Good Old Anna

Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 527K words
Chapters: 53

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.Good Old Anna by Marie Belloc LowndesAuthor: Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 25, 2007

Editor's review

Good Old Anna is a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, an author known for psychological suspense; this book likewise builds tension layer by layer through character interiority and everyday atmosphere. The story revolves around a figure called "Good Old Anna," using family and neighborhood relationships to reflect trust, loyalty, and hidden tensions against the backdrop of the era. The prose is plain and richly textured with everyday life, and the pacing is slow, suited to close reading of dialogue and subtle foreshadowing. As a public-domain eBook, it is convenient for reading in segments during commutes or before bed, and also serves as an introductory text for understanding the narrative style of early twentieth-century British popular fiction. While reading, note how the author creates suspense out of trivial daily matters and where female characters stand within the family structure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language fiction readers who enjoy psychological suspense and family ethics
Students who want to understand the narrative style of early twentieth-century British popular literature
Learners who need public-domain English texts for extensive reading or reading practice
Readers who prefer slow pacing and character-driven writing over strong plotting

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking fast-paced suspense with strong twists
Readers unaccustomed to English originals or to nineteenth- and twentieth-century English expression
Readers hoping for detailed historical research or social analysis

Reading tips

Read the first three chapters straight through, noting Anna's relationships with those around her, then move into the main storyline.
Read two or three chapters a week, and after each, summarize in two or three sentences how the suspense advanced in that chapter.
When you meet unfamiliar cultural references, skip them first to keep reading fluently, and look them up after finishing the chapter.
If using the book for English study, select a passage of dialogue for close reading and analyze tone and subtext.

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 to read directly?

Not very suitable for complete beginners or elementary learners. This is an English original with leisurely narration and period expressions; intermediate reading ability or above is recommended, along with a dictionary and introductory materials.

Do I need to know the author's other works before reading?

No. The book can be read independently and does not depend on prior knowledge of the author's other works. If the author's style interests you, you can explore her psychological suspense after finishing.

What are the main difficulties in reading this book?

The difficulty lies in the slow pace and in suspense that accumulates through everyday details rather than dense events. Readers need patience to attend to dialogue and psychological shifts in order to feel the narrative tension.

Comments

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About the author

Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947 Author

Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868–1947) was a British novelist known for psychological suspense and crime fiction. The collection includes sixteen of her works, among them The Lodger, The End of Her Honeymoon, Studies in Love and in Terror, What Timmy Did, The Uttermost Farthing, Jane Oglander and Studies in Wives. Her fiction often draws on hidden fears within ordinary domestic settings; her restrained, deliberate prose builds tension layer by layer and reveals her characters' inner suspicion and unease. The Lodger is her best-known work and has been adapted for film and television several times, leaving a mark on later suspense narrative. Public information on her early education and private life is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.