The Sword of Damocles: A Story of New York Life

Green, Anna Katharine, 1846-1935Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4

Word count: 773K words
Chapters: 78

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 Sword of Damocles: A Story of New York Life by Anna Katharine Green. Author: Green, Anna Katharine, 1846-1935. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Jul 31, 2010

Editor's review

In this work, Anna Katharine Green sets her story against the backdrop of New York life, building suspense around a Damocles' sword motif; it is an early American popular novel in which detective fiction and domestic sentiment intertwine. Green excels at generating tension through family relationships, property, and secrets, and the book's appeal lies in juxtaposing everyday city life with sudden crisis, making readers feel the pressure of suspended fate within a seemingly calm picture of New York. As a public-domain text, its value lies more in its status as a sample of the development of detective fiction and late nineteenth-century American urban narrative than in the strong pacing measured by contemporary suspense standards. While reading, note the class information and family ethics revealed in dialogue; these details reflect the era better than the case itself. It suits continuous reading over a longer period, so as to keep up with the relationships and the unfolding of clues.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early American detective fiction and works by women writers
Readers and scholars of literature and history interested in late nineteenth-century New York urban narrative
Readers who enjoy family secrets and suspense of fate and can accept a slow-building narrative
Learners who need public-domain English texts for reading or translation practice

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking fast-paced modern suspense with strong reversals
Readers unwilling to read the original English and without a translation to rely on
Readers impatient with old-fashioned sentimental description and slow buildup

Reading tips

First sort out the main characters and their family and property relationships, then proceed to the plot.
Read the first few chapters continuously, adjust to the old-fashioned narrative rhythm, then read in sections by chapter.
Note the class and ethical information in dialogue and read it as period detail.
After finishing, compare it with the development of early detective fiction and consider the characteristics of its suspense techniques.

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 a detective novel or a family sentimental novel?

It is closer to a popular narrative in which the two intertwine: it creates suspense through family relationships, property, and secrets while also depicting New York urban life and the characters' emotions. It cannot be simply classified as pure detective puzzle-solving; readers should approach it expecting suspense combined with a novel of manners.

What does the title "The Sword of Damocles" refer to in the book?

The title borrows a classical allusion about power and crisis hanging overhead, used in the book to suggest disaster that may strike at any moment and the psychological pressure of the characters' situation. Its specific reference needs to be understood through the plot; the allusion's meaning should not be applied directly apart from the text.

Is the original English difficult to read?

This is a public-domain English original; the narrative pace is slow and the sentence patterns follow late nineteenth-century usage, so it is somewhat difficult for beginners. It is more suitable for readers with intermediate or higher reading ability who are willing to look up words and adjust to the old style; if reading only for plot, a translation can be used alongside.

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About the author

Green, Anna Katharine, 1846-1935 Author

Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935) was an important early American writer of detective fiction. Public information about her is limited, and few biographical details are recorded in the collection, but the 39 works held here show that she devoted herself to mystery and suspense writing over a long career. Representative works such as The Leavenworth Case, Agatha Webb, The Forsaken Inn: A Novel, The Golden Slipper, and Other Problems for Violet Strange, Hand and Ring, That Affair Next Door, The Chief Legatee, and The Filigree Ball center on criminal investigation and are notable for their careful plotting, tightly structured puzzles, and intricate relationships among characters. Her style emphasizes logical deduction and detailed description, giving her a recognized place in the development of early detective fiction and helping pave the way for later women writers of mystery fiction.