Cynthia Steps Out

Berry, Erick, 1892-1974Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 259K words
Chapters: 26

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.Cynthia Steps Out by Erick BerryAuthor: Berry, Erick, 1892-1974,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Oct 2, 2016

Editor's review

Cynthia Steps Out is an English-language young adult novel in the free Project Gutenberg ebook library, written by Erick Berry (1892–1974). It is catalogued under PZ, young adult literature within language and literature, indicating that it is aimed at younger readers and centres on the experiences of a girl named Cynthia. This is a 2019 electronic edition released by Project Gutenberg, freely available to the public and suitable as English-language reading material. Its value lies in showing the narrative style of early twentieth-century English young adult fiction: the language is relatively plain and the plot follows the protagonist's growth, making it useful for getting a feel for the expression habits and the young adult writing of the period. It suits bilingual readers for light extensive reading or as a sample of early English young adult fare. Note that the available material supplies only the author, classification and release information and does not detail the plot; readers should treat it as a language-practice and literary-pleasure read rather than a research text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate English learners who want to practise extensive reading with an English-language young adult novel
General readers interested in early twentieth-century English young adult literature
Student readers who need light English reading for spare moments
Newcomers who want to sample the public-domain ebooks of Project Gutenberg

Not a good fit for

Beginner English readers who need a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition
Scholars expecting in-depth literary analysis or a scholarly annotated edition
Readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary plots with strong suspense

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the difficulty, then decide whether to read intensively or extensively.
Keep a vocabulary notebook and record recurring everyday expressions and conversational phrases.
After finishing, retell Cynthia's main experiences to check your grasp of the plot.
Read it alongside young adult novels by the same author or from the same period and compare their narrative styles.

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 suitable for English beginners?

Not really for complete beginners or elementary readers. It is an English-language young adult novel, catalogued under PZ young adult literature, and although the language is relatively plain, it still requires a certain vocabulary and reading stamina. Intermediate-level readers are advised to try it; beginners might start with a bilingual or simplified edition.

What era is this edition from?

According to the material, this electronic edition was released by Project Gutenberg in 2019, with a stated release date of 2 October 2016. The author, Erick Berry, lived from 1892 to 1974; the work itself is an earlier English young adult novel, and the electronic edition is a free public-domain release.

Do I have to pay to read this book?

No. The material shows it comes from Project Gutenberg, a platform known for providing free public-domain ebooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. Readers can access the electronic text directly at no cost, but note that it is in English only, with no Chinese translation or introduction.

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About the author

Berry, Erick, 1892-1974 Author · American · 1892–1974

Erick Berry (1892–1974) was an American writer of children's literature. He is best known for historical novels for young readers, in which he placed young protagonists within specific historical settings, allowing the stories to present the atmosphere and everyday details of an era alongside their main threads of adventure and growing up. His representative work is Cynthia Steps Out. Public information about him is currently limited: his life, education, and the full range of his writing are not systematically documented, and only the one work mentioned above is held in this collection. Understanding of his style and literary standing therefore rests mainly on this representative work and on his positioning as a writer of historical fiction for young readers, making a fuller assessment difficult at present.