Dragonflies: Stories of Summer Messengers and Sun Heralds

Löns, Hermann, 1866-1914Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4
Word count
111K words
Chapters
12

Tags

Foreign Literature Essays and Miscellany Nature ObservationSpiritual ComfortSlow ReadingEco AwarenessNatural HistoryProse MasterpiecesBeautiful EssaysPoetic ExpressionSeasonal CycleExotic Culture

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.Wasserjungfern: Geschichten von Sommerboten und Sonnenkündern by Hermann LönsAuthor: Löns, Hermann, 1866-1914,Language: German, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Mar 24, 2015

Editor's review

Hermann Löns is a representative figure of German regional literature and nature writing. This book, titled after the dragonfly ("water nymph"), tells of summer messengers and sun heralds in a blend of nature observation and essay-like stories. Combining natural history knowledge with sensitive description, it depicts both insect ecology and the atmosphere of summer fields, suited to seasonal reading that savors the rhythm of nature writing. This is a free Project Gutenberg edition, with the text in German, classified under zoology, indicating its natural history dimension. Readers can treat it as German nature prose, focusing on the observational perspective and language style rather than expecting a systematic entomology textbook. Readers without German or needing a field guide will find it limited.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read by season; summer fits the atmosphere of the summer messengers best, one or two pieces at a time.
  2. Keep a German dictionary handy for plant and animal names and dialect expressions.
  3. Distinguish literary description from natural history observation while reading, noting the ecological details the author focuses on.
  4. Read alongside similar nature prose to appreciate the language features of German nature writing.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

FAQ

Is this book a novel or nature observation? It is closer to nature observation and essay-like stories, centered on dragonflies and summer fields, combining natural history knowledge with sensitive description. It is neither a plot-driven novel nor a systematic textbook.
What level of German is needed to read it? The text is in German and involves plant and animal names and regional expressions. Intermediate or higher German reading ability is recommended, with a dictionary at hand. Beginners can start with short pieces and need not finish it in one go.
Does the book contain a dragonfly field guide or taxonomic index? Sources classify it under zoology, but its main character is nature writing and stories, not a professional field guide. For taxonomic indexing and illustrations, a separate entomology field guide should be used alongside.
Why does the title call dragonflies water nymphs? "Wasserjungfern" is one of the German names for dragonflies, with a poetic flavor. The author uses summer messengers and sun heralds as the theme, highlighting the connection between dragonflies and the natural atmosphere of summer.

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About the author

Löns, Hermann, 1866-1914 Author

Hermann Löns (1866–1914) was a German writer whose biographical details are limited in publicly available sources, though his body of work is substantial, with seven titles held in this collection. His writing centers on rural life and nature, often set against the heathland of the Lüneburg region, in a plain style marked by patient observation of the natural world. Der Wehrwolf: Eine Bauernchronik presents rural fate through historical narrative, while Der letzte Hansbur focuses on the struggles of heathland farmers. The animal stories in Mümmelmann, along with nature sketches such as Mein buntes Buch and Wasserjungfern, reveal a close attention to fields, birds, beasts, and the seasons. His work combines storytelling with strong local color and holds a place in the German traditions of regional and nature writing; in this collection it is classified under inspirational and personal growth.