Kophetua the Thirteenth

Sir Julian Stafford CorbettProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 425K words
Chapters: 43

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.Kophetua the Thirteenth by Julian Stafford CorbettAuthor: Corbett, Julian Stafford, 1854-1922,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 3, 2014

Editor's review

Kophetua the Thirteenth is a literary work by the British historian Julian Corbett, falling under English literature. Corbett is best known for his naval histories, and his narrative here combines the rigor of historical scholarship with the pleasures of literary imagination. The book is short, and its language carries the stately style of late nineteenth-century English prose; it is a useful specimen of how a Victorian man of letters turned historical material into fiction. For readers studying Corbett's own range, it fills in a side of him beyond his historical works. Watch for the period assumptions that surface in the pacing and characterization. As a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain and well suited to light reading in the original English, and to wider reading for lovers of English literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of English literature looking to broaden their reading of late nineteenth-century British fiction
General readers drawn to historical fiction
Scholars and students of Corbett's work or Victorian literature
English learners who want light foreign-language reading in a public-domain ebook

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation and are not comfortable reading English
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots or contemporary narrative styles
Specialists seeking systematic material on naval history

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to gauge the language level, then decide between close and casual reading.
Keep a reference on English literary background at hand for period details and allusions.
Read alongside Corbett's historical works to compare his styles.
Use it as fragmented foreign-language reading for bedtime or the commute, one chapter at a time.

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 a history book or a novel?

By its catalog classification it belongs to English literature: a literary work set against historical figures or a historical period, not a rigorous work of history. Read it as literature and do not cite it directly as historical fact.

What level of English does it require?

The author was a British scholar of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; the prose is formal, the sentences long, and the vocabulary period-colored. It suits readers with university-level English who can use a dictionary; beginners may find it heavy going.

Where can I get the electronic edition?

The book is issued by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook; search for the title on its website and download it. Common formats include plain text and ebook formats, depending on what the platform offers.

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About the author

Sir Julian Stafford Corbett Author · British · 1854–1922

Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (1854–1922) was a British naval historian and theorist of maritime strategy. A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, he lectured at the Royal Naval College, served as a strategic adviser to the Admiralty, and was knighted in 1917. In Some Principles of Maritime Strategy he set out a systematic theory of naval warfare, earning recognition alongside Mahan as a founding figure of sea-power thought; his ideas deeply influenced reform in the Royal Navy and remain important in naval historical scholarship. Four of his works are held here: besides his strategic writings, they include a study of Monk, an edition of Fighting Instructions, 1530–1816, and a novel, Kophetua the Thirteenth, showing a range that spans strategy, naval history and literature.