The Iron Furrow

Shedd, George C. (George Clifford), 1877-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 402K words
Chapters: 41

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 Iron Furrow by George C. SheddAuthor: Shedd, George C. (George Clifford), 1877-1937,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 18, 2005

Editor's review

The Iron Furrow is a novel by American author George C. Shedd, classified under American and Canadian literature. The title, built on the image of the "iron furrow," points to a landscape of settlement, farming, and land development; the work carries the typical temper of early twentieth-century American regional narrative, in which characters choose between land and livelihood while daily labor and family ties move the story forward. For readers interested in the tradition of the American regional novel or in early agricultural settlement themes, this public-domain work offers a fairly complete narrative sample. The style is realistic, the pace unfolds with the plot, and it suits readers with patience for a long novel. The electronic edition is provided by Project Gutenberg, easy to obtain and search, and can serve as supplementary reading for courses in American literature.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American regional literature and settlement themes
Researchers studying early twentieth-century American narrative
Literature lovers with patience for long realistic novels
Teachers and students needing public-domain American literary texts for coursework

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer short stories or fast-paced genre fiction
Readers with no interest in agriculture or land themes
Beginning learners with limited stamina for reading in English

Reading tips

First learn about the region and period in which the story is set, then begin the text.
Read chapter by chapter and note the main characters and key land-related events.
Watch for the recurring image of the "iron furrow" and consider its symbolic meaning.
After finishing, compare it with other American regional novels of the same period and contrast their narrative emphases.

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

What kind of novel is this?

It is a realistic American regional novel, centering on land development and farming life as it shapes the characters' fates. The narrative emphasizes daily labor and human relationships, and its pace unfolds naturally with the plot; it suits readers who enjoy traditional realism.

What does the title "The Iron Furrow" mean?

"The Iron Furrow" is both a concrete image of agricultural cultivation and often understood as a symbol of land development and settlement life. While reading, watch for this image as it recurs in the plot and in the characters' choices; it helps unify the book's themes.

Can I understand it without a background in American history?

Yes. The novel moves through characters and daily labor and does not depend on extensive historical knowledge. For a deeper reading, you may first learn the general background of early twentieth-century agricultural development in the American Midwest, which will make the text easier to follow.

Comments

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About the author

Shedd, George C. (George Clifford), 1877-1937 Author

George C. Shedd (1877–1937) was an English-language writer about whose life relatively little is known; publicly available sources confirm only his name, dates, and two works. His representative books include In the Shadow of the Hills and The Iron Furrow. Judging from their titles and their circulation, his writing tended to draw on mountain and rural settings and on labor tied to the land, showing a strong regional flavor and a realistic bent. Because full biographical information is lacking, his nationality, education, and specific experiences cannot be reliably established, and scholarly study of his life remains limited. Even so, these two works offer samples of how rural and regional themes were handled in early twentieth-century popular English fiction, and may be of interest to readers concerned with local settings and the fate of ordinary people.