The Holladay Case: A Tale

Stevenson, Burton Egbert, 1872-1962Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 249K words
Chapters: 25

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 Holladay Case: A Tale by Burton Egbert Stevenson. Author: Stevenson, Burton Egbert, 1872-1962. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Oct 30, 2006

Editor's review

The Holladay Case: A Tale is an English-language novel by Burton E. Stevenson, classified under American and Canadian literature and released free through Project Gutenberg. As a product of an early public-domain e-book project, its value for readers lies in offering zero-barrier access to early twentieth-century popular narrative tradition. The story revolves around a case, with elements of suspense and plot momentum, suited to reading in short sessions. Note that the Gutenberg edition is the original English text without Chinese notes, and the source material provides no specific plot details; readers should treat it as an unexplored public-domain text rather than a contemporary genre bestseller. It is better suited as English reading practice material or as a public-domain e-book collectible than as a classic requiring deep literary analysis. When reading, consider the historical context of Project Gutenberg to appreciate the significance of early digital publishing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to read English public-domain novels for free
Intermediate and advanced learners who want to practice long-form English reading
Readers interested in early popular suspense narratives
Digital reading enthusiasts who collect Project Gutenberg e-books

Not a good fit for

Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual annotations
Readers expecting contemporary fast-paced thrillers
Researchers seeking detailed author biography and work analysis

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Mark unfamiliar words as you go, then look them up together after finishing a passage.
Use the Project Gutenberg introduction page to learn about the book's digitization background.
If using it for English study, retell the plot in two or three sentences after 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.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

The source indicates the book's language is English, classified under American and Canadian literature. Project Gutenberg provides the original English e-book without Chinese translation or notes, so Chinese readers need some English reading ability.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest public-benefit project providing free e-books, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. It works to digitize public-domain books for free access. This book is one of the electronic texts released by the project.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material for intermediate and advanced English learners, as it is a complete English novel in early twentieth-century popular narrative style. However, the source provides no grading or annotations, so beginners may find it difficult; try reading one chapter first before deciding.

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About the author

Stevenson, Burton Egbert, 1872-1962 Author

Burton Egbert Stevenson (1872–1962) was an American author and anthologist whose biographical details remain limited in publicly available sources. His best-known contribution is the multi-volume poetry anthology The Home Book of Verse, which gathered a large body of English verse for family reading and recitation and has long been regarded as a representative popular anthology of its kind. Beyond editing, he wrote detective and mystery fiction, including The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet, The Holladay Case, and Mysterium Arcae Boulé, whose plots revolve around puzzling cases and reflect the reasoning pleasures of early detective fiction. He also wrote travel sketches such as The Charm of Ireland, recording Irish scenery and travel impressions. Eighteen of his works are held in the collection, spanning poetry anthologies, detective novels, and travel writing, showing that his work combined anthologizing with popular narrative.