Stolen Souls

Le Queux, William, 1864-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.7
Word count
375K words
Chapters
38

Tags

English Originals Suspense ThrillerUrban RomanceSoul TheftPsychological TacticsCriminal PsychologyCriminal World

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.Stolen Souls by William Le QueuxAuthor: Le Queux, William, 1864-1927,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 9, 2012

Editor's review

Stolen Souls, also by William Le Queux, is a popular novel with elements of mystery and crime. As a public-domain English ebook from Project Gutenberg, its value lies mainly in showcasing the narrative appeal of early twentieth-century British popular fiction: fast-moving plots and clearly set suspense, making it a light reading sample of genre fiction. The book is in English and classified under English literature; readers can use it to observe how Le Queux interweaves adventure, conspiracy, and character fate. Note that the electronic edition has no modern introduction or notes, and character motivations and period attitudes bear the obvious traits of old-style popular fiction; read with genre expectations and do not judge it by the standards of contemporary suspense novels. For those studying popular literature or seeking a free English original, it is a convenient and typical choice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Skim chapter titles first to grasp the pace of suspense before reading through.
  2. Note main characters and key events to clarify the conspiracy threads.
  3. Treat it as a sample of genre literature and observe common techniques of popular narrative.
  4. If English is difficult, read in sections and use a dictionary for unfamiliar expressions.

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
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38

FAQ

What is the relationship between this book and The Eye of Istar? Both are by William Le Queux and were released as English public-domain ebooks by Project Gutenberg. This book leans toward mystery and crime, while the former leans toward exotic adventure and romance; they can be read in comparison.
What English level is needed to read this book? The text is in English and is a public-domain book in the English literature category. General English reading ability is enough to attempt it; use a dictionary for old-style expressions. It is not suitable for direct reading if you rely entirely on Chinese.
Does the electronic edition have an introduction or notes? According to the information, this is a public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg, with no modern introduction or notes mentioned. Readers must grasp the background themselves or consult other materials for support.

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

Le Queux, William, 1864-1927 Author

William Le Queux (1864–1927) was a British writer of popular fiction, with 74 of his works held in this collection. He is best known for invasion-scare and spy-adventure stories; The Invasion of 1910, which depicts a German invasion of Britain and the siege of London, drew considerable attention in its day, and The Great War in England in 1897 belongs to the same vein. His other works centre on mystery, intrigue and international espionage, such as The Zeppelin Destroyer, The Secrets of Potsdam, The Closed Book: Concerning the Secret of the Borgias and The Golden Face: A Great ‘Crook’ Romance, all marked by tight plotting and dense suspense. Le Queux often set fictional crises against real places to create a sense of urgency, and his work had some influence on the development of early spy fiction and thrillers. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not elaborated here.