A Thorny Path — Volume 05

Georg Moritz EbersProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 79K words
Chapters: 8

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 Thorny Path — Volume 05 by Georg Ebers. Author: Ebers, Georg, 1837-1898. Language: English. Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is the Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook of Volume 05 of Georg Ebers's A Thorny Path, classified under Germanic-Scandinavian literature (PT). As one volume of a multi-volume historical novel, its value lies not in standing alone but in carrying forward the fates of characters and the spirit of the age from earlier volumes: readers can follow the plot threads of the first four volumes and observe how the author lays out scenes of ancient life and advances conflict and character relationships. Ebers, known for his archaeological background, often weaves detailed depictions of ancient customs, religion, and everyday objects into the narrative, making this volume suitable for readers interested in historical fiction set in the Roman–early Christian era. This volume is an English electronic text from a public-domain archiving project and is suitable as material for studying the narrative methods of nineteenth-century historical fiction or for tracing the structure of a multi-volume serial. In terms of reading setting, it is better suited to continuous reading in a quiet environment or to browsing in comparison with adjacent volumes; taken alone, the volume will feel somewhat discontinuous at points where the plot connects to other volumes.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers interested in nineteenth-century historical fiction and ancient settings
Readers systematically reading the multi-volume A Thorny Path who need to complete Volume 05
Researchers and students studying Ebers's works or public-domain electronic texts
Readers who enjoy detailed depictions of ancient customs and objects and a slower narrative pace

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a self-contained complete story and do not wish to rely on earlier volumes
Readers who prefer fast pacing and strong plot and lack patience for lengthy exposition
Readers with limited English proficiency who need a Chinese translation for support

Reading tips

First skim summaries or tables of contents of the first four volumes and clarify the main character relationships before entering this volume.
While reading, note the place names, characters, and historical background that appear in the volume for easy cross-reference.
If using it for research, compare it with the author's other historical novels to observe his narrative and antiquarian methods.
Use the search function of the public-domain electronic text to look back at foreshadowing in earlier volumes and where characters first appear.

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

Can this book be read on its own?

Not really. It is Volume 05 of A Thorny Path, and its characters and plot continue from earlier volumes; reading it alone will create obstacles in understanding character relationships and cause and effect. It is best to read in volume order, or at least to first learn the main plot of the first four volumes.

Is this a Chinese book or an English book?

The main text is in English. The metadata lists the language as English and the classification as PT (Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures), with the public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg. Chinese readers need a certain level of English reading ability.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is an early free eBook project founded by Michael Hart in 1971. This edition is a public-domain cleaned text that is easy to search, copy, and cite academically, but it usually does not include notes, introductions, or translator's annotations from modern publications.

What background knowledge is helpful before reading?

It helps to understand the style of Ebers's historical novels and the historical background of his time. The book contains many descriptions of ancient life and religious customs, and basic knowledge of the Roman–early Christian period can reduce difficulties in comprehension.

Comments

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About the author

Georg Moritz Ebers Author · German · 1837–1898

Georg Ebers (1837–1898) was a German Egyptologist and novelist. Born in Berlin in 1837, he served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. His major contribution to Egyptology was the discovery, editing, and publication of the famous Ebers Papyrus, which provided valuable material for the study of ancient medical texts. At the same time, he devoted himself to spreading Egyptological knowledge through literature, writing historical novels such as An Egyptian Princess and Uarda. These works weave the social life and historical settings of ancient Egypt into their narratives, making specialized scholarship more accessible to general readers. His works number 172 in the library's collection, including the serialized volumes of An Egyptian Princess and Cleopatra, which shows how widely his historical novels circulated. Overall, Ebers combined scholarly rigor with a novelist's gift for popular expression, occupying a distinctive place in the popularization of Egyptology in the nineteenth century.