The Law Inevitable

Couperus, Louis, 1863-1923Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 478K words
Chapters: 48

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 Law Inevitable by Louis CouperusAuthor: Couperus, Louis, 1863-1923,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Sep 27, 2013

Editor's review

The Law Inevitable is a novel by the Dutch writer Louis Couperus, available as a free eBook from Project Gutenberg. Couperus was a major Dutch novelist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; his works often depict upper-class and colonial life with delicate detail, exploring the tension between fate, desire, and social convention. This English edition offers readers easy access to a classic of Dutch literature and will appeal to those interested in European literature, the theme of fate, and psychological portrayal. It is best read in the context of the late nineteenth century, where naturalism and aestheticism intersect, with attention to the characters' struggles against an irresistible "law." The electronic edition is easy to search and excerpt, making it suitable for literary scholars, students of comparative literature, and general readers seeking to broaden their view of lesser-known European literatures. As a public-domain eBook without a modern introduction, it is best read alongside biographical and historical background materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Dutch and other lesser-known European literatures
Literature students studying late nineteenth-century naturalist fiction
Serious readers who enjoy themes of fate, desire, and social convention
Readers looking for free public-domain English classics as eBooks

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer fast-paced plots and strong entertainment value
Beginners who need modern annotations and introductions to read classics comfortably
Readers unfamiliar with nineteenth-century European society who are unwilling to consult background materials

Reading tips

First learn about Couperus's life and the literary context after the Dutch Golden Age, then begin the text
Note the characters' psychological turning points as they face the "inevitable law," and trace the thematic threads
Read alongside other naturalist novels to compare how different writers treat the theme of fate
Use the eBook's search function to collect key terms, and write a short thematic analysis after finishing

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 the English difficulty of this book suitable for non-native readers?

As an English translation from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, it has long sentences and delicate description; the vocabulary is not obscure but the style is strongly literary. Readers with college-level English can finish it with a dictionary, and it is advisable to sample a chapter first to judge the difficulty.

How should a public-domain eBook without a modern introduction be read?

First look up the author Couperus's life and creative phases, understand the naturalist and aestheticist background of the novel, and then read with thematic questions in mind. After finishing, review it against literary histories to make up for the lack of an introduction.

How does this book relate to Couperus's other works?

Couperus often sets his works in upper-class and colonial life and focuses on fate, desire, and social convention. This book continues that thematic concern, but specific plots and character relationships should be based on the text itself; it is best to compare his different works after reading.

Comments

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About the author

Couperus, Louis, 1863-1923 Author

Louis Couperus (1863–1923) was a Dutch novelist whose life is little documented in the Chinese-speaking world, and public information about him is limited. He was a prolific writer, and this site holds more than twenty-three of his works, many of which deal with personal growth and life transitions and are commonly classified under inspirational growth. His representative works include The Hidden Force: A Story of Modern Java, Eline Vere, Small Souls, The Later Life, Old People and the Things That Pass, The Twilight of the Souls, Noodlot, and Travel Impressions. His writing often reveals human fate through delicate psychological portrayal and an ironic tone, combining realism with aestheticism, and has had a lasting influence on Dutch literature.