Witching Hill

Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 310K words
Chapters: 31

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.Witching Hill by E. W. HornungAuthor: Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 23, 2010

Editor's review

Witching Hill is a novel by the British author E. W. Hornung, released as a free electronic book by Project Gutenberg. Hornung is known for creating the gentleman thief figure, and this book likewise shows his narrative strength in building suspense and atmosphere. The story revolves around a place called "Witching Hill," and the title itself suggests an eerie quality; it is suitable for readers who enjoy classic English novels and are interested in supernatural or mysterious subjects. As a public-domain electronic book, it is easy to read at any time on electronic devices and is also suitable as supplementary reading for English literature courses, helping students appreciate the language style and narrative rhythm of British popular fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. When reading, one need not pursue a fast-paced plot but can instead note how the author builds tension through environmental description and dialogue. For readers studying Hornung's work or British popular literary genres, the book offers a text that can be compared with his other works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who enjoy classic English novels and mysterious atmosphere
Literature students studying Hornung or British popular literature
Learners who want to practice English reading with public-domain electronic books
Readers interested in British fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced, plot-driven modern thrillers
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Readers impatient with the pacing of classic English narrative

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first and note how the description of the place sets the tone for the whole book.
Keep a notebook to record character relationships and key clues so as to follow the suspense.
Read alongside Hornung's other works to observe similarities and differences in his narrative technique.
If English reading is difficult, first read through the gist of each chapter and then return to the details.

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 suitable for English beginners to read directly?

Not really. This is an English original, and its vocabulary and sentence patterns carry the features of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, which beginners may find difficult. It is advisable to try it after gaining some foundation in English reading, or first read a Chinese translation to understand the plot and then return to the English original.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free electronic books, and this book is its public-domain text, easy to obtain and read on a computer, phone, or e-reader. The text is in English and suitable for readers who need the original or for research purposes, but it usually does not include modern introductions or annotations.

Do I need to know the author's other works before reading this book?

No. The book can be read independently and does not depend on prior knowledge of the author's other works. If you are interested in Hornung's narrative style, you can look for his representative works afterward for comparison, which will help you better appreciate his characteristics.

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

Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921 Author

E. W. Hornung (Ernest William Hornung, 1866–1921) was a British author best known for creating the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. The collection here holds twenty-nine of his works, including the Raffles stories such as The Amateur Cracksman, Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman and A Thief in the Night, as well as crime and adventure novels like Stingaree and Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front, based on his experiences in the First World War. His writing is brisk and neatly plotted, with a polished tone suited to characters who live on the edge of the law, and it holds a place in the traditions of crime and adventure fiction. Public information about his life is limited, so this introduction concentrates on his subjects and style.