The New Forest Spy

Fenn, George Manville, 1831-1909Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 194K words
Chapters: 20

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 New Forest Spy by George Manville FennAuthor: Fenn, George Manville, 1831-1909,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 15, 2007

Editor's review

George Manville Fenn was a prolific 19th-century British writer of boys' adventure fiction, and The New Forest Spy carries on his familiar vein of historical adventure. Set in England's New Forest, the story revolves around suspicions of espionage and the experiences of a young protagonist; the plot is tightly paced, the suspense naturally built, and the novel combines historical atmosphere with a coming-of-age theme. Fenn's prose is plain and fluent, his dialogue lively, making the book a suitable entry point for English learners approaching 19th-century English boys' fiction. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easy to obtain and well suited to reading in snatches on an electronic device, and equally useful as a sample of Victorian boys' literature. Note that the book bears clear marks of its era, and some attitudes and expressions should be viewed in historical perspective.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy boys' adventure stories with a British historical setting
Learners who want to improve their reading through light original-English texts
Researchers interested in Victorian children's literature
Teachers and students in need of free public-domain eBook resources

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced contemporary suspense narratives
Those with weak English who find 19th-century English expression hard going
Readers expecting rigorous historical scholarship or adult-oriented political intrigue

Reading tips

Read the preface and chapter titles first to grasp the setting and character relationships before starting the main text.
When you meet unfamiliar old words, guess from context rather than reaching for the dictionary too often, so as to keep your reading rhythm.
Reading alongside geographical material on England's New Forest can strengthen your sense of the setting.
After finishing, trace how the espionage clues are planted and revealed, and appreciate the author's technique of suspense.

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 English level is this book suited to?

As a late-19th-century boys' novel, its sentences and vocabulary are generally plain, though it contains some old-fashioned and period expressions. Readers with intermediate English reading ability who are used to long English stories will find it easy to start with; beginners may use notes or a parallel translation as support.

Why recommend reading the electronic edition?

The book is released free by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook, easy to obtain and free of copyright concerns. The electronic edition lets you adjust font size, search words and passages, and carry it anywhere; it suits reading in spare moments and makes annotation and excerpting easy for learners.

Is the content suitable for young readers?

The book was originally boys' literature, with themes of adventure and growing up, and is on the whole suitable for young readers. But it bears the imprint of Victorian attitudes, and some expressions need to be understood in historical perspective; young readers are advised to read with appropriate guidance from a teacher or parent.

Comments

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About the author

Fenn, George Manville, 1831-1909 Author

George Manville Fenn (1831–1909) was a British author whose biographical details remain limited in publicly available sources. The library holds 127 of his works, including The Little Skipper: A Son of a Sailor, The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains, and Sappers and Miners: The Flood beneath the Sea. Most center on youthful growth and adventure, often set at sea, in mining districts, or on the western plains. He also wrote such biographical work as George Alfred Henty: The Story of an Active Life. His writing emphasizes plot momentum and the shaping of character in young readers, and is commonly classified as inspirational coming-of-age fiction, holding a place in the tradition of juvenile adventure novels.