Trilby

George Louis Palmella Busson du MaurierProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 586K words
Chapters: 59

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.Trilby by George Du MaurierAuthor: Du Maurier, George, 1834-1896,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 29, 2012

Editor's review

Trilby is an English novel with a Bohemian atmosphere by George Du Maurier, centered on the lives of young artists in Paris's Latin Quarter; the title character is a young woman of singular charm. The work depicts, in a light tone, the interactions among painters, musicians, and models, while incorporating the psychological and mystical elements popular at the time, creating a narrative style that is both realistic and tinged with legend. Its value for readers lies in its vivid portrayal of the atmosphere of the nineteenth-century Paris art world and its depiction of the subtle relationships among the characters; the language carries the wit and sentimentality of the late Victorian era and serves as a good sample for understanding popular English fiction of the period. Readers interested in the relationship between illustration and literature should also note the author's own background as a painter. While reading, one may wish to pay attention to shifts in the narrator's tone and to how legendary elements intertwine with everyday scenes.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Victorian English fiction
Those interested in the subject of the Paris Bohemian art world
Readers who want to understand nineteenth-century popular literature and its tradition of illustration
Readers with some English proficiency willing to read classic works slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern genre fiction
Readers impatient with nineteenth-century narrative pacing and lengthy description
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need a Chinese parallel text

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get a feel for the narrative tone, then decide whether to read the whole book or selected parts.
Pay attention to how the art-world scenes and character relationships are developed, and keep brief character notes.
Where the historical background is unfamiliar, consult materials on the Paris Latin Quarter and artistic life of the period.
An audiobook or reading aloud in sections can help you adjust to the rhythm of nineteenth-century English sentences.

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 story is Trilby?

According to the source material, this is an English novel by George Du Maurier, centered on a young woman named Trilby and related characters in the Paris art world. The specific plot requires reading the original, but the book as a whole has a Bohemian life setting and legendary coloring and belongs to the nineteenth-century popular fiction tradition.

Can I understand it without a background in nineteenth-century literature?

Yes, but it requires some patience. The language carries the style of its era and the narrative pace is slow; it is advisable to start with chapter summaries and then gradually move into the main text. A little familiarity with the Paris art world will make it easier to grasp the character relationships and the meaning of the scenes.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to reading English originals?

It is better suited to readers who already have some experience reading English and are willing to read classics slowly. If you are just starting with original texts, you might first read excerpts or use an annotated edition; if you are looking for light, fast reading, the narrative density of this book may pose a challenge.

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About the author

George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier Author · British · 1834–1896

George du Maurier (1834–1896) was a French-born British cartoonist, illustrator and novelist, born in Paris and died in London. From 1865 he contributed to the satirical magazine Punch and became known for his cartoon True Humility, his drawing style and humour shaping contemporary British social observation. In later life he turned to fiction; his representative novels Peter Ibbetson and Trilby both carry elements of fantasy and psychological interest, and the character Svengali from Trilby became a classic literary figure, later adapted many times. His subjects often involve artistic circles and British social life, with a style combining satire and warmth. Five of his works are held here, including Social Pictorial Satire, The Martian: A Novel and English Society. Public information is limited, and his novelistic reputation rests mainly on the two representative works above.