Thoroughbreds

William Alexander FraserProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 604K words
Chapters: 61

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.Thoroughbreds by William Alexander FraserAuthor: Fraser, William Alexander, 1859-1933,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2005

Editor's review

Thoroughbreds is a novel by Canadian author William Alexander Fraser, a narrative work within the tradition of North American literature. The title refers to thoroughbred horses, and the story most likely revolves around horses, horse racing, or the fates of people connected with them, carrying a strong flavor of North American rural life and adventure. Fraser's writing generally emphasizes vivid settings and character action, with a brisk pace, making it suitable for readers who enjoy traditional English-language narrative and are interested in horses and nature. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to obtain and also serves as English reading material for experiencing the language style and narrative pleasures of early twentieth-century North American fiction. Readers can treat it as light English reading or observe animal and rural writing in Canadian English literature from the perspective of literary geography.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English-language novels and want to broaden their reading in North American literature
General readers interested in horses, horse racing, or rural adventure themes
Learners who need intermediate-level English texts for extensive reading
Literature enthusiasts interested in Canadian English literature and early twentieth-century narrative works

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer Chinese translations and are not comfortable with English originals
Readers who prefer contemporary urban themes or psychological suspense
Readers with no interest in animals or rural settings

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to grasp the characters and setting, then proceed chapter by chapter; there is no need to look up every word.
Keep a separate record of horse- and racing-related vocabulary; this builds terminology and aids comprehension of the plot.
After finishing, consider the work against the historical background of Canadian English literature and reflect on its rural and animal writing.
If using it for English study, choose dialogue-heavy passages to read aloud and feel the narrative rhythm and colloquial expression.

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

How difficult is the English in this book?

It is a moderately advanced English narrative work with traditional sentence structures and vocabulary that carries a certain period flavor. Readers with CET-4 or above can finish it with a dictionary and use it as extensive reading material.

Is the story definitely about horse racing?

The title refers to thoroughbred horses, and the available information indicates the work is a North American literary narrative; the specific plot needs to be confirmed by reading the original text. Horses and rural life can be expected to be important elements, but one should not assume in advance that the entire content revolves around horse racing.

What is the reading experience like with a public-domain ebook edition?

Public-domain ebooks are usually simply formatted and easy to obtain, suitable for reading on a phone or e-reader. Because there is no modern publisher's introduction or annotations, readers need to look up background information themselves, but the original text is preserved in its complete form.

Comments

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About the author

William Alexander Fraser Author · Canadian · 1859–1933

William Alexander Fraser (1859–1933) was a Canadian writer born in Nova Scotia and educated in New York and Boston. He travelled and worked as a prospector in India and North America, contributed to the Detroit Free Press, and later settled in Toronto; these experiences supplied rich material for his writing. Fraser produced six works, including Thoroughbreds, The Sa‘-Zada Tales, The Outcasts and Bulldog Carney. His fiction centres on horse racing and animals, as well as life in India and the Canadian Northwest. His novels are notable for their strong plots and vivid scenes, and for the vitality of his horses and animals. Public information about his life and work is limited, and his writing merits further study.