My Merry Rockhurst

Castle, Egerton, 1858-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 440K words
Chapters: 45

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."My Merry Rockhurst" by Agnes Castle and Egerton CastleAuthor: Castle, Egerton, 1858-1920,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 27, 2018

Editor's review

My Merry Rockhurst was written by Egerton Castle and Agnes Castle together, in the light romantic narrative tradition they often practiced. The "Merry" in the title signals the tone: social scenes, witty exchanges, and romantic complications rather than heavy social critique. The Castles hold a place in early twentieth-century British popular fiction, skilled at advancing plot through dialogue and letting readers observe changing relationships at an easy pace. As a public-domain e-book, its length and language suit casual reading in the original English, and it is also suitable for readers interested in Edwardian popular fiction and romantic-comedy narrative. Watch for puns and social implications in the dialogue, an important source of pleasure in this kind of work; those studying gender and marriage ideas in popular literature can also use it as a light comparative text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classical English romance and light comedy
Readers interested in early twentieth-century British popular fiction
People who want casual English reading with public-domain e-books
Literary readers studying the Castles' collaborative works

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong social critique or deep themes
Readers who prefer fast modern plots and strong conflict
Beginners with insufficient experience reading English originals who are unwilling to adjust to period idiom

Reading tips

Read chapter by chapter, noting how dialogue drives changes in relationships.
Note implications and puns in social scenes to appreciate the narrative pleasure of light comedy.
For research on popular literature, compare it with contemporary British romance novels.
There is no need to finish it at one sitting; it suits分段 casual reading on a commute or before bed.

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

Who wrote this book?

The information lists Egerton Castle as author, and the original was written by Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle together. The Castles were early twentieth-century British popular novelists whose works often carry romance and light comedy.

Is this book suitable for English beginners?

Not really for complete beginners. The text is early twentieth-century English, with dated sentence patterns and social usage, requiring some vocabulary and feel for the language. Intermediate readers can try reading in sections and slow down at points of social implication.

Do I need historical background to read this book?

Not necessarily in advance, but some knowledge of early twentieth-century British social etiquette and ideas of marriage helps in understanding implications in dialogue and the light-comedy effect. Ordinary readers can follow the plot directly.

Is this a complete novel or an excerpt?

This is a public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg, an electronic release of the complete text. Specific layout and paragraphing may vary by version; rely on the version information on the release page.

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About the author

Castle, Egerton, 1858-1920 Author

Egerton Castle (1858–1920) was an English writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Public information about his life and career is limited, but his surviving works show that he worked mainly in fiction and essay writing. Six of his works are held in this collection, covering a range of subjects: the comedy novel The Bath Comedy, set in English society; the historical romances The Pride of Jennico and The Light of Scarthey; romantic narratives such as Rose of the World and My Merry Rockhurst; and Our Sentimental Garden, a book about the pleasures of garden life. These works, mostly light and humorous in tone, portray human nature and social manners with dramatic plots and elegant prose, reflecting the style of popular literature from the late Victorian to the Edwardian era. His books found a readership in the English-speaking world and remain useful for understanding the social life and popular fiction of that period.