The Last Ditch

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.0

Word count: 400K words
Chapters: 40

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 Last Ditch by Will Levington ComfortAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 30, 2014

Editor's review

The Last Ditch is a public-domain English novel by Will Levington Comfort. The available information classifies it under American and Canadian literature, suggesting the narrative flavor of English-language fiction from that period. The title literally means "the last line of defense," evoking characters' perseverance and choices in adversity. As a Project Gutenberg electronic text, its value lies in being freely available and easy to reread, making it suitable for observing the language rhythms and plot development of early popular English fiction. Readers need not rush; they can first grasp the main storyline, then note the period traces in dialogue and scene description. Lacking a modern introduction, readers must build the background framework themselves. Overall, it is better suited to reading as language practice or literary exploration than as high-stimulus entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with some English foundation who want to read public-domain English novels
Readers interested in early American literature and popular narrative
Students who need free English texts for reading practice
Readers who enjoy slow-paced, character-driven stories

Not a good fit for

English beginners, especially those who need annotations and vocabulary support
Readers who prefer the pace and strong plot twists of contemporary bestsellers
Academic readers who need detailed author biographies and critical studies

Reading tips

Read the first two chapters to judge the language difficulty, then set a daily page count
When encountering unfamiliar words, first guess from context and look them up after finishing the chapter
Read dialogue passages aloud to feel the rhythm of early English fiction
After finishing, write a summary of the plot in about 100 English words

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 the original English edition?

According to the information, the book is in English and falls under American and Canadian literature. It is a public-domain ebook provided by Project Gutenberg, suitable for readers with some English reading ability to read directly.

Does the book include annotations or an introduction?

The information does not indicate modern annotations or an introduction. As a public-domain electronic text, it mainly presents the original text; readers who need background knowledge should look up information about the author and period themselves.

Can English beginners read it?

It is not very suitable for English beginners. The text has no vocabulary list or simplification, and the sentence patterns and wording of early English fiction may pose obstacles. It is advisable to start with graded readers or bilingual editions before attempting the original.

Comments

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About the author

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.