The Corsair King

Mór JókaiProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 146K words
Chapters: 15

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 Corsair King by Mór Jókai. Author: Jókai, Mór, 1825-1904. Language: English. Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures. Release Date: Oct 9, 2008

Editor's review

This work comes from the hand of Mór Jókai, a major nineteenth-century Hungarian novelist; beneath its surface of maritime adventure it carries on the author's characteristic romantic storytelling and dramatic conflict. Jókai excels at bridging history and legend, placing his characters' fates in a whirlpool of storms, loyalty, and betrayal; the reading is brisk and strongly visual. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook, its value lies not only in literary reading but in giving Chinese readers low-cost access to the narrative manner of Eastern European Romantic fiction. It suits segmented reading on the commute or before sleep, to be enjoyed as an adventure story with an exotic air; the slower reader may also notice how the author uses dialogue and scene changes to build suspense. One caveat: this edition is an English translation, its style leaning toward the nineteenth century, and a few long sentences require patience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century European Romantic adventure novels
Readers who wish to expand their map of Eastern European literature through English public-domain books
People who need light literary reading to pass the commute
Student readers interested in tales of the sea and conflicts of fate

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer contemporary fast-paced suspense or a minimalist style
Researchers who wish to read Jókai in the original Hungarian
Beginning readers with little patience for nineteenth-century English long sentences

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to establish the character relationships, then proceed chapter by chapter; there is no need to look up every unfamiliar word.
Keep a brief character chart, noting how the positions of the captain, allies, and rivals shift.
For long sentences, first grasp subject, verb, and object, then read the whole paragraph before returning to the modifiers.
After finishing, compare with other Chinese translations of Jókai to appreciate his romantic narrative style.

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 the original Hungarian or an English translation?

This Project Gutenberg edition is an English translation, with the language marked as English. To study Jókai's original language style, you would need a Hungarian edition; for reading the story, the English translation sufficiently presents the plot and character relationships.

I haven't read any other works by Jókai. Can I read this one directly?

Yes. This book is a standalone story and does not depend on earlier works. It is best to read it first as a maritime adventure romance, and after becoming familiar with how the author builds conflict, move on to his better-known novels.

What should I pay attention to when reading the electronic edition?

Public-domain eBooks may vary in formatting. Use a reader with adjustable fonts and check whether chapter titles are complete. If you find broken lines or punctuation anomalies, switch to another format for comparison.

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About the author

Mór Jókai Author · Hungarian · 1825–1904

Mór Jókai (1825–1904) was the most important Hungarian novelist, playwright and revolutionary of the 19th century, and a major representative of Romantic literature. Born in Komárom, he took part in the 1848 Pest uprising and drafted the Twelve Points, and was later elected to parliament. His representative works include A Hungarian Nabob, The Baron's Sons, Black Diamonds and The Golden Man. Jókai's writing depicts Hungarian history and social change on a grand scale, with dramatic plots, vivid characters, romantic colour and national feeling; he is often compared with Dickens and Scott. His output was enormous: 106 of his works are held in this collection, and a hundred-volume collected edition appeared in 1894, evidence of his productivity and influence.