Kenelm Chillingly — Volume 05

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

3.4

Word count: 64K words
Chapters: 7

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.Kenelm Chillingly — Volume 05 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

As the fifth of the five volumes of Kenelm Chillingly, this volume continues Bulwer-Lytton's finely wrought portrayal of the young protagonist's growth. The author was a nineteenth-century English novelist, and the work carries the moral reflection and social observation common to Victorian fiction, with elegant prose, witty dialogue, and considerable skill in psychological characterization. This volume suits readers who have already read the first four volumes and wish to follow the protagonist's fate to the end, and also scholars of Victorian fiction as supplementary material for close reading. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, the text is in the original English, without notes or introduction, and requires some grounding in English literary reading. It is best read in quiet, uninterrupted stretches so as to grasp the web of characters and the flow of plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of English fiction who have finished the first four volumes and wish to follow the protagonist's fate
Literature students and scholars studying the Victorian English novel
English learners who enjoy classic English narrative and are willing to read slowly and attentively
Readers who collect public-domain English eBooks and follow Project Gutenberg texts

Not a good fit for

Readers new to the series who have not read the earlier volumes, for whom the plot will be hard to follow
Beginner readers who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers used to fast-paced plots who have limited patience for long classic narratives

Reading tips

Review the characters and main storyline of the first four volumes before starting this one, to avoid losing the thread.
Keep an English dictionary or annotation tool at hand for unfamiliar words and period usage.
After each chapter, jot down a few lines on what the characters do, to help track the multi-stranded narrative.
Read it alongside other Victorian novels to appreciate the period style and moral themes.

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 I read this volume without having read the first four?

Not really recommended. This is the fifth part of a long series, and its characters and plot continue from the earlier books; reading it directly may leave you confused about who the characters are and what is going on. If time is short, at least familiarize yourself with the main characters and storyline of the first four volumes.

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in the original English, with no Chinese translation, editor's notes, or introduction. You will need some English reading ability, with a dictionary or other aids if necessary.

What is the best way to read it?

Set aside uninterrupted stretches for slow reading, and take notes to keep track of characters and plot; it can also serve as supplementary reading for a literature course, read thematically around social observation and psychological characterization rather than for speed.

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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.