Rollo in Rome

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 224K words
Chapters: 23

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.Rollo in Rome by Jacob AbbottAuthor: Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 10, 2007

Editor's review

Rollo in Rome is one volume in the "Rollo" series by the nineteenth-century American children's author Jacob Abbott. A public-domain work of juvenile literature, it is distributed free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Abbott excelled at weaving knowledge and education into travel narratives; this series typically uses young Rollo's journeys to fold geography, history, and everyday knowledge into the story, broadening children's horizons through narrative. Set in Rome, the book has two kinds of value for Chinese readers: first, as reading material in the original English for children's travel literature, with moderate language difficulty and a linear narrative, it suits readers transitioning into graded reading; second, as a specimen of nineteenth-century children's educational writing, it shows how travel narrative was used to convey cultural and geographical knowledge to children. Note that this is an early public-domain English e-text, and some ideas and expressions bear the marks of their time, so readers should keep a critical eye; for those who need a Chinese translation or systematic knowledge of Roman history, this book can only be a supplement, not the main line.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Primary and secondary students with some English foundation who want to try original children's literature
Researchers interested in travel narrative and children's educational writing
Readers who want to understand nineteenth-century American children's reading materials
English teachers using it as graded reading or cultural extension material

Not a good fit for

Beginners at the start of English learning who need extensive annotation
Readers seeking systematic study of Roman history and geography
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots or contemporary children's fiction

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide between intensive and extensive reading to avoid giving up midway.
Mark place names and historical terms as you read, look them up together afterward, and build knowledge notes.
Read it alongside other Rollo travel stories in the series to observe the author's narrative patterns.
Teachers can excerpt passages as extensive reading material for class, paired with maps to help understand spatial cues.

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

Can I read this directly without having read other books in the Rollo series?

Yes. The series mostly consists of standalone journeys or experiences with little interconnection, so reading this book directly generally causes no comprehension problems. If you want to become more familiar with the characters' personalities, you can start with any volume in the series as an introduction.

How difficult is the English in this book?

As a nineteenth-century children's work, it has longer sentences and more formal vocabulary, but the narrative thread is clear, and overall it is harder than contemporary early chapter books. It is recommended for primary and secondary students or adult readers with intermediate English reading ability; when you meet unfamiliar words, skip them first and come back later.

Can the historical information in the book still be trusted directly?

The book was written in the nineteenth century, and its introduction to Rome carries the perspectives and limitations of its time; some statements may not match contemporary research. Read it as a period text, and check historical facts against modern authoritative sources.

Comments

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About the author

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879 Author

Jacob Abbott (1803–1879) was an American author and educator best known for his historical and biographical works. The library holds 51 of his works, including Darius the Great, History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, History of Julius Caesar, Richard II, Cyrus the Great, Pyrrhus, Cleopatra, and Peter the Great. Writing for young readers, he wove individual lives into the broader context of their times, narrating the rise and fall of rulers and figures in clear, accessible prose that made history both readable and instructive. His historical biographies circulated widely and helped popularize history reading. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this profile focuses on the subjects and style of his works.