The White Desert

Cooper, Courtney Ryley, 1886-1940Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 393K words
Chapters: 40

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 White Desert by Courtney Ryley CooperAuthor: Cooper, Courtney Ryley, 1886-1940,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 21, 2006

Editor's review

The White Desert is an English-language novel by Courtney Ryley Cooper, classified under American and Canadian literature and released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Cooper was active in the first half of the twentieth century, and his works often carry the rhythm of popular narrative, making them a useful sample for understanding the landscape of American popular fiction of that period. Titled "The White Desert," the book itself hints at desolation and adventure; readers may approach it as a regionally colored narrative work. As a public-domain e-book, it is extremely easy to obtain and suits English reading practice or browsing literary historical materials. One caveat: the Gutenberg edition is the original English text with no modern introduction or notes, so readers must supply their own background knowledge. Overall, the book is better suited to extended reading than to core research, its value lying in low-cost access to the language and themes of early twentieth-century American fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English readers who want low-cost access to early twentieth-century American fiction
Literature enthusiasts with a casual interest in the history of American popular fiction
English learners who need public-domain English texts for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers seeking detailed notes and introductions
General readers who prefer the pace and themes of contemporary fiction
Readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual edition

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to get a feel for the language before deciding whether to read the whole book.
Use a dictionary or an e-reader's lookup function to ease the difficulty of reading the original English.
Read alongside other early twentieth-century American novels to compare themes and approaches.

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 in Chinese or English?

According to Project Gutenberg, the book is the original English text, labeled as English and classified under American and Canadian literature; no information suggests a companion Chinese translation exists.

Can I understand it without notes?

This is a public-domain electronic text with no modern introduction or notes. Readers with reasonable English proficiency can finish it with dictionary tools, but may need to look up period background or slang on their own.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material; its length and subject suit learners willing to tackle an original novel. But lacking grading and notes, it is not recommended as a first choice for beginners or elementary learners.

Comments

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About the author

Cooper, Courtney Ryley, 1886-1940 Author · American · 1886–1940

Courtney Ryley Cooper (1886–1940) was an American journalist and writer. Public information about his life is limited; what can be confirmed is his identity as a journalist and his career as an author, as well as his works The White Desert and The Cross-Cut. His popular fiction often draws on Western settings and circus life, and he used a reporter's eye to capture the atmosphere of frontier landscapes and the daily life of touring companies. His plots prioritize readability and carry the adventurous flavor of early American popular literature. Two of his works are held in this collection. Although dedicated scholarship on him is scarce today, these works remain a fragment for understanding American popular reading tastes in the first half of the twentieth century.