Roger Davis, Loyalist

Baird, FrankProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 166K words
Chapters: 17

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.Roger Davis, Loyalist by Frank BairdAuthor: Baird, Frank,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 15, 2011

Editor's review

Roger Davis, Loyalist is a historical work by Frank Baird, released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain ebook and classified under American and Canadian literature. The word "Loyalist" in the title signals that the story centres on Loyalist allegiances in North America, making it suitable for readers interested in the social divisions and personal choices of the American Revolutionary era. As a public-domain literary work it is not difficult to read, and the narrative focuses on characters' circumstances and the atmosphere of the period, serving as a literary supplement to understanding the Loyalist perspective. Note that the electronic edition was produced from scanning; pay attention to the version notes. Historical background and literary fiction are intertwined, so it should not be cited directly as historical source material. It is best read after a general history of the American Revolution, to appreciate individual experience and emotional tension from different standpoints.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the American Revolutionary era and the Loyalist question
Readers of historical fiction concerned with personal choices of allegiance
Teachers and students needing public-domain English literary works for extensive reading or classroom supplements
Readers seeking a literary perspective on the situation of North American Loyalists

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting rigorous historical scholarship or collections of primary sources
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and strongly suspenseful genre fiction
Readers completely unfamiliar with 18th-century North American history who do not wish to fill in the background

Reading tips

Learn the basic situation of North American Loyalists first; the characters' stories will then be easier to follow.
Treat the novel as an entry point to historical atmosphere and the experience of allegiance, not as a basis for historical fact.
Note the narrator's stance and period language while reading, and distinguish literary fiction from historical record.
Read alongside other works on the Revolution to compare narrative perspectives from different sides.

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

What does "Loyalist" mean in this book?

It usually refers to colonists in North America who remained loyal to the British Crown and opposed independence during the American Revolution. The title centres on this, and the story most likely revolves around the circumstances and choices of such figures. For specific plot details, follow the book's own narrative.

Can this book be cited as historical material?

It is a literary work; historical background and characters' fates are largely shaped by artistic treatment, so it should not be cited directly as historical source material. For research, use it alongside historical scholarship and primary documents, and note its literary nature.

What should I watch for when reading the public-domain ebook?

The Project Gutenberg edition was produced from scanning and may contain layout or OCR errors. Pay attention to the version notes and release date information, check quotations against the original text, and compare with other editions when necessary.

Comments

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About the author

Baird, Frank Author

Frank Baird is an author about whom limited public information is currently available; the library holds only one work by him, Roger Davis, Loyalist. Judging from the title, the book most likely centers on a Loyalist figure named Roger Davis and deals with the fate and choices of those who sided with the British Crown around the time of the American Revolution. Loyalist studies are a fairly specialized field of historical writing, usually concerned with the political pressures, displacement, and questions of identity experienced by people who remained loyal to Britain amid revolutionary upheaval. Baird's choice of this subject suggests an interest in that historical perspective, with the narrative focused on an individual's experience rather than a broad survey of the era. Because reliable information about the author's life, nationality, and writing background is lacking, it is difficult to assess the overall character of his work or to determine whether this book is historical research, biography, or fictional narrative. Readers interested in the author and the book may learn more about its sources and approach by consulting the work itself.