Excelsior

Larmandie, Léonce de, 1851-1921Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 384K words
Chapters: 39

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.Excelsior by Léonce de LarmandieAuthor: Larmandie, Léonce de, 1851-1921,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Feb 22, 2006

Editor's review

Excelsior is a French-language work by the French writer Léonce de Larmandie (1851–1921), made available as a free e-book by Project Gutenberg. It falls under the category of French and Romance-language literature, suitable for readers interested in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French prose, essays, or fiction. Larmandie stood within the French literary tradition, and his writing typically carries the rhetorical sensibilities and spiritual character of French writing of that era; reading it allows one to feel the rhythm of the language itself and to glimpse the literary tastes of the time. As a public-domain e-book, its value lies in accessibility: readers can obtain the original without payment, making it suitable as French reading practice or supplementary material for the history of French literature. Note, however, that the book is in the original French, and the Gutenberg edition primarily preserves the text as it stands, lacking modern translation notes and an introduction, which may make it difficult for beginning learners of French. It is recommended for readers with some French foundation who are willing to read slowly with a dictionary, and it can also serve as a sample for understanding marginal works of late nineteenth-century French literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate to advanced French reading ability who wish to engage with public-domain French originals.
Researchers of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French literature who need primary texts.
Collector-type readers interested in Project Gutenberg public-domain e-books and lesser-known French literary works.
French majors using it as supplementary material for extracurricular extensive reading or textual analysis practice.

Not a good fit for

General readers with no French who wish to read a Chinese translation.
Beginning readers who need detailed annotation, introductions, and background information.
Leisure readers expecting a tightly plotted, accessible modern novel.

Reading tips

First read through once to grasp the overall feel of the language, then read closely paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, avoiding getting stuck on unfamiliar words from the start.
Consult histories of French literature for the late nineteenth-century French literary background to help understand the text's context.
Read the book alongside works by the same author or contemporaries to appreciate differences in language style and theme.
Use an e-reader to adjust font size and annotate unfamiliar words for easy repeated reference.

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 French?

The book is in the original French, a French literary work included in Project Gutenberg, and no Chinese translation is included. Readers need some French reading ability or must rely on translation tools and dictionaries.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain e-books whose main aim is to preserve the text as it stands; they usually lack modern editorial annotation, introductions, or detailed background notes. Readers who need to understand the historical background must consult other materials.

Can I read it without any French foundation?

Not really recommended. The book is in the original French and lacks annotation, so readers with no foundation will face considerable language barriers. If interested in the author or work, one may first look for a Chinese translation or introductory articles before deciding whether to tackle the original.

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About the author

Larmandie, Léonce de, 1851-1921 Author · French · 1851–1921

Léonce de Larmandie (1851–1921) was a French writer whose works include novels, plays, and writings on mysticism, suggesting an author who moved between narrative literature and writing tinged with mystical thought. Public information about him is limited, and the details of his life are largely unknown, making it difficult to describe his career and social activities more specifically. As far as the holdings here show, only one of his works is included, namely Excelsior, which may serve as an entry point for understanding his style and concerns. On the whole, Larmandie belongs to a less mainstream current of French literature in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that engaged with mystical themes, and his writings offer some reference value for studying the intersection of literature and mystical currents of that period.