A Fair Barbarian

Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4

Word count: 236K words
Chapters: 24

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 Fair Barbarian by Frances Hodgson BurnettAuthor: Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 1, 2005

Editor's review

A Fair Barbarian is a brisk novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden. It follows a forthright young American woman who bursts into English provincial society, setting off a series of cultural clashes and social comedy. Burnett excels at drawing characters with gentle humor, contrasting pretentious social etiquette with honest directness, making for an easy read that still rewards close attention. As a public-domain ebook, it is short, the original English is clear, and it works well as an introduction to late nineteenth-century Anglo-American popular fiction, or for readers who want to experience cross-cultural differences through a light story. It suits分段 reading on commutes, before bed, or on weekend afternoons; while reading, note the tonal differences in dialogue and the subtle reactions in social situations, which are the main source of the book's charm.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like Burnett's work and want to finish her lesser-known novels
English learners hoping to understand Anglo-American cultural differences through light comedy
Commuters who need short English reading material to fill spare moments
Fans of late nineteenth-century provincial social fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plot, suspense, or fast-paced narrative
Beginners whose English reading ability is not yet up to a full-length original novel
Readers who prefer serious social critique or deep psychological portrayal

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to sort out the character relationships, then proceed chapter by chapter, one or two at a time.
Slow down at dialogue in social situations to catch the implications and comic effect.
Keep a pen or e-annotation handy to note details that reflect cultural differences for later review.
After finishing, compare with other Burnett works to appreciate the consistency of her humorous tone.

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

What English level is needed to read this book?

It is a late nineteenth-century popular novel with not overly complex syntax, but it contains period expressions and social dialogue. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who can handle unfamiliar words with a dictionary will be most comfortable; beginners may try a simplified or bilingual edition first before attempting the original.

Will not having read other Burnett works affect my reading?

No. This is a standalone story, and its characters and plot do not depend on other works. If you have read famous works such as The Secret Garden, this offers a glimpse of another side of the author's light comedy; if not, it will not hinder understanding.

What should I keep in mind when reading the ebook?

This is a public-domain electronic text, and the formatting may be plain. Use a reader with adjustable font and line spacing, and use bookmarks to mark chapters where characters appear, making it easier to compare relationships and follow the plot.

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

Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924 Author

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was an author of English-language children's literature whose works are often categorized in Chinese contexts as inspirational coming-of-age stories. This library holds 49 of her works, including her best-known titles A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, as well as versions and school editions centering on Sara Crewe. Her writing usually places children at the center, telling stories of how they keep their dignity, draw on imagination, and grow through hardship or sudden change, in a warm and sympathetic tone. Public information is limited, so her biographical details are not elaborated here; yet the repeated publication and adaptation of these works show that her portraits of girls and boys have circulated widely and left a lasting influence on later children's coming-of-age narratives.