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The Drummer's Coat

Fortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir, 1859-1933Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0
Word count
213K words
Chapters
22
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Tags

English Originals Military War MemoryBritish ArmyMilitary TaleFate and FortuneSoldier FigureComradeshipHeroismFaith and VowUniform MotifNarrative Pacing

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 Drummer's Coat by Sir J. W. FortescueAuthor: Fortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir, 1859-1933,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 13, 2006

Editor's review

This is a work of juvenile literature by the British historian J. W. Fortescue, classified as young adult fiction within language and literature. The author's specialty is military history, so the book often brings an eye for discipline, duty, and collective life to the framework of a boys' adventure story; it offers both plot momentum and detailed observation of characters' behavior. As a public-domain book, it is not long and its language is not difficult, which makes it useful for observing the narrative interests and values of early twentieth-century English reading for young people: how a sense of honor is presented, and how the adult world is simplified for young readers. It can be read as a piece of literary history—look at the story and at the period ideas behind it; it can be compared with adventure stories for young readers from the same period to discuss the balance between characterization and moral instruction. It suits extracurricular reading or reading aloud with children; discussing the characters' choices afterward is more rewarding than simply following the plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Young readers who enjoy classic adventure stories and want a public-domain English book of moderate length
  • Readers studying the history of children's literature who need an early English example
  • Parents and teachers who want to read with children and discuss the characters' choices
  • Intermediate learners who want to practice English reading with a shorter text

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary narrative or strong suspense; this book's pace is traditional
  • Readers expecting professional analysis of military history; this is juvenile literature, not a historical study
  • Readers sensitive to the period ideas in early works and unwilling to read them critically

Reading tips

  1. Read the story through first to grasp the relationships between characters, then go back to key passages of choice and notice where the narrative places its emphasis.
  2. Record how the protagonist handles each conflict between duty and personal inclination, and use these for comparison and discussion.
  3. Read it alongside adventure stories for young readers from the same period, noting differences in values and characterization.
  4. When reading in English, read the opening and closing paragraphs of each chapter first to grasp the direction of the plot, then fill in the details.

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

FAQ

What age is this book suitable for?
In style and length it belongs to juvenile literature and is better suited to middle school readers and above with some English reading ability. Younger children can read it with a parent or teacher, focusing on discussing the characters' behavior and choices rather than on unfamiliar words.
The author is a military historian—is this book also military in subject?
The book is classified as juvenile literature; it is a story for young readers, not a work of military history. The author's background in historical writing may shape how he describes discipline, duty, and collective life, but it should still be read as literature, not as historical analysis or campaign research.
What if the English original is hard to read?
Read the beginning and end of each chapter first to follow the main plot, then go back for the details in between; mark unfamiliar words and look them up together. If it is still difficult, read a Chinese summary first to understand the story, then return to the English text and focus on dialogue and key scenes.
What topics can this book be used to discuss?
Discussions can center on honor, the conflict between duty and personal inclination, and relations between adults and young people; the book's values can also be compared with contemporary ideas. It is suitable as discussion material for reading classes or reading with children, and the questions need not have a single answer.

Comments

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About the author

Fortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir, 1859-1933 Author

J. W. Fortescue (John William Fortescue, 1859–1933) was a British military historian best known for his multi-volume A History of the British Army. Five of his works are included here: the first two volumes of that history, lectures on military history delivered at Trinity College, Cambridge, and two narrative works, The Story of a Red Deer and The Drummer's Coat. His writing is distinguished by solid use of sources and clear narration; he handled large subjects such as army institutions and the course of campaigns, and in shorter stories showed fine observation and restrained lyricism. The library classifies his work under inspirational growth, perhaps because of its recurring themes of duty, courage and personal development. His books remain both historically valuable and readable, and are still a useful reference for understanding British military tradition. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted here.

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