The Thieves of Peace

Bianchi, Arturo, 1856-1939Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

1.8

Word count: 309K words
Chapters: 31

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.I ladri della pace by Arturo BianchiAuthor: Bianchi, Arturo, 1856-1939,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Apr 28, 2008

Editor's review

This work, written in Italian by Arturo Bianchi, is a public-domain literary e-book prepared and released by Project Gutenberg. Judging from its classification, it belongs to the Italian literary tradition and is suitable for readers interested in Italian narrative works of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The value of the electronic edition lies first in accessibility: chapters that might otherwise be scattered in old periodicals or out-of-print collections can now be read and searched for free, which is convenient for literary researchers. Readers may regard it as a slice of its era, attending to how the author organises plot, shapes characters, and what features the language style has. Since the material provides no detailed plot summary, readers are advised to enter the text with an exploratory spirit, read through first, then go back and sort out the structure. If used for a course or reading group, it can be discussed in the social and cultural context of post-unification Italy, but care should be taken not to over-interpret in light of the author's biography. Overall, this is a public-domain text suitable for slow reading and for comparative reading with works of the same period.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Italian literature and late nineteenth-century narrative works
Literature teachers who need free public-domain texts for course preparation
Learners with Italian reading ability who wish to expand their reading of original texts
Lovers of literature and history who enjoy observing the language style of an era in old texts

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no Italian at all who need a Chinese translation
Casual readers expecting modern fast-paced plots and strong dramatic conflict
Researchers who need detailed author biography and annotations

Reading tips

Read through the whole book first to grasp the narrative thread, then go back and mark character relationships and structural turns.
Prepare an Italian vocabulary list, recording recurring period words and expressions.
Read alongside short stories by Italian writers of the same period, observing similarities and differences in subject and technique.
If used for a reading group, focus on one chapter each time, discussing character motivation and narrative perspective.

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

What language level is needed to read this book?

The original is in Italian; intermediate or above Italian reading ability is recommended, with a dictionary to understand late nineteenth-century written expression. If you only want a general understanding, you can read alongside a translation, but the material provides no information on a Chinese translation, so you will need to look for one yourself.

What is the difference between the Gutenberg edition and an ordinary publication?

The Gutenberg edition is a free electronic text organised and proofread by volunteers, focused on accessibility and usually without a modern introduction, detailed annotations, or scholarly appendices. It is suitable for reading the original and for searching, but version information should be checked for academic citation.

Do I need to know Italian history before reading this book?

You need not study it systematically beforehand, but some knowledge of the social and cultural background of Italy after unification in the late nineteenth century will help with the work's historical context. It is advisable to read the text first and look up relevant material when specific historical references arise, avoiding preconceptions.

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About the author

Bianchi, Arturo, 1856-1939 Author · 1856–1939

Arturo Bianchi (1856–1939) was an Italian author about whose life and education little public information is available. What can be confirmed is that he wrote I ladri della pace ("The Thieves of Peace"), the only work by him held in this collection. Judging from the title, the book may deal with issues of peace or contain a critique of those who undermine it, though its specific plot, genre, and writing style cannot be described in detail due to limited sources. Bianchi was active from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, a period of profound social change in Europe, when such themes were not uncommon in Italian literature. On the whole, he is not a widely known or major writer, and scholarly material on him is scarce, so readers largely depend on the surviving work itself for any understanding of him.