With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War

Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3

Word count: 681K words
Chapters: 69

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.With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War by G. A. HentyAuthor: Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 4, 2006

Editor's review

This is a historical adventure novel by G. A. Henty set against the Seven Years' War, with the English original from Project Gutenberg. Henty's works typically place a young protagonist within real historical events, letting readers follow the characters through marches, battles, and political upheavals; this book likewise revolves around Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War. Its value lies in weaving the military and diplomatic landscape of eighteenth-century Europe into a story, making it suitable as an introductory historical read for those interested in Prussian history and war narrative. At the same time, the book carries the narrative style of nineteenth-century English juvenile historical fiction, with character portrayal and stance bearing clear marks of its era; modern readers should read it with a critical eye. The electronic edition has no modern introduction, so reading it alongside a brief history of the Seven Years' War or a map is recommended to fill in the background.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy historical adventure novels and are interested in the Seven Years' War
Young readers who want to learn about the age of Frederick the Great through story
Learners with good English reading ability who wish to expand their historical vocabulary
Readers collecting Henty's works or public-domain historical novels

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer the pace of modern fiction and dislike old-fashioned narration
Those who need rigorous scholarly analysis rather than storied history
Readers with weak English who find old-style long sentences difficult

Reading tips

First consult a brief history of the Seven Years' War and a map of Europe to establish the chronological and geographical framework.
After each chapter, record in one or two sentences the protagonist's war situation and key events.
When encountering old-fashioned expressions or military terms, look them up in batches and keep vocabulary notes.
Read the novel's plot against the historical facts, noting the distinction between narrative fiction and historical record.

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 historical work or a novel?

According to the materials, it is a story written by Henty, a historical adventure novel rather than a rigorous historical work. It unfolds its narrative against the Seven Years' War, and readers may treat it as storied history rather than a scholarly reference.

Do I need to know about the Seven Years' War before reading?

You need not master it beforehand, but knowing the basic background helps greatly. It is advisable to read a brief history of the Seven Years' War first and know the main belligerents and Frederick the Great's position before entering the story; understanding will be smoother.

Is the English difficult?

This is nineteenth-century English juvenile historical fiction; the narration is fairly direct, but the sentences tend to be long and contain military and historical vocabulary. It suits readers with good English reading ability; beginners may read slowly with a dictionary.

Does this edition have a Chinese translation?

The materials show the book's language is English and do not mention a Chinese translation. If you need a Chinese version, you must look for a translation from another publisher; this book itself is an English electronic edition.

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

Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902 Author

George Alfred Henty (1832–1902) was a well-known British writer of historical adventure novels for young readers in the nineteenth century. The collection here contains 107 of his works, most of them drawn from major historical events in Europe and the Americas: By Right of Conquest is set during Cortez's conquest of Mexico, Under Wellington's Command takes the Peninsular War as its background, and For the Temple deals with the fall of Jerusalem. He typically placed a young hero at the centre of real historical scenes, weaving military campaigns and political struggles together with personal adventure. The plots are tightly paced and rich in detail, and they reflect a distinctly British outlook and the moral tastes of the Victorian age. His output was considerable, and his books had a lasting influence on later historical adventure fiction. Public information about his family, education and career is limited, so no speculation is offered here.