With the King at Oxford: A Tale of the Great Rebellion

Church, Alfred John, 1829-1912Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
320K words
Chapters
33

Tags

English Originals Historical Fiction Military StrategyEnglish Civil WarAdventure JourneyFate and FortuneLoyalty and BetrayalSiege of OxfordRoyal TurmoilPatriotismTurbulent EraYouth Perspective

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 the King at Oxford: A Tale of the Great Rebellion by Alfred John ChurchAuthor: Church, Alfred John, 1829-1912,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 25, 2013

Editor's review

This is a historical adventure novel set against the English Civil War, by Alfred John Church, an author skilled at embedding a young protagonist's fate in real historical events. Centered on Oxford's years as the Royalist stronghold, the book lets readers follow the hero through enlistment, siege, and escape while absorbing the political divisions and social atmosphere of seventeenth-century England. Its value lies not in a grand panorama of war but in linking the course of history through a personal perspective, offering an accessible entry for readers interested in English history or historical fiction. The style reflects late Victorian juvenile reading: clear narration and steady pacing, suitable as original English reading material. Readers need not verify every historical name at once; grasp the main storyline first, then revisit the background for a smoother experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read the preface or a brief history of the English Civil War first to establish the basic framework of the conflict between Charles I and Parliament.
  2. Proceed chapter by chapter, noting in one or two sentences how the protagonist's situation changes after each.
  3. Do not pause at unfamiliar place names or historical figures; read on for plot, then look them up together.
  4. Read alongside other historical novels on the same subject and note how the author balances fact and fiction.

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
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no background in English history? It can be read, but some background is advisable. The story is set in the English Civil War and involves the Royalist-Parliamentarian conflict and Oxford as the Royalist center. Without any knowledge of these concepts, the first chapters may be somewhat demanding; reading a brief overview of the Civil War first will make the characters' positions much easier to follow.
What English level does it require? It reflects the style of late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English juvenile historical fiction: fairly complete sentence structures and not overly difficult vocabulary, but with period expressions and historical proper names. It suits readers with intermediate ability who are used to long English narratives; beginners may read with a dictionary or bilingual materials.
What are the features of this public-domain ebook edition? The book comes from Project Gutenberg, a free public-domain electronic text easily accessed on computers, e-readers, or phones. It provides mainly the text itself, usually without a modern scholarly introduction, detailed notes, or maps. For deeper historical understanding, prepare relevant reference materials separately.

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

Church, Alfred John, 1829-1912 Author

Alfred John Church (1829–1912) is known as a British writer and translator of classical literature, best known for retelling Greek and Roman history and literature for general readers. Nine of his works are held in the collection, including Stories from the Greek Tragedians, Stories From Livy, Stories from Virgil and Stories of the Old World, which draw on classical epics, histories and tragedies. Also present are narrative works on Rome, Carthage and the fall of Athens, such as Lords of the World and Callias, as well as With the King at Oxford, set in Oxford. Public information is limited and details such as his nationality remain to be confirmed. Overall, his writing emphasizes narrative and readability, introducing the classical tradition to young people and general readers, and has had some influence on the popularization of classical literature in the English-speaking world.