Ralph Sinclair's Atonement

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 309K words
Chapters: 31

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.Ralph Sinclair's Atonement by Antony SargentAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 17, 2015

Editor's review

This is the Project Gutenberg electronic edition of Ralph Sinclair's Atonement, an English novel by Antony Sargent and a public-domain text. Judging from the title and classification, the work centers on the theme of atonement, with the moral reflection and turns of personal fate common in English literature. Released as part of an early e-book project, its value lies in being freely available and easy to search and cite; it suits readers supplementing their English-literature reading and those studying early digital publishing through public-domain electronic texts. Readers should not expect the tight pacing of a modern bestseller, but should attend to the development of character motivation and ethical conflict. Lacking modern notes and an introduction, it demands some stamina in English reading; unfamiliar expressions can be inferred from context. On the whole it suits readers accustomed to English fiction who are willing to read slowly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate English reading ability who want to expand their reading of public-domain novels
Literature lovers interested in classic themes such as atonement and moral conflict
Readers who need free English texts for excerpting or language learning
Researchers interested in the early e-book formats of Project Gutenberg

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak English who need Chinese annotations
Readers who prefer contemporary fast-paced narrative and strong suspense
Readers hoping for an author biography and a detailed introduction to the work

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to gauge the narrative pace and character relationships, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Take notes on the theme of atonement, recording each key choice a character makes and its consequences.
For long sentences, first identify subject, verb, and object, then review the modifiers, avoiding word-for-word translation.
Read alongside public-domain English novels on the same theme to appreciate how different authors handle ethical narrative.

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 an early English novel with long sentences and detailed narration, making it moderately to fairly difficult overall. Readers with experience of English fiction will find it easier to get into; beginners may need a dictionary and grammatical parsing. It is not suitable as a first English original, but works well as advanced extensive reading.

Why is the author listed as Project Gutenberg in the information?

The author field in the information is marked as Project Gutenberg, but the description clearly states that the book is by Antony Sargent. Project Gutenberg is the e-book publishing platform, not the author of the novel. Readers should rely on the author information in the description and distinguish platform information from author information.

Without an introduction or notes, how can I read it more smoothly?

First read through the chapters to grasp the plot, then go back over key passages and take notes. Listing character relationships, points of conflict, and atonement-related plot lines separately can reduce the burden of understanding. For study purposes, summarize each chapter in two or three sentences after reading, then look up unfamiliar words.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.