Language: English, Class: F1001: North America local history: Canada, Release Date: Oct 7, 2005

Editor's review

This book is a biography of Wilfred Grenfell written by Dillon Wallace for young readers, telling the life of a doctor who practiced medicine, did missionary work, and carried out sea rescues along the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland. The author himself was long active in Labrador, and his narrative carries the warmth of firsthand experience, bringing vividly to life the harsh conditions of the polar seas and the details of fishing boats and dog-sled life. With the subtitle "A Boy's Life," the book is written in relatively plain language, focusing on character and adventure; it is suitable as English biography reading for young readers and also offers general readers an accessible entry into the local history of northern Canada and the history of medical missions. Readers should note the values of the era in which it was written and keep a critical eye on the missionary narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers of biography and adventure with basic English
Readers interested in northern Canada, Labrador geography, and polar life
General history enthusiasts interested in medical missions and sea rescue
Teachers and students seeking public-domain English reading for young readers

Not a good fit for

Specialist readers seeking in-depth academic analysis or systematic medical history
Beginners still at the start of English reading who struggle with long sentences and place names
Readers sensitive to religious missionary narrative who wish to avoid such content

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to understand the stages of Grenfell's life, then read through in chronological order.
Use a map of Canada to look up place names in Labrador and Newfoundland and build a sense of space.
Extract the rescue and medical episodes and take notes on character and historical context.
Young readers can take one chapter a day and retell the main content in two or three English sentences afterward.

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 age group is this book suitable for?

The original book is positioned as a biography for young readers, with a narrative focused on character growth and adventure and language that is not overly difficult. Junior and senior high school readers with some English foundation can try it; adult readers can also use it as accessible reading to learn about Grenfell's life and the local history of Labrador.

What does Grenfell mainly do in this book?

The book recounts how, as a doctor, he provided medical care to fishermen and residents along the Labrador coast, took part in sea rescues and missionary work, and was long active in harsh conditions. Specific plot details should follow the original narrative, through which readers can learn about medical and seafaring life in northern Canada in the early twentieth century.

What background knowledge is needed for reading?

It helps to know the geographical location of Labrador and Newfoundland in northeastern Canada and the cold seas and fishing environment; a basic understanding of early twentieth-century medical conditions and missionary activity also helps in understanding the characters' choices. No specialist background is required; just use a map when encountering place names.

What is the reading experience of the public-domain electronic edition like?

This book comes from a public-domain e-book project and is usually available in plain text or multiple formats, making it easy to download and search. Layout and illustrations may differ between editions, so choose one with clear layout and complete chapters; you can take your own notes while reading to make up for the limited annotations in the electronic edition.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Dillon Wallace Author · American · 1863–1939

Dillon Wallace (1863–1939) was an American lawyer, outdoorsman and writer. In 1903 he joined Leonidas Hubbard on an expedition into the Labrador wilderness, during which Hubbard lost his life; drawing on that experience, Wallace wrote the bestseller The Lure of the Labrador Wild (1905) and later published some twenty-six works, including The Long Labrador Trail and Ungava Bob. Ten of his books are included here, most of them adventure tales and boys' adventure stories set in Labrador and the northern wilderness, such as The Wilderness Castaways and Left on the Labrador. His writing draws on firsthand experience and combines documentary accounts with adventure fiction for young readers. Public information about the details of his life is limited.