The Third Violet

Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 179K words
Chapters: 18

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 Violet by Stephen CraneAuthor: Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 20, 2006

Editor's review

The Third Violet is a novel by American writer Stephen Crane, classified under American and Canadian literature and released by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook. Crane is best known for The Red Badge of Courage, and his writing is celebrated for its spare, unsentimental, impressionistic style; this novel likewise shows his keen grasp of his characters' circumstances and emotions. For readers who want to understand late nineteenth-century American fiction or to read Crane's work systematically, this book is a worthwhile addition. The Project Gutenberg edition is free to obtain and easy to search electronically, making it suitable for extensive reading in the original English. Note that this is the original English text, and Crane's narration is concise and understated, so first-time readers may need time to adjust to its pace and its use of implication.

Who it's for

A good fit for

American literature enthusiasts who want to add Stephen Crane's novels to their reading
Readers with some English proficiency who want free access to classic works in the original
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century American fiction and narrative technique
University literature students who can use it as supplementary material for studying the author's work

Not a good fit for

Readers with weak English who cannot yet read full-length novels in the original
Readers expecting strong plot and clear resolutions, who are uncomfortable with understated narration
General readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed notes

Reading tips

Learn a little about Crane's spare style and the historical background first, then read the text; his narrative features are easier to appreciate that way.
Read it alongside The Red Badge of Courage to observe consistency and change in the author's style.
Pay attention to dialogue and scene details; Crane often conveys emotion in a few strokes.
Use the electronic edition's search function to keep track of character relationships and avoid missing clues because of the concise narration.

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 suitable for English beginners?

Not very. This is a full-length novel in the original English, and Crane's narration is concise and understated, with sentence structures and vocabulary that pose some difficulty for beginners. It is better to try it after reaching an intermediate or higher reading level, or to read a Chinese translation first to understand the story.

Does the Project Gutenberg edition include an introduction or notes?

According to the information available, the Project Gutenberg edition is primarily an electronic release of the text itself and typically does not include a modern scholarly introduction or detailed notes. Readers who need background can consult literary histories or studies of the author separately.

What is the reading value of this novel by Crane?

Crane is a distinctly styled writer in American literary history, and this book displays his concise, impressionistic narrative manner, which helps in understanding how late nineteenth-century American fiction was written. It has reference value for readers studying the author's development or broadening their reading of American literature.

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

Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900 Author

Stephen Crane (1871–1900) was an American writer who lived to be only twenty-nine. Fifteen of his works are held in this collection, commonly grouped under inspirational coming-of-age reading. His representative works include The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The Open Boat and Other Stories, The Little Regiment, and Other Episodes of the American Civil War, The Monster and Other Stories, and War is Kind. Drawing mainly on the American Civil War and the lives of the urban poor, his writing is cool and restrained, focusing on how characters respond psychologically and morally in extreme situations and forming a distinctive naturalist and impressionist style. The Red Badge of Courage, with its theme of fear and courage in war, has had a lasting influence, while Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, concerned with poverty and degradation, was controversial when first published. Public information on details of his life, education, and awards is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.