The Mistletoe Bough

Trollope, Anthony, 1815-1882Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 50K words
Chapters: 5

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 Mistletoe Bough by Anthony Trollope. Author: Trollope, Anthony, 1815-1882. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Feb 1, 2003

Editor's review

The Mistletoe Bough is a short work by Anthony Trollope, released by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook. Trollope excels at using everyday occasions such as festivals and family gatherings as a stage to portray characters' hesitation and choices between emotion and social propriety, and this work is also suited to being understood within the context of Victorian short fiction. Concise in length and focused in narrative, it serves as a light entry point for understanding Trollope's short-form writing and is also convenient for English learners as close-reading material. As a public-domain English original without translation or notes, readers need to handle unfamiliar words and period usage themselves. It suits holiday-themed book clubs, literature electives, or personal fragmented reading; readers expecting long unfolding or strong dramatic conflict may find it unsatisfying.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian holiday-themed short fiction
English learners needing English public-domain short stories as close-reading material
Readers wanting to approach Trollope's works through short stories
Selectors of material for holiday-themed book clubs or classroom discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers who only read Chinese translations and do not wish to engage with the English original
Novel readers who prefer strong plots and long-form narrative

Reading tips

On the first pass, follow the plot; on the second, note the hints of propriety and emotion in characters' dialogue.
Excerpt unfamiliar words and period usage separately and look them up after finishing, reducing interruptions to reading.
Organize book-club discussion around the holiday scenes, comparing differences in characters' words and behavior at gatherings.

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 work related to holidays?

The mistletoe in the title is a common image in Western holiday tradition, and the story also unfolds around holiday and family gatherings, making it suitable for holiday-themed reading.

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

It is a nineteenth-century English short story with rather long sentences and some usage no longer common today; it is more suitable for readers with intermediate or above English reading ability, and can be read closely with a dictionary.

What is its relationship to Trollope's novels?

This is an independent short work that does not depend on the plot background of his novels; it can be read alone or used as an introductory sample of his thematic interests.

Comments

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About the author

Trollope, Anthony, 1815-1882 Author

Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) was a prolific English novelist of the Victorian era, with 83 works held in this collection. He is best known for the Barsetshire novels, including The Last Chronicle of Barset, Barchester Towers, and Framley Parsonage, which are set in a fictional English county and portray the daily life, social manners, and power struggles of the clergy and gentry. Other major works, such as The Way We Live Now, The Prime Minister, Orley Farm, and Can You Forgive Her?, turn to politics, business, and marriage, revealing with careful restraint and gentle irony the tension between social convention and personal ambition. Public information is limited, yet his plain narrative style, large casts of clearly drawn characters, and depiction of Victorian social structure retain lasting value for readers.