The Lowest Rung

Mary CholmondeleyProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 183K words
Chapters: 19

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 Lowest Rung by Mary CholmondeleyAuthor: Cholmondeley, Mary, 1859-1925,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 12, 2008

Editor's review

The Lowest Rung is a novel by the English writer Mary Cholmondeley, released as a free e-book by Project Gutenberg. Cholmondeley was active from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and her work often engages with social class and the situation of women; this book continues that concern, building its narrative around the lives of people at the bottom of the social scale. For readers who want a sense of the English novel in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, this modest-length work can serve as an introduction to Cholmondeley's style. The electronic edition comes from Project Gutenberg; the text is an English public-domain book, easy to open on a computer or e-reader at any time. When reading, pay attention to the author's delicate portrayal of her characters' circumstances and her understated social commentary rather than expecting strong dramatic conflict. It suits as supplementary reading outside an English literature course, or as light reading for a commute. Since this is a public-domain electronic text, choose an edition with clear typesetting and keep a dictionary handy for occasional period expressions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature readers interested in late nineteenth-century British fiction
Readers who want to understand Cholmondeley's style and look for an entry point
Students who need free public-domain English e-books for outside reading
Commuters who enjoy social themes and a gently paced narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want tense plots and strong conflict
Readers whose English is still limited and who need extensive annotation
Readers who prefer contemporary subjects and have little patience for classics

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to get a feel for the language before deciding to read the whole book.
Look up period expressions in a dictionary as you go, without stopping over every word.
Compare with other works by Cholmondeley to observe her social concerns.
Choose a clearly typeset public-domain e-edition to reduce reading distractions.

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 level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is an English novel from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, with sentence patterns and vocabulary characteristic of the period. A reading level of CET-4 or above is suggested, along with a dictionary for occasional unfamiliar expressions. If reading English novels is usually a struggle, start with short stories or simplified editions first.

Is the Gutenberg edition the complete original?

Project Gutenberg provides a complete electronic text of works in the public domain; according to the information, this book was released in 2008. It is not a rewrite or an excerpt, but typesetting and proofreading quality may vary between download channels, so choose an edition with clean pages and clear notes.

Is it suitable as English-learning material?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but not as a sole textbook. The language has a period feel and the plot moves slowly, so beginners may lose motivation. If you use it for study, alternate it with modern English reading and focus on vocabulary for describing characters and scenes.

Comments

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About the author

Mary Cholmondeley Author · British · 1859–1925

Mary Cholmondeley (1859–1925) was a British novelist, born in 1859 at Hodnet in Shropshire, the daughter of a country clergyman. Because she cared for her ailing mother and suffered from asthma herself, she lived mostly at home until the age of thirty, and this rural experience later fed into her writing. In 1899 her satirical novel Red Pottage became a bestseller in Britain and the United States, mocking religious hypocrisy and the narrowness of country life and establishing her reputation. Her other major works include The Danvers Jewels, Diana Tempest, The Prisoner, and The Lowest Rung; eleven of her works are held in this collection. She never married and died in London in 1925. Public information is limited and many details of her life remain uncertain, yet her cool-eyed observation of late Victorian social manners retains scholarly value.