The Ancient Law

Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson, 1873-1945Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 656K words
Chapters: 66

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.The Ancient Law by Ellen Anderson Gholson GlasgowAuthor: Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson, 1873-1945,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 23, 2010

Editor's review

The Ancient Law is a novel by Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945), reissued by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. Glasgow was a major writer of Southern American literature, and her works often take Virginia society as their setting and focus on the individual's position between traditional order and change. The title itself signals the central tension: how ancient law and new ideas pull against each other within the fate of a particular person and family. For Chinese readers, the value of this book lies not only in plot but in the window it offers onto social structure, legal ideas, and gender roles in the American South from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The low barrier to reading the electronic edition makes it suitable as an introductory sample for understanding the contours of Southern American literature, and also for readers interested in public-domain books, American regional literature, and writing by women. While reading, note the narrator's complex attitude toward the old order—neither simple critique nor pure nostalgia; this ambiguity is precisely what rewards rereading. If you are used to fast-paced genre fiction, adjust your expectations; this is closer to a social novel of manners that requires slow reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Chinese readers interested in Southern American literature and regional writing
Readers who want to understand late-nineteenth-century American society and legal ideas
Students studying or taking courses in American literature who need a public-domain text
Readers who enjoy slow-paced social novels of manners and can handle English originals

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want fast-paced plot and strongly plotted genre fiction
Readers not used to reading English originals or public-domain eBook formatting
Beginners who expect detailed historical notes or introductory study materials

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to grasp the narrative rhythm and character relationships, then decide whether to read through or selectively
While reading, note how the conflict between the old order and new ideas plays out in the characters
Pair with brief background materials on Southern American literary history to understand the regional context
Use annotation tools on the electronic edition to mark long sentences and key turns for easy review

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

Is this book in Chinese or the English original?

According to the materials, this book is an eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with the language marked as English, so it is the English original, not a Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should use dictionary tools.

What is the author Glasgow's background?

According to the materials, the author is Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (1873–1945), an American writer. The materials provide no further biographical details; readers may regard her as a woman novelist within the tradition of Southern American literature and should not infer beyond what this book description offers.

Is this book suitable as historical material?

It is first of all a novel, not a work of history. Its portrayal of law and social ideas carries literary invention and the author's perspective, so it can serve as supplementary material for understanding the atmosphere of the era, but it should not be treated as historical fact. For rigorous historical information, consult works of history separately.

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About the author

Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson, 1873-1945 Author

Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (1873–1945) was an American novelist. Born in Virginia, she set much of her fiction against the background of Southern society, depicting characters struggling and maturing amid social change. The library holds thirteen of her works, including The Voice of the People, The Wheel of Life, The Deliverance: A Romance of the Virginia Tobacco Fields, The Battle Ground, Virginia, Life and Gabriella: The Story of a Woman's Courage, and the story collection The Shadowy Third, and Other Stories. Her writing attends closely to psychology and real circumstance, often centering on women's lives and the transformation of Southern society, in a realistic and finely observed style that gives her a place in Southern American literature.