The Third Circle

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 286K words
Chapters: 29

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 Third Circle by Frank NorrisAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 31, 2015

Editor's review

The Third Circle is a short work by Frank Norris, released as a public-domain ebook through Project Gutenberg. Norris is known for American naturalist fiction, and this piece continues his attention to character circumstance and conflicts of desire; it is short and tightly structured, making it a good sample of his short-form style. The Gutenberg edition contains only the text and basic bibliographic information, with no modern editorial introduction, so readers need to supply their own background on the author and the naturalist literary context. Its reading value lies in offering, in a short time, a sense of late nineteenth-century American fiction's character portrayal and scene management, and it can serve as supplementary material for American literature courses or reading groups. Those expecting the full development of a long novel or detailed scholarly annotation should choose another edition; it is better treated as a light prelude to Norris's work.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want a short introduction to Frank Norris's writing style
Students and teachers needing supplementary short texts for American literature courses
Lovers of late nineteenth-century American fiction and naturalist tendencies
Organizers seeking public-domain English short stories for reading-group discussion

Not a good fit for

Scholars of American literature needing detailed scholarly notes and author biographies
Readers who prefer full-length narratives and find short works unsatisfying
Those with weak English reading skills who need a Chinese translation for support

Reading tips

Before reading, look up Norris's life and the naturalist literary background to establish basic coordinates.
Read it through once, then revisit key scenes, noting the conflict between characters' desires and circumstances.
For a reading group, design two or three discussion questions around the ending and the characters' choices.
Compare with plot summaries of Norris's major novels to appreciate the economy of the short form.

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 work a novel or a short story?

In length and structure it is closer to a short work, suitable for reading in one or two sittings. The Gutenberg edition provides only the text and no additional classification; readers may treat it as a short sample of Norris's work rather than a full-length novel.

Does the Gutenberg edition have an editorial introduction?

No. Project Gutenberg provides public-domain electronic texts, usually with only the main text and basic bibliographic information, without modern scholarly introductions, notes, or author chronologies. Readers needing background should consult literary histories and author studies themselves.

Is it suitable for English beginners?

Not really for absolute beginners or elementary readers. The text is late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English fiction, with somewhat challenging sentence structures and vocabulary, and no Chinese notes. Readers with college-level English reading ability will find it easier to progress.

Do I need to read other works by Norris first?

No. It is a standalone short work and can be read directly. To better understand its naturalist style, you may afterward consult plot summaries and background of Norris's major novels for comparison, but this is not a prerequisite.

Comments

Find this book

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

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.