A Little Rebel

Duchess, 1855？-1897Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 165K words
Chapters: 17

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 Little Rebel by DuchessAuthor: Duchess, 1855?-1897,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 2, 2005

Editor's review

A Little Rebel is an English novel by the late nineteenth-century British author Duchess, issued in Project Gutenberg's public-domain ebook series. Judging from the title and the author's active years, it belongs to the vein of late Victorian popular fiction, typically centered on family relations, marriage ideals, and the situation of young women. Its value for readers lies in offering a window onto how popular literature of the period shaped images of women and emotional ethics: the plot advances through conflicts of character, the language bears the marks of its era, and the length is moderate. For those studying nineteenth-century British popular fiction, women's writing, or who wish to feel the narrative rhythm of the Victorian era in the original, it is a light but usable text. Note that the author is identified only by a pen name and information is limited, so one should not over-infer the author's life. When reading, pay attention to the narrator's tone in judging the heroine's behavior, which is key to understanding the ideas of the era.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying late Victorian British popular fiction
English readers who wish to feel nineteenth-century narrative style in the original
Students interested in images of women and family ethics
Teachers who need public-domain English novels as course materials

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern fast-paced plots and strong suspense
Beginners with weak English who find nineteenth-century syntax difficult
Readers expecting detailed information on the author's life and creative background

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to grasp the heroine's character tone before deciding whether to read through, to avoid giving up midway because of the period language.
Mark sentences in which the narrator evaluates characters as you read, to help summarize the ideas about women of the time.
English learners can close-read dialogue-heavy chapters and skim the rest to keep up the pace.
Read it alongside other public-domain English novels of the same period to observe common features of popular narrative.

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 Duchess the author's real name?

The material shows only the author name Duchess, with dates given as 1855? to 1897; the question mark indicates the birth year is uncertain. This is more likely a pen name than a real name, and the available information is insufficient to confirm the identity, so one should not infer the author's experience from it.

How difficult is the English in this book?

As an English novel of the late nineteenth century, its syntax and vocabulary bear the marks of the era, with many long sentences and old-fashioned expressions. Readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability can attempt it; beginners are advised to use annotations or start with chapters containing more dialogue.

Why is this book available only as an ebook?

This edition was released by Project Gutenberg, a platform dedicated to providing free ebooks in the public domain. The book therefore circulates as an electronic text, not as a newly published paper edition from a publisher, and the version information is relatively brief.

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About the author

Duchess, 1855？-1897 Author

Duchess (1855?–1897) is an author with a distinctive pen name in the field of late nineteenth-century popular English fiction. Her real name and biographical details are very limited in publicly available sources, and even her birth and death years remain uncertain. The library holds eighteen of her works, including Phyllis, How to Marry Well, Rossmoyne, A Little Rebel, April's Lady: A Novel, The Hoyden, and Faith and Unfaith: A Novel. Judging from these titles and their common categorization, her writing often centers on courtship, family relationships, and the choices and growth of young women. The plots are light, carrying the sentimentality and moral admonition typical of popular fiction of the period; phrases such as “how to marry well,” “a little rebel,” and “hoyden” also suggest an interest in women's circumstances and the marriage market. Although her life is difficult to examine in detail today, these works still offer a sample for observing late Victorian popular reading tastes.