The Black Cross

Briggs, Olive M. (Olive Mary), 1873-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 348K words
Chapters: 35

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 Black Cross by Olive M. BriggsAuthor: Briggs, Olive M. (Olive Mary), 1873-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 30, 2007

Editor's review

The Black Cross is a novel by Olive M. Briggs, classified under American and Canadian literature, now recirculated as a free e-book through Project Gutenberg. For readers studying early twentieth-century North American popular fiction, this book offers a sample of the narrative tastes and subject choices of its time. Its value lies not in classic status but in its readability and accessibility as a period text: the book is of moderate length, its language is public-domain English, and readers can enter at low cost the world of an author who has faded from mainstream view. It suits use as supplementary material for English literature courses, or casual browsing by readers interested in the Project Gutenberg catalogue. Note that this is the original English edition, lacking modern notes and an introduction, so readers must orient themselves to the background on their own.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature students studying early twentieth-century North American popular fiction
English learners who want low-cost access to public-domain English originals
Readers interested in the Project Gutenberg catalogue and early e-books
Those who need short English fiction for extensive reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer contemporary bestsellers and want strong plots and fast pacing
Readers with weak English who need Chinese notes to assist reading
Researchers who want detailed author biography and background interpretation

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters first to judge whether the narrative pace and language difficulty suit you.
Keep a vocabulary notebook, recording recurring period expressions and habits of phrasing.
After finishing, look up brief information on the author Briggs to understand the work's place in its time.
Read alongside public-domain novels of the same period to observe similarities and differences in subject and method.

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 English?

This is the original English edition, published by Project Gutenberg, with no Chinese translation or notes. It suits readers with some English reading ability; beginners may need a dictionary.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project providing free e-books, founded by Michael Hart in 1971, dedicated to digitizing public-domain books and offering them to readers free of charge. This book is one of the public-domain works in its collection.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

No specialized background is required, but familiarity with the common subjects and narrative styles of early twentieth-century American popular fiction will make it easier to enter the text. The book lacks a modern introduction; readers may look up information on the author and the period as supplements.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but the language bears period features and some expressions differ from modern English. It is recommended for intermediate learners and above, used with a dictionary and notes, so that unfamiliar words do not dampen interest in reading.

Comments

Find this book

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

Briggs, Olive M. (Olive Mary), 1873- Author · 1873

Olive M. Briggs (born 1873) is an English-language author about whom little public information is available; her background, nationality and education are not clearly documented. Born in 1873, she is represented in the library collection by only one work, The Black Cross. Judging from its title and attribution, the book appears to be a narrative novel or a story with elements of suspense, and it remains the main basis for understanding her writing. Owing to the lack of contemporary reviews, publication records and biographical materials, a systematic assessment of her career, thematic preferences and literary standing is difficult. Overall, Briggs is a writer of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century who awaits further study, and her single surviving work offers researchers limited textual clues while indicating room for further bibliographic work.