The Kentish Coast

Harper, Charles G. (Charles George), 1863-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 468K words
Chapters: 47

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 Kentish Coast by Charles G. HarperAuthor: Harper, Charles G. (Charles George), 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Feb 15, 2019

Editor's review

Harper's The Kentish Coast is a typical English topographical volume, using the Kent coastline as its thread to weave together geography, history, monuments and local lore. Charles G. Harper was an English writer active from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century who specialized in topographical writing from a walking and rambling perspective, in prose steeped in local color and a nostalgic tone. This is not a systematic history but a collection of essayistic observations; readers can follow in the author's footsteps to discover coastal towns, churches, lighthouses and old fishing villages, and to sense the local character of England's southeast coast. As a free Project Gutenberg e-book, it serves as supplementary reading in English local history and travel literature, and is well suited to readers curious about the coastal geography of England. It is best read as a collection of essays to be savored slowly, without seeking plot momentum, but rather appreciating the author's patient observation of local detail and gentle humor.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in English local history and county topography
Those who enjoy travel literature and rambling essays
Students of England's coastal geography and vernacular culture
Advanced English learners who wish to practice slow reading of original texts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a continuous plot or a novel
Researchers needing systematic historical chronologies and scholarly annotation
General readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary narrative

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and chapter titles, and choose a town or landmark of interest as your entry point.
Use a map or online map to locate the place names as you read.
Read one or two chapters at a time, as slow reading for bedtime or the commute.
Skip unfamiliar place names and personal names for now to keep the overall reading rhythm.

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 a novel or a topography?

It is a collection of topographical essays, not a novel. The author records, from a rambler's perspective, the towns, monuments, churches and local lore of the Kent coast, focusing on observation and narration; there is no fictional plot, and it is best read as travel literature and local history.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for English learners?

The original is early twentieth-century English prose, with long sentences and many place names and historical proper nouns, placing it at an intermediate-to-advanced level. Readers with a college-level foundation who are willing to look things up can read it slowly; for language-learning purposes, use a dictionary and a map and do not insist on speed.

Do I need a background in British history to read it?

Not systematically, but some familiarity with the basic geography of southeast England helps. The book touches on church architecture, local legends and old forms of transport, which readers can look up as they go; even with limited background knowledge, it can be enjoyed as gentle rambling essays.

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About the author

Harper, Charles G. (Charles George), 1863-1943 Author

Charles G. Harper (1863–1943) was an English writer and illustrator known for his accounts of England's old roads, coaching inns, and country inns. The library holds 34 of his works, including the two-volume The Old Inns of Old England, road narratives such as The Great North Road, The Holyhead Road, The Exeter Road, and The Manchester and Glasgow Road, as well as Cycle Rides Round London. He often travelled the old mail-coach routes by bicycle or on foot, weaving together geography, historical anecdote, and observations of inns along the way. His writing is both documentary and literary, preserving a valuable record of English roads and rural life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Public information about his life is limited, and biographical details remain largely unknown, yet his work, focused in subject and plain and genial in style, has a modest influence among readers of local history and travel literature.