An Orkney Maid

Barr, Amelia E., 1831-1919Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 346K words
Chapters: 35

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.An Orkney Maid by Amelia E. BarrAuthor: Barr, Amelia E., 1831-1919,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 22, 2009

Editor's review

An Orkney Maid is a novel by Amelia E. Barr set in the Scottish Orkney Islands, classified under PS (American and Canadian literature) at the Library of Congress. Barr was known for depicting island life and human feeling in plain, unadorned prose, and this book continues her close observation of local scenery and women's fates. Through the eyes of an Orkney girl, readers encounter the islands' natural environment and community ethics. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easily accessible and makes a good entry point for self-learners of English literature into late nineteenth-century popular fiction. Readers should attend to the dialect coloring and descriptions of local customs, which give the work its distinctive regional texture. The pacing is slow, emphasizing atmosphere and character over strong plot; it suits quiet, segmented reading and can serve as literary background material on Orkney culture.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in Scottish island life and customs
Learners who want to improve their reading through an English-language novel
Researchers studying late nineteenth-century women's fiction
Casual readers who enjoy slow-paced, atmospheric narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced suspense with strong plots
Chinese readers uncomfortable with English originals and dialect
Those seeking in-depth biographical or critical material on the author

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to get a feel for the rhythm, then decide whether to read closely chapter by chapter.
Keep a map handy to follow Orkney place names and strengthen the sense of place.
When you meet a dialect word, guess from context first and check it only after finishing the passage.
Compare with other works by the same author to observe her approach to local writing.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the English original, released as an eBook by Project Gutenberg and catalogued as English under American and Canadian literature. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or reference tools to assist them.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free eBooks, and this is one of its public-domain electronic editions, easy to obtain and read on electronic devices at no cost. The edition itself contains no modern scholarly notes or introduction, so readers must supply background material themselves.

Can I understand it without relevant background knowledge?

Yes, but patience is required. The novel is set against island life and involves local customs and dialect, so without background knowledge it may take a little longer to grasp characters' motives. It is advisable to look up basic geography and cultural facts about the Orkney Islands as you read.

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About the author

Barr, Amelia E., 1831-1919 Author

Amelia E. Barr (1831–1919) was an Anglo-American novelist active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because public information is limited, details of her early life, education and nationality cannot be confirmed and are not speculated upon here. The collection holds 26 of her works, chiefly historical romances and regional fiction, along with an autobiography. Remember the Alamo draws on the Texas War of Independence, The Bow of Orange Ribbon is set in New York, while A Daughter of Fife, Christine: A Fife Fisher Girl and An Orkney Maid focus on Scottish fishing villages and island life, as do A Knight of the Nets and Jan Vedder's Wife. Her autobiography, All the Days of My Life, can be read alongside her novels. Barr wrote in a plain style, often portraying ordinary people's fortunes and family loyalties; her books found a wide readership in the English-speaking world and are now mainly of interest to students of nineteenth-century popular and regional fiction.