A Chicago Princess

Barr, Robert, 1850-1912Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 431K words
Chapters: 44

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.A Chicago Princess by Robert BarrAuthor: Barr, Robert, 1850-1912,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 18, 2016

Editor's review

Robert Barr was an Anglo-American writer of popular fiction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for brisk plotting and witty dialogue. A Chicago Princess continues his specialty of transatlantic cultural collision, setting the bluntness of the American Midwest against the sophistication of old Europe on the same stage. As a free electronic text from Project Gutenberg, the book is easy to access and makes a good introductory sample of Anglo-American popular fiction of the period. Its value lies not in deep literary experiment but in offering a light window: readers can observe what kind of comic conflict and what kind of female figure called a "princess" appealed to mass readers a century ago. For those studying popular literature, textual circulation, or the Gutenberg project, the very way this book is obtained is part of the reading experience. Reading the original English text alongside notes on the period is recommended for understanding its social banter.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-speaking readers interested in late 19th-century Anglo-American popular fiction
Readers who want a light comic novel to learn about transatlantic cultural differences a century ago
Intermediate and advanced English learners who need free English e-texts for extensive reading practice
Digital humanities enthusiasts interested in Project Gutenberg and public-domain e-books

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting profound social critique or modern literary technique
Beginners whose English is not yet proficient and who need a Chinese translation alongside
Readers who prefer contemporary subjects and fast-paced narrative

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively
Jot down details of the Anglo-American cultural contrasts as you read, for easy review later
Pair it with other works by the same author to compare his usual techniques of popular comedy
If using it for study, retell each chapter's main idea in English after finishing it

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?

Not really. The book is in the original English and carries the language habits and cultural allusions of a century ago, so beginners may easily get stuck on vocabulary and background. Intermediate and advanced learners reading for pleasure can push through with a dictionary and notes, but it is not ideal as a first English novel.

Why is this book published by Project Gutenberg?

The author, Robert Barr, died in 1912, so his works have entered the public domain in the United States and elsewhere. Project Gutenberg specializes in such free electronic texts, so this book is a freely accessible and distributable public-domain work, not a newly published commercial edition.

What background should I know before reading?

It helps to know the differences between late 19th-century Midwestern American urban culture and European aristocratic tradition. Much of the humor comes from the clash of two sets of social habits; readers with a basic sense of transatlantic travel, marriage views, and social etiquette of the time will more easily catch the author's jokes.

Comments

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About the author

Barr, Robert, 1850-1912 Author

Robert Barr (1850–1912) was an English-language writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and 21 of his works are held in this collection. He wrote mainly fiction, spanning detective, adventure, and humorous or satirical subjects. He created the shrewd French detective Eugène Valmont and also wrote tales with historical and craft elements, such as The Sword Maker, as well as works focused on everyday life and character, including In the Midst of Alarms and Jennie Baxter, Journalist. Barr was skilled at unfolding plots in a light tone, with lively dialogue and brisk pacing, earning him a place in popular fiction. His works remain of interest to scholars of popular English literature and early detective fiction.