The Aztec Treasure-House

Thomas Allibone JanvierProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3
Word count
681K words
Chapters
69

Tags

English Originals Historical ImaginationTreasure QuestHeroismAdventure ExplorationSuspenseful PlotAncient MysteryLost CivilizationExotic CultureAztecYouth Reading

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 Aztec Treasure-House by Thomas A. JanvierAuthor: Janvier, Thomas A. (Thomas Allibone), 1849-1913,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 26, 2007

Editor's review

The Aztec Treasure-House is an adventure novel by Thomas A. Janvier, centered on the search for Aztec treasure and carrying the typical air of late nineteenth-century adventure literature: exotic imagining, treasure-hunt clues, mishaps along the journey, and verbal sparring among the characters. Its value for readers lies in the immediacy of genre fiction—readers can see how writers of that era built suspense, used dialogue to drive the plot, and wove romantic notions of ancient Mexico into an adventure narrative. As a public-domain ebook, it suits light reading of English genre fiction and also serves as a sample for readers interested in the origins of adventure literature. A caution: the work carries the exoticizing perspective of its time, and today's readers would do well to keep a critical eye, treating it as literary material rather than reliable historical ethnography. The overall pacing is traditional, with emphasis on dialogue and scene-setting; once readers settle in patiently, they will find a smooth storytelling experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the first two chapters to establish the character relationships and the treasure-hunt motive, then decide your reading pace.
  2. Read dialogue-heavy passages aloud; it is easier to get used to the feel of old-fashioned English.
  3. After finishing, consider the era of writing and reflect on how the author imagined the exotic and the treasure.
  4. If using it for English study, note down three to five sentence patterns worth imitating from each chapter.

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
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English beginners? Not very. The work was written long ago, and its dialogue and narration carry old-fashioned English habits, with many long sentences. Readers with intermediate reading ability who are willing to look up words will find it easier to get into; beginners might start with simplified versions or introductory materials.
Are the depictions of the Aztecs in the book credible? It is essentially an adventure novel; its presentation of ancient Mexico serves the plot and exotic imagination and should not be treated as historical material. Readers may regard it as a literary construct shaped by the perspective of its time; for historical facts, consult specialized historical works.
The story pacing is rather slow; how can I read it more smoothly? First grasp the two threads of the treasure-hunt motive and the character relationships; read dialogue passages somewhat quickly and slow down at key turning points. Read one or two chapters at a time to avoid fatigue from long continuous reading.

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About the author

Thomas Allibone Janvier Author · American · 1849–1913

Thomas Allibone Janvier (1849–1913) was an American writer and historical author born in Philadelphia to parents with literary backgrounds. He worked early on as a newspaper reporter and later published stories of New York life under the pen name "Ivory Black." His works span a range of subjects, including adventure and exotic imagination in novels such as The Aztec Treasure-House and In the Sargasso Sea, collections of folklore like Legends of the City of Mexico, and a study of Henry Hudson. He also wrote about Christmas customs in Provence and life on New York's East Side, balancing reportage with literary interest. Thirteen of his works are held in the collection. Public information is limited, and details of his life remain largely unknown, but his writings show a sustained attention to local scenes and historical subjects.