Ernest Maltravers — Complete

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 801K words
Chapters: 81

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.Ernest Maltravers — Complete by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton LyttonAuthor: Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 24, 2004

Editor's review

Ernest Maltravers — Complete is a complete public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg, presenting this nineteenth-century English novel in one go. The complete edition's advantage is an unbroken narrative chain: readers need not switch between volumes and can more easily follow the rise and fall of the protagonist's fate and the interweaving of secondary characters. As a public-domain text, it is better suited to version comparison, close reading, and course supplementary material than to beginners relying on modern annotations. Before reading, it is advisable to first understand the novelistic tradition of the author's era, then enter the text, paying attention to narrator intervention, character dialogue, and social scene description. The electronic edition makes it easy to search character names and keywords, suitable for thematic tracking. Overall it suits English literature majors, public-domain book researchers, and patient readers of original texts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature students who wish to read the whole book in one go
Researchers who need the complete text for thematic search and version comparison
Leaders or course teachers organizing reading groups for long novels
Enthusiasts with experience reading English originals who prefer classical narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers new to nineteenth-century English fiction who need a guide
Casual readers who only wish to read excerpts or short stories
People impatient with the pace of long classical narratives

Reading tips

Read the background of the work and a brief author biography first, then enter the main text
Take brief notes along character lines to track changes in the protagonist's relationships
Use electronic search to locate keywords and support thematic reading
If it feels difficult, read a volume edition at a steady pace first, then return to the complete edition

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 the content of the complete edition different from the volume edition?

According to the material, the two are different organizations of the same work: the complete edition collects the whole book at once, while the volume edition splits it by volume. There is no indication that the content itself is rewritten; the difference lies mainly in reading and search convenience. For reading straight through, choose the complete edition; for discussion in stages, the volume edition.

Is this ebook suitable for classroom use?

It can serve as a classroom supplementary text, especially for courses that need the complete original for close reading and thematic tracking. But it has no modern annotations or introduction, so teachers must supply background materials and discussion questions themselves. For beginner-oriented courses, it is advisable to use it alongside an annotated scholarly edition.

What background knowledge is needed to read this novel?

It is advisable to understand the basic features of nineteenth-century English fiction, such as serial publication, narrator intervention, and the depiction of social customs. A general awareness of the author's literary environment can help in understanding character setup and plot arrangement. There is no need to read research monographs first, but reliable introductions to the author and work may be consulted.

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About the author

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873 Author

Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton (1803–1873) was an English novelist, playwright and politician. The library holds 220 of his works, spanning a wide range of subjects: the historical novel The Last Days of Pompeii, set against the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79; Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes, on the Roman tribune Cola di Rienzo; and Eugene Aram, a narrative drawn from a criminal case. He also wrote society novels such as Pelham, the family portrait The Caxtons, and the historical study Athens: Its Rise and Fall; the short tale The Haunted and the Haunters, or The House and the Brain reflects his interest in the supernatural. His style is ornate and his plots elaborate, combining romantic colouring with social satire. Public information is limited, and systematic Chinese-language appraisal of his life and work remains scarce.