The Long Vacation

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 506K words
Chapters: 51

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 Long Vacation by Charlotte M. YongeAuthor: Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Long Vacation is an English novel by Charlotte M. Yonge, available as a free eBook from Project Gutenberg. A prolific 19th-century British author, Yonge often wrote about family, education, and moral growth, and this book follows the same vein, weaving its narrative around everyday events and relationships during a holiday. As a public-domain eBook, its value lies in giving readers free access to Victorian English literature in its original form: the prose is elegant and the pacing unhurried, making it suitable as an introduction to English literature or as extensive reading material. It works well for reading in installments over a long holiday or during commutes, and for English learners building vocabulary and expression from context. Note that this is the original English text and dates from an early period, so some social attitudes and language customs bear the marks of their time; readers should approach it as literary history and language practice rather than expecting the tightly plotted pace of a modern novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want low-cost access to Victorian English fiction
Learners preparing for exams or studying English on their own who need original-text extensive reading material
Literature enthusiasts interested in 19th-century English family and domestic themes

Not a good fit for

Readers of modern fiction who prefer fast pacing and strong plot conflict
Readers whose English is not yet sufficient for 19th-century long sentences
Beginners looking for detailed notes or a guided introduction

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to gauge the language difficulty before committing to the whole book.
Keep a notebook to record new words and typical sentence patterns as part of English extensive reading.
Read chapter by chapter, about half an hour at a time, to avoid fatigue from long sentences.
Briefly familiarize yourself with Victorian English society beforehand to aid comprehension of the plot.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English text from the Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook collection, with no Chinese translation included. It requires some English reading ability; intermediate to advanced learners or readers interested in original English literature are advised to try it.

Can I understand it without notes or an introduction?

This is a public-domain electronic text and generally includes no modern editorial notes or introduction. The long sentences and period usage of 19th-century English may pose obstacles; use a dictionary, or first read shorter works by the same author to get used to the style before tackling this book.

Is it suitable for learning English?

It can serve as extensive reading material to familiarize yourself with 19th-century English sentence patterns and vocabulary, but it is not suitable as a beginner's textbook. Read it once you have some grounding in grammar, and focus on grasping the general meaning rather than looking up every word, so as not to disrupt the reading rhythm.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901 Author

Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901) was a prolific nineteenth-century British novelist and writer of children's literature, with 65 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, but her representative works reveal the range of her writing: family novels such as The Heir of Redclyffe and The Daisy Chain centre on everyday life and moral growth; A Book of Golden Deeds and The Little Duke, aimed at young readers, recount historical stories and heroic character; she also wrote a life of John Coleridge Patteson, missionary bishop of the Melanesian Islands. Her works generally deal with family, faith, duty and history in a gentle, realistic style, and were influential among Victorian readers, with many long surviving as reading for young people.