None Other Gods

Benson, Robert Hugh, 1871-1914Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 562K words
Chapters: 57

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.None Other Gods by Robert Hugh BensonAuthor: Benson, Robert Hugh, 1871-1914,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 29, 2006

Editor's review

Robert Hugh Benson was an English novelist, an Anglican priest who later converted to Catholicism, and None Other Gods is a novel from his mature period, distributed free by Project Gutenberg. The title comes from a religious context and hints at the protagonist's choice between worldly pursuits and the call of faith, continuing Benson's characteristic themes of religious consciousness and psychological conflict. The narrative is leisurely, with much dialogue, and has the feel of an Edwardian English novel; its treatment of social class, family duty and personal belief is detailed. The electronic edition makes it easy to search for characters and themes, and it works both as part of a Benson reading series and for readers studying English religious fiction from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The plot, however, moves slowly and religious discussion takes up considerable space, so readers looking only for an adventure story may find it dull; those familiar with Benson's work, such as The Master, will find it fills out his intellectual development.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and graduate students studying English religious fiction and Catholic literature
Readers who enjoy Edwardian English novels and can accept a slow pace
Advanced learners who want to improve their reading of long English sentences through the original text
Readers interested in Benson's work who wish to complete his bibliography

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need simplified readers
General readers who prefer strongly plotted, fast-paced genre fiction
Readers distinctly averse to religious discussion and preaching

Reading tips

Learn about Benson's life, from Anglicanism to Catholicism, before reading the novel to grasp its themes more easily.
Review the characters and their conflicts of belief every two or three chapters to keep the threads clear.
Excerpt the religious discussion passages for close English reading, noting long sentence structures and shifts in tone.
If time is limited, read the final chapters first and then return to the earlier ones to see how the author sets up the choice.

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

How difficult is the English in this book?

It is literary English of the early twentieth century, with long sentences and many religious terms; overall it is moderately difficult. Readers with a college-level reading foundation who are used to slow reading will find it suitable; beginners should choose a simplified or bilingual edition.

What does the title mean?

The title comes from a religious context and emphasizes "you shall have no other gods before me," pointing to the protagonist's choice between worldly attachments and faithfulness to belief; it is a key clue to the book's theme.

Do I need to read other works by Benson first?

Not necessarily. The plot is independent and the book can be read directly; but if you have read works such as The Master, you will more easily see the author's continuing concern with faith and human nature.

Is the Gutenberg edition suitable for academic citation?

It can be used as a reading and preliminary research text, but academic citation should check authoritative print editions or note the electronic source, paying attention to differences in pagination and layout, and avoiding direct copying of paragraph numbers from the electronic text.

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About the author

Benson, Robert Hugh, 1871-1914 Author

Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) was an English writer whose biographical details are limited in publicly available sources; twelve of his works are included in this collection. His fiction spans a considerable range of subjects. He wrote historical novels set against the English Reformation and its conflicts of faith, such as Come Rack! Come Rope! and By What Authority?, as well as imaginative works about the future and the shape of belief, including Lord of the World and The Dawn of All, and stories dealing with the supernatural and the occult, such as The Necromancers and The Light Invisible. His novels often use historical or fantastical settings to explore faith, conscience, and moral choice, combining strong plotting with a reflective, speculative quality that gives his work a distinctive place between popular fiction and religious literature. Some of his works are classified here as inspirational and personal-growth reading.