Heads or Tails

Lucien BiartProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 493K words
Chapters: 50

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.Pile et face by Lucien BiartAuthor: Biart, Lucien, 1828-1897,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 19, 2006

Editor's review

Pile et face is a French-language work by the French author Lucien Biart (1828–1897), released as an electronic text by Project Gutenberg. Biart often wrote about travel and exotic subjects; the title means "heads or tails" and carries a sense of contrast and reversal. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies mainly in accessibility: readers can obtain the original nineteenth-century French novel free of charge for language study or literary-historical research. The text has not been modernized by editors and retains the language habits of its period, so readers should watch for old-fashioned spelling and expression. It suits advanced French reading and readers interested in the textual history of foreign literature. Given limited information, one should not assume plot details; enter the reading expecting to examine nineteenth-century French narrative style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

French majors who need practice reading nineteenth-century primary texts
Readers of foreign literature who want to encounter French public-domain fiction
Readers interested in Project Gutenberg electronic texts and textual form
Readers with some French who enjoy short or medium-length narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers without French, for whom the original text is a major obstacle
Beginners who need detailed notes, introductions, and modern typesetting
Readers expecting the pace and subjects of contemporary bestsellers

Reading tips

First confirm your French reading level, then decide between intensive and extensive reading
Record old spellings and idioms as you read, and look them up in batches to reduce interruptions
Read the opening chapters first to judge the narrative style, then set a weekly chapter plan
Read alongside background on nineteenth-century French literature to understand the text's period context

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 book in the original French?

Yes. According to Project Gutenberg, the book's language is French and it is classified under PQ Language and Literatures; no Chinese translation is provided. Readers need French reading ability, and intermediate to advanced learners are advised.

What kinds of works did Biart write?

The information only identifies Biart (1828–1897) as the author of this book and provides no list of works. It is generally known that he wrote about travel and exotic subjects, but the content of this specific book should be judged from the original text rather than assumed from the author's reputation.

Does the electronic edition include notes and an introduction?

Project Gutenberg editions generally provide the public-domain original text and usually do not include modern scholarly notes, introductions, or editorial apparatus. If you need supporting materials, consult literary dictionaries or research literature alongside the original text.

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About the author

Lucien Biart Author · French · 1829–1897

Lucien Biart (1828–1897) was a French naturalist, poet, and travel writer. Born in Versailles, he studied natural history and pharmacy before spending nearly twenty years in Mexico, where he taught chemistry and botany, collected numerous specimens of birds, animals, and insects, and earned a medical doctorate from the Puebla Medical School. His long residence abroad gave his writing both the precise observation of a naturalist and the immediacy of a traveler, so that the nature and foreign scenes he depicted often feel intimate and vivid. His representative works include Adventures of a Young Naturalist and Pile et face; the former combines natural-history exploration with an engaging narrative. He died in Paris. Public information is limited, and details of his life and the classification of his works await further study.