Prince Otto, a Romance cover

Prince Otto, a Romance

Rating 3.3
Word count
348K words
Chapters
35

Tags

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.Prince Otto, a Romance by Robert Louis StevensonAuthor: Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Dec 1, 1995

Editor's review

Prince Otto, a Romance is an often underrated full-length work by Stevenson. Set in a fictional small European principality, it weaves court intrigue, marital crisis, and personal growth into a novel that combines romantic color with political satire. Unlike the adventurous romance of Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this book focuses more on character psychology and institutional reflection: how a indecisive monarch rediscovers himself and his responsibility in the crevice between conspiracy and public opinion. Stevenson's prose is elegant and unhurried, his dialogue witty, and his scene descriptions vivid, so the reading offers both the pleasure of old-fashioned romance and a calm observation of the relationship between rulers and the ruled. This is a public-domain English-language ebook, suitable as supplementary reading for English literature students seeking to broaden their view of nineteenth-century fiction, and also for readers who enjoy slow-paced classical narrative and prefer to read in segments during commutes or before sleep. While reading, note how the author uses the fictional small state to allude to real politics, and the trajectory of the protagonist's change from evasion to acceptance.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • English literature students who need to broaden their view of Stevenson's non-adventure works
  • Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century European court settings and political satire
  • Readers accustomed to reading English originals and who prefer slow-paced classical narrative
  • Readers studying images of monarchy and institutional reflection in Victorian fiction

Not a good fit for

  • Readers expecting fast-paced adventure in the style of Treasure Island
  • Readers with weak English reading skills who need a translation or annotations
  • Readers who prefer modern concise prose and have little patience for long sentences and classical diction

Reading tips

  1. Read one chapter first to understand the political structure and character relationships of the fictional principality, then decide whether to read closely or straight through.
  2. Keep pen and paper to note court factions and characters' positions, to help trace the conspiracy plot.
  3. Read alongside other works by Stevenson to observe the range of his subjects and styles.
  4. When encountering long sentences in the English original, grasp the main clause first; do not look up every word, and maintain reading rhythm.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35

FAQ

Is this book styled like Treasure Island?
No. Treasure Island is driven by adventure and treasure-seeking, with a brisk pace; this book leans more toward court politics, marriage, and character psychology, with an unhurried narrative and stronger satirical intent. Readers expecting adventure may find it slow, but those who enjoy character portrayal and institutional reflection will gain more.
How difficult is the English original?
It is a nineteenth-century English literary work, with rather long sentences and period-flavored vocabulary, but overall it is not excessively difficult. Readers with CET-4 or above reading ability who are used to classical fiction can try it; if it feels hard, read a Chinese translation first to understand the plot, then return to compare with the original.
What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?
This edition is a public-domain free ebook in English, convenient to read and search on electronic devices. It is not a scholarly annotated edition and usually has no detailed introduction or notes; readers who need background material can consult literary histories or related research literature on their own.

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About the author

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a nineteenth-century British writer known for adventure fiction and poetry. His representative work Treasure Island established a classic model for treasure-hunt adventure stories and has circulated widely in many translations; the library also holds the Spanish version La isla del tesoro and the German version Die Schatzinsel: Roman. Another representative work, A Child's Garden of Verses, writes from a child's perspective about play, imagination, and everyday feelings, with fresh language and natural rhythm, and is a common reader in English children's poetry. The library holds as many as 101 of his works, showing the variety of his subjects and forms. Public information is limited, so details of his life and education are not elaborated here; overall, his writing combines thrilling narrative with a lyrical tone, being strongly story-driven yet readable aloud, and has had a lasting influence on later adventure literature and children's literature.

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