Alexander's Sword

Castelo Branco, Camilo, 1825-1890Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

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 espada de Alexandre by Camilo Castelo BrancoAuthor: Castelo Branco, Camilo, 1825-1890,Language: Portuguese, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Apr 15, 2010

Editor's review

Camilo Castelo Branco is a major nineteenth-century Portuguese novelist. This book is a Portuguese-language public-domain electronic text, distributed free by Project Gutenberg. The listing gives only the author, language, classification, and release date, with no specifics of plot, so its editorial value lies mainly in documentary accessibility and language-learning use: readers can read the original Portuguese at no cost and get a feel for nineteenth-century Portuguese narrative language and syntax. The electronic edition suits Portuguese majors and comparative-literature researchers as supplementary reading material, and also readers interested in Iberian literature who wish to engage with the original text. Before reading, it is advisable to learn about the author's era and the context of Portuguese literature, and not to expect the kind of full plot guide that Chinese readers are accustomed to.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Portuguese majors using it as extensive reading material in nineteenth-century Portuguese
Comparative-literature researchers looking for Portuguese public-domain text resources
Readers interested in Portuguese literature who are willing to read the Portuguese original
Teachers or researchers needing a free electronic text for language analysis

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Portuguese at all who need a Chinese translation and guide
General readers expecting modern typography, annotations, and detailed translation and commentary
People who only want a quick plot summary rather than contact with the original text

Reading tips

First look up the author's life and the context of nineteenth-century Portuguese literature, then read the text.
For close reading, go paragraph by paragraph with a Portuguese dictionary, noting nineteenth-century usage and syntax.
If reading mainly for breadth, read through the whole text first for the feel of the language's rhythm, without checking every word.
Read it alongside other works by the author or Portuguese novels of the same period to build context.

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

Does this book have a Chinese translation or a detailed content summary?

According to the given information, only details of the Portuguese public-domain electronic text are provided, with no Chinese translation or specific plot summary. For a Chinese translation or guide, other publications or research materials must be sought separately; a complete Chinese introduction cannot be obtained from this electronic edition alone.

Can someone who does not know Portuguese read this book?

The information shows that this book is a Portuguese text with no translation attached. For readers with no Portuguese at all the barrier is high; it is advisable first to have basic Portuguese, or to use it with dictionaries, translation tools, and literary-history materials. It should not be used as a beginner's reader.

Why does the book's description mention only Project Gutenberg?

The description in the information mainly introduces the background of Project Gutenberg and does not develop the book's plot. The editorial recommendation can therefore judge its use only on the basis of author, language, classification, and its nature as a public-domain e-book; readers should rely on the actual text and should not expect a detailed content summary that is not present in the information.

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About the author

Castelo Branco, Camilo, 1825-1890 Author

Camilo Castelo Branco (1825–1890) was a Portuguese novelist whose works number 47 in this collection, showing how prolific he was. His representative works include Amor de Perdição: Memorias d'uma familia, Amor de Salvação, A espada de Alexandre, Salve, Rei!, and A Morgadinha de Val-D'Amores.Entre a Flauta e a Viola. Judging from these titles, his writing centers on themes such as love, religious salvation, history and kingship, and social manners, spanning novels, miscellaneous reflections, and narrative prose. His tone is sentimental and dramatic, and he excels at portraying emotional conflict and the twists of fate. Because public information is limited, details of his life, nationality, and common classification cannot be confirmed, and no existing introduction is available; even so, the scale and thematic range of the works in this collection indicate his standing in Portuguese literature and merit readers' attention to the works themselves.