Verner's Pride

Wood, Henry, Mrs., 1814-1887Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 1.4M words
Chapters: 143

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.Verner's Pride by Mrs. Henry WoodAuthor: Wood, Henry, Mrs., 1814-1887,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 15, 2005

Editor's review

Verner's Pride comes from the hand of Mrs. Henry Wood, a prolific Victorian novelist whose work is known for family secrets, property disputes, and moral tests. The book revolves around "the pride of the Verners," and the title itself already hints at the tension between family honor and individual fate. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, its value for readers lies in direct access to the narrative texture of nineteenth-century British popular fiction: slowly unfolded character relationships, a narrative voice colored by moral judgment, and dramatic conflict centered on inheritance and respectability. For readers studying Victorian domestic fiction, social customs, or women's writing, this is a usable primary text. There is no need to rush; pay attention to how the author builds suspense through everyday details, and to the choices characters make under the pressure of family reputation. Suitable as extensive reading for a long novel or as supplementary reading for literary history; progressing in sections is more comfortable than reading it straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian British fiction
Enthusiasts of domestic fiction or nineteenth-century popular literature
Patient general readers accustomed to public-domain English long novels
Students who want to understand Mrs. Henry Wood's narrative style

Not a good fit for

Modern readers who prefer fast-paced plots and strong conflict
Beginner readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers with little patience for long family-ethics narratives

Reading tips

Sort out the Verner family relationships first; the main text will then read more smoothly
Read in sections by chapter, reviewing the property and inheritance threads every few chapters
Note the narrator's evaluative tone toward characters' words and deeds to grasp the Victorian novel's moral perspective
Read alongside other Victorian domestic novels to compare narrative pace and thematic emphasis

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 is the approximate reading difficulty of this book?

It is moderately to considerably difficult long-form English reading. The text is nineteenth-century English, with long sentences and a slow narrative pace, and readers must work out the character relationships and family background themselves. Readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability and experience with long English novels will adapt more easily; beginners are advised to use a translation or a guide.

How should "Pride" in the title be understood?

Here "Pride" is closer to family honor and respectability than to simple personal arrogance. It refers to the Verner family's regard for their status and name, and how that regard shapes characters' judgments and relationships. As you read, watch the tension between maintaining family reputation and facing real circumstances; this is a key to understanding the book's theme.

Can I understand this public-domain book without annotations?

Most of the plot is understandable, but some period background, social customs, and wording may need checking. The Project Gutenberg edition has no modern annotations; readers are advised to look up unfamiliar customs or forms of address as they go, or to read a short piece on Victorian British social background first, which can noticeably reduce difficulties.

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About the author

Wood, Henry, Mrs., 1814-1887 Author

Mrs. Henry Wood (1814–1887) was a British novelist of the Victorian era. Public information about her is limited, and few details of her life are known, yet the library holds 36 of her works, suggesting that she was widely read in her day. She is best known for the novel East Lynne, which deals with domestic upheaval, marital crisis and emotional entanglement; its intricate plot, strong sentiment and moral admonition made it a favourite on the stage as well. She also wrote the three-volume The Story of Charles Strange, the Johnny Ludlow series and The Channings, most of which are set against the daily life of country gentry and ordinary people and rely on serial-style suspense to drive the narrative.