Their Yesterdays

Harold Bell WrightProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 367K words
Chapters: 37

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.Their Yesterdays by Harold Bell WrightAuthor: Wright, Harold Bell, 1872-1944,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2004

Editor's review

Their Yesterdays is a novel by the American writer Harold Bell Wright (1872–1944), classified under American and Canadian literature. Wright was known for popular moral narratives that often focus on ordinary people's choices and inner transformations in everyday situations. The book unfolds around the theme of "yesterday," with a tone of looking back and reflection, suited to quiet, slow reading. Its value lies in showing the narrative appeal of early twentieth-century American popular fiction: clear plotting, direct emotional expression, and evident moral concern, which offers reference for understanding the popular reading tastes and values of the time. Readers need not judge it by modern literary technique but may note how the characters choose between memory and the present. For those studying the history of American popular literature or seeking a gently paced English original novel for reading practice, this is a usable public-domain text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Learners seeking a gently paced English original novel for reading practice
Enthusiasts of American popular literature and moral narrative
Readers who prefer reflective, slow-reading stories about looking back

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plots, fast pacing, or suspenseful twists
Literary readers who prefer modern experimental narrative techniques
Beginners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who need annotated support

Reading tips

Proceed chapter by chapter, summarizing the changes in the characters' circumstances in one or two sentences at the end of each chapter
Note where the image of "yesterday" recurs, and consider how the theme is developed
Read alongside background material on early twentieth-century American society to understand its moral concern

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 kind of book is this, and what is its theme?

This is an English novel by Harold Bell Wright, classified under American and Canadian literature. Taking "yesterday" as its keynote, it has a tone of looking back and reflection, focusing on ordinary people's choices and inner transformations in everyday situations, and belongs to the early twentieth-century tradition of popular moral narrative.

What kind of writer was Wright?

Harold Bell Wright (1872–1944) was an American novelist known for popular narrative aimed at a broad readership, often centered on ordinary people's moral choices and life transformations. This material confirms only his birth and death years and the attribution of this book; other biographical details should not be inferred from this book description.

As an English original, is it hard to read?

This is early twentieth-century popular fiction with clear narrative, direct wording, and moderate sentence length; overall it is easier than the literary experimental works of the same period. Readers with intermediate English reading ability can read it through with a dictionary; a little historical background will make understanding the era and its moral vocabulary smoother.

Comments

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About the author

Harold Bell Wright Author · American · 1872–1944

Harold Bell Wright (1872–1944) was an American bestselling novelist and a former minister in the Christian Church. His fiction is mostly set in rural life and often shows plain country virtues triumphing over the values of modern industrial civilization; his stories are popular in style and carry a moralizing tone. Representative works such as The Shepherd of the Hills, The Winning of Barbara Worth, The Eyes of the World and When a Man's a Man embody this theme. Ten of his works are held in the collection, including Their Yesterdays, The Uncrowned King, Helen of the Old House and The Calling of Dan Matthews. Public information on the details of his life is limited, but the surviving works show that he was skilled at advancing moral themes through plot, and that he reached a wide popular readership in early twentieth-century America.