What Answer?

Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 370K words
Chapters: 37

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.What Answer? by Anna E. DickinsonAuthor: Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 18, 2005

Editor's review

Anna Elizabeth Dickinson was a prominent nineteenth-century American orator and social activist; this book is her literary work, using the novel form to carry her observations and interrogations of the social issues of her day. The title What Answer? is itself an open-ended question, pointing to how the characters answer amid the tension between morality and reality. As a work of fiction written by a social reformer, its value lies not in refined narrative technique but in letting readers hear the voices of that era's reformers and see how literature was used as a tool of social intervention. Read alongside materials on nineteenth-century American social history to understand the intertextual relationship between the novel and public oratory. For readers studying the intersection of American literature and social movements, this is a primary text worth close reading; for general readers, it is an entry point into nineteenth-century American reform discourse. The electronic edition is provided by Project Gutenberg, facilitating search and comparative reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and graduate students studying the relationship between nineteenth-century American literature and social movements
Readers interested in the writings of American women orators and reformers
English learners who wish to read a public-domain American novel in the original
Teachers of American history or literature courses, as supplementary material

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction expecting fast-paced plots and strong dramatic conflict
Beginner learners whose English reading is not yet proficient and who need annotated assistance
Readers who only want to learn about the author's life without reading the original work

Reading tips

Begin with the preface and chapter titles to grasp the book's central questions, then proceed to a close reading of the main text.
Read alongside historical materials on nineteenth-century American social reform, noting how the novel's themes echo real-world movements.
Excerpt the book's key questions into notes and map out each character's respective "answers" and differences in stance.
If the English is difficult, start with a Chinese translation or summary, then return to the original to appreciate its oratorical style.

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 a novel or a collection of speeches?

According to the sources, this is a literary work by Dickinson, classified under American literature. It is not a speech collection, but the author's experience as an orator leaves its mark on the style and themes; readers may note its argumentative expression.

What level of English is needed to read the original?

As a nineteenth-century English literary work, it has long sentences and formal diction. Intermediate or higher English reading ability is recommended, along with a dictionary; if you only want to understand the content, a Chinese translation or introduction can help first.

What are the practical advantages of the electronic edition?

Published by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book, it is freely accessible and convenient for full-text search, copying quotations, and comparing different editions—suitable for research notes and preparing classroom materials.

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About the author

Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932 Author · American · 1842–1932

Anna E. Dickinson (1842–1932) was an American abolitionist, women's rights advocate, and celebrated orator. Born in Pennsylvania, she devoted herself early to the anti-slavery cause and rose to prominence through her exceptional speaking ability at public gatherings, becoming one of the few nineteenth-century American women to pursue oratory as a profession. She campaigned actively for equal rights for Black Americans and strongly championed women's suffrage, and her speeches drew wide attention in her time. The library holds her work What Answer?, a novel that explores such issues as interracial marriage and social prejudice, reflecting her style of combining literary creation with social critique. Taken together, Dickinson's writings and speeches reinforced each other and had a positive influence on the discourse of social reform in nineteenth-century America. Because public information is limited, details of her life and specific experiences are not elaborated here.