The Golden Calf cover

The Golden Calf

Rating 3.4
Word count
900K words
Chapters
90

Tags

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 Golden Calf by M. E. BraddonAuthor: Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth), 1835-1915,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2005

Editor's review

The Golden Calf is a work by M. E. Braddon, a prolific novelist of the Victorian era, and belongs to the typical tradition of nineteenth-century British popular fiction. Braddon is known for intricate plots and dramatically shifting fortunes; this book revolves around the lure of money and human moral choices, and its title borrows the biblical image of the golden calf to signal a theme of money worship. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, its value lies mainly in literary-historical interest and reading experience: readers can use it to understand the narrative rhythm, social attitudes, and moral concerns of Victorian popular fiction, and to feel the suspense management typical of serialized novels. It is suitable as supplementary reading for studying British literary history, or for reading in segments during commutes and travel. Note that this is the original English edition, published in the nineteenth century, and its language style, length, and structure differ considerably from contemporary novels; readers new to Victorian literature may wish to familiarize themselves with the historical background before starting the text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Literary readers who enjoy Victorian British fiction
  • Students studying nineteenth-century popular fiction and serial publication culture
  • Readers who want free access to classic English-language eBooks
  • General readers interested in themes of money worship, morality, and human nature

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary narrative and lack patience
  • Learners whose English reading ability is not yet sufficient for nineteenth-century prose
  • Readers expecting a Chinese translation or annotated edition for easier reading

Reading tips

  1. Read a page or two of the text first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read it through or select key chapters.
  2. While reading, note the main characters' financial motives and moral shifts to follow the thematic threads.
  3. Read alongside background material on Victorian society for smoother comprehension.
  4. Use the eBook's search function to review character relationships and avoid confusion over the long text.

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
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
  82. 82
  83. 83
  84. 84
  85. 85
  86. 86
  87. 87
  88. 88
  89. 89
  90. 90

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?
This is the original English-language eBook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English, with no Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability, or should use dictionaries and other aids.
What does the title "The Golden Calf" mean?
The golden calf comes from a biblical story and is often used to symbolize the worship of money and material things. The title signals that the novel likely revolves around the lure of money and moral choices; as you read, watch for how characters choose and what follows when money is involved.
Is it suitable as a text for a British literature course?
It can serve as supplementary reading for Victorian popular fiction, helping readers understand serialized narrative and social attitudes of the time. Whether it suits classroom use depends on the course's requirements for reading original English texts and on students' language level.
Any practical advice for reading the eBook?
Use reading software that supports bookmarks and search so you can review characters and plot; for a long text, read chapter by chapter and jot brief notes after each to reduce the burden caused by language and period differences.

Comments

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About the author

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835–1915) was an English novelist of the Victorian era, known for her intricate, suspenseful popular fiction. Her representative work, Lady Audley's Secret, revolves around concealed identity and hidden secrets and is regarded as part of the "sensation novel" tradition, enjoying wide popularity in its day. The collection holds 35 of her works, including, besides the above, the three-volume Aurora Floyd, Wyllard's Weird, the three-volume John Marchmont's Legacy, All along the River and Run to Earth. She excelled at weaving crime, deception and emotional entanglements into domestic settings, with brisk pacing and dramatic turns of fortune; her work has had a lasting influence on later popular and suspense fiction. Public information on the details of her life is limited, so they are not elaborated here.