The House from Nowhere

Stangland, Arthur G., 1908-1990Project Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

2.8

Word count: 36K words
Chapters: 4

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 House from Nowhere by Arthur G. StanglandAuthor: Stangland, Arthur G., 1908-1990,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 10, 2010

Editor's review

Also a public-domain English novel in the Project Gutenberg collection, this work by Arthur G. Stangland, a twentieth-century author, falls under American and Canadian literature. Judging by the suspense suggested by its title, it reads more like a short popular tale with an eerie flavor than a grand, sprawling novel. The public-domain e-book is easy to access and moderate in length, making it well suited to a "trial read" of English prose: read a few pages to see whether the voice suits you, then decide whether to go through the whole thing. Its value lies not in its weight in literary history but in offering a complete, short, freely usable sample of English narrative, letting readers observe how a title builds suspense and how an opening sets the atmosphere. It fits well on an e-reader's to-read list, to be finished in fragments of spare time. Readers expecting a serious object of literary criticism or deep character portrayal may find it thin, but taken as a light English narrative experience, it offers more solid returns.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Office workers who want to read English short stories in spare moments
English readers interested in popular fiction with a suspenseful atmosphere
Writing students who need a short example for studying suspense setup
Public-domain readers who prefer e-reading and free annotation

Not a good fit for

Readers of deep fiction who want long, complex plots
Readers with weak English who are unwilling to use reference tools
Readers expecting authoritative translation notes or scholarly introductions

Reading tips

Read only the first two pages to judge whether the language difficulty and atmosphere suit your taste before deciding to read on.
While reading, notice how the title and opening create suspense, and jot down sentences that draw you in.
Read it in two or three sittings, and after each, summarize the progress so far in one sentence.
When finished, try writing a short review of three to five lines in English to test your comprehension and expression.

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 suitable for English beginners?

The materials provide no information on the text's difficulty, so no accurate judgment can be made. Beginners are advised to try the first page or two; if unfamiliar words are too dense, they may use a dictionary or start with shorter English materials before returning to this book.

What does "Nowhere" in the title mean?

The available materials give only the title and author information and contain no plot description, so the specific reference of the title in the story cannot be confirmed. Readers may, after reading the text, reflect for themselves on how the title echoes the content.

What is the difference between a public-domain book and an ordinary publication?

A public-domain book is a work whose copyright term has expired and which may be freely copied and distributed. Project Gutenberg offers free e-versions, so the cost of reading is low, but they usually lack the translation notes, introductions, and careful editing of modern publishers, so readers should pay attention to the quality of the edition themselves.

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About the author

Stangland, Arthur G., 1908-1990 Author · American · 1908–1990

Arthur G. Stangland (1908–1990) was a twentieth-century American writer. Public information about his life is limited, and the details currently available center mainly on his writing activity. Two of his works have been preserved and are known today: The Black Tide and The House from Nowhere. These works are commonly grouped under inspirational and personal-growth categories. His writing appeared in periodicals and anthologies of the period, indicating that his career was closely tied to the popular publishing environment of the early-to-mid twentieth-century United States. Judging from the surviving titles, he was skilled at using suspenseful narrative to carry themes of growth and inspiration, with tight plots and concise length suited to magazine readers. Although his personal history and the full range of his work remain to be explored, these two works still offer concrete examples of the inspirational style in American popular literature of the time.