The Pool in the Desert

Duncan, Sara Jeannette, 1861-1922Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 380K words
Chapters: 38

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 Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeannette DuncanAuthor: Duncan, Sara Jeannette, 1861-1922,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 1998

Editor's review

This novel by Canadian author Sara Jeannette Duncan is available as a free ebook through Project Gutenberg. Duncan is known for her keen observation and restrained prose; the book unfolds around an exotic setting and the predicaments of its characters, carrying the flavor of turn-of-the-century English-language travel and colonial writing. Readers can sense the psychological shifts of a female character in an unfamiliar culture, and the author's handling of the tension between social custom and personal choice. As a public-domain ebook, it serves as a supplementary reader for understanding Canadian English literature and late-nineteenth-century women's writing. Readers should note the original English style and historical context; some attitudes are distant from contemporary perspectives and are best viewed through a literary-historical lens. Overall, it is not a plot-driven genre novel but better suited to close reading of language and relationships, read in quiet sessions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy late-nineteenth-century English literature and close attention to character psychology
Students and enthusiasts of Canadian literature or the history of women's writing
Learners who need public-domain English ebooks as reading material
Readers used to slow, sectional reading of essayistic fiction rather than strong plot

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who prefer fast pacing and strong suspense
Readers with weak English who would prefer a Chinese translation
Readers impatient with colonial-era settings and old-fashioned narrative pacing

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get used to the author's narrative rhythm and character relationships before continuing.
Keep a notebook on characters' situations and cultural background to follow their psychological shifts.
Read alongside reference materials on Canadian literary history to understand the work's period context.
Read one or two chapters at a time, leaving time to savor the language and details.

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 a Chinese book?

No. The material shows it is an English-language work, a free ebook provided by Project Gutenberg, in English and classified under American and Canadian literature. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should find a translation to read alongside.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest project to provide free ebooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. It prepares public-domain works as electronic texts for free reading; this book is one of them, so its edition information follows the ebook release record.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Some familiarity with English literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries helps, especially travel writing and women's writing. The book involves an exotic setting and social customs; a little knowledge of the colonial period makes it easier to grasp the characters' situations and the author's tone.

Is this book suitable for classroom use?

It can serve as supplementary material for courses on Canadian literature or women's writing, but teachers should provide background explanation and guidance. Since it is a public-domain ebook in period style, selected passages for discussion are preferable to requiring the whole book.

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About the author

Duncan, Sara Jeannette, 1861-1922 Author

Sara Jeannette Duncan (1861-1922) was an English-language writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with ten works held in this collection. Public information about her is limited, and her nationality and biographical details cannot be confirmed here, yet her subjects reveal her main interests. She often drew on the lives of British and American people in colonial society: The Simple Adventures of a Memsahib, The Story of Sonny Sahib and His Honour, and a Lady centre on everyday life and social manners in India; The Imperialist touches on colonial politics and imperial sentiment; An American Girl in London portrays transatlantic cultural encounter; and The Path of a Star and A Daughter of To-Day concern women under public scrutiny. Her tone is gently satirical and closely observant, using marriage, sociability and differences of status to depict her era, offering readable examples of women's writing in colonial and imperial contexts.