Wandering Heath

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 275K words
Chapters: 28

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. Wandering Heath by Arthur Quiller-Couch. Author: Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Jul 3, 2006

Editor's review

Wandering Heath is a work by the English writer and scholar Arthur Quiller-Couch, made available here as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Quiller-Couch is known for his essays, fiction, and regional legends, and this book continues his narrative interest in the English countryside and moorland scenery, with polished prose and an unhurried pace that rewards quiet, attentive reading. For Chinese readers, its value lies not only in the stories themselves but in the window it offers onto English provincial life and literary taste, and it can also serve as a sample of English prose style from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy and inexpensive to obtain and convenient to dip into at any time. Note that this is the original English edition and was written long ago, so the language is somewhat removed from present-day English; first-time readers may need a dictionary or explanatory notes. Overall, it is better suited to literary enthusiasts as supplementary reading than to those seeking plot-driven entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English literature and rural themes
Literature lovers who want to expand their reading with original English texts
Those interested in English prose style from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century
Students who need a free public-domain eBook for extracurricular reading

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for strong plots and fast-paced fiction
Those with weak English who cannot yet read original literary texts independently
Readers who only want to learn the content through a Chinese translation

Reading tips

Start by reading a shorter piece through once to get used to the author's rhythm and narrative manner, then gradually expand.
Keep a vocabulary notebook to record recurring dialect words and old-fashioned expressions, and review them together after finishing.
Read alongside a map of England or material on local scenery to help build a sense of the stories' setting.
Read a short section each day and write down two or three impressions to avoid giving up because of language difficulties.

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?

This is the original English edition, released by Project Gutenberg, with the language marked as English. There is no Chinese translation in the book, so readers need some English reading ability, or a dictionary and other aids.

Can I read this book without a literature background?

You can try, but patience is needed. The language carries the marks of its period, and the narrative pace is slow. It is best to start with shorter sections and first get a feel for the language and atmosphere rather than trying to understand everything at once.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free eBooks that are easy and inexpensive to obtain. This edition is a public-domain text, convenient for personal reading and research, but it usually does not include modern notes or an introduction, so readers need to supply background knowledge themselves.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, 1863-1944 Author

Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) was an English writer with a substantial body of work, of which 41 titles are held in this collection. His writing covers a wide range: essays on the craft of reading and writing such as On the Art of Reading and On the Art of Writing, and narrative works set against the sea, winter, and the fireside, including The Roll-Call of the Reef, I Saw Three Ships and Other Winter Tales, Two Sides of the Face: Midwinter Tales, and The Laird's Luck and Other Fireside Tales. He also retold fairy tales from the Old French in The Sleeping Beauty and other fairy tales from the Old French, and wrote From a Cornish Window, a book that reflects his attention to the Cornish landscape and local life. Public information is limited and biographical details are hard to verify, but the surviving works show a graceful, unhurried prose that combines the reflective habits of an essayist with a storyteller's pleasure in narrative, leaving its mark on English prose and short fiction.