Godolphin, Volume 3.

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

2.9

Word count: 119K words
Chapters: 12

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.Godolphin, Volume 3. by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton LyttonAuthor: Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 2005

Editor's review

Godolphin, Volume 3. is the third volume of Bulwer-Lytton's novel Godolphin, an English public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg. As one volume in a multi-volume work, its value lies more in continuation than in standing alone: the relationships among characters have already been established in the first two volumes, and this volume carries the plot forward and draws threads together. Picked up on its own, it can feel opaque where character motivation is concerned; but for readers who have come this far, this volume is precisely where we watch the author negotiate the intersection of social milieu and private destiny. Bulwer-Lytton excels at rendering class tastes and personal calculation through dialogue and scene, and this volume continues in that vein, with leisurely narration and occasional intrusions of commentary that give it a distinctly nineteenth-century novelistic character. One caveat: the electronic edition is released volume by volume, so readers should first confirm whether they have read the first two, or the cost of comprehension will be high. It suits a segment of a long reading plan rather than casual dipping.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read the first two volumes of Godolphin and wish to continue
Literature students studying the structure of Bulwer-Lytton's multi-volume novels
Readers of English-language originals who enjoy long nineteenth-century British social fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who have not read the first two volumes and hope to start independently with this one
Readers who prefer self-contained works completed in a single volume
Beginner readers who need modern annotations and a detailed introduction

Reading tips

Review the character list and main events of the first two volumes before reading, to avoid losing track of relationships.
Treat this volume as part of a longer plan, proceeding chapter by chapter and noting how threads are drawn together.
Skim discursive passages at first, then return to savor the author's attitude once the plot is clear.

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 volume be read on its own?

Not really. This is the third volume of Godolphin, and its character relationships and plot threads carry over from the first two volumes. Without the earlier text, readers may be confused about motives and causes; it is best read in sequence.

Why does Project Gutenberg release it volume by volume?

Project Gutenberg prepares public-domain works as electronic texts, and multi-volume novels are often released volume by volume as in the original for easier proofreading and downloading in stages. Readers must assemble the volumes in order to get the complete story.

Is the English style of this volume consistent with the first two?

Judging by the textual features of the same author's same work, this volume continues the narrative manner of nineteenth-century English fiction, with long sentences and commentary side by side, consistent with the first two volumes and without noticeable stylistic jumps.

Comments

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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.