The Prodigal Son

Caine, Hall, Sir, 1853-1931Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 802K words
Chapters: 81

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 Prodigal Son by Sir Hall CaineAuthor: Caine, Hall, Sir, 1853-1931,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 13, 2016

Editor's review

The Prodigal Son is a novel by the British writer Sir Hall Caine, now offered by Project Gutenberg as a free electronic edition of the original English text in the public domain. Caine was a major representative of British popular fiction from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and his works often interweave family ethics, emotional conflict and social issues. This book continues his characteristic narrative style: steady plotting and character portrayal focused on moral dilemmas and the tensions of kinship. For readers hoping to encounter late Victorian to Edwardian British popular literature, this work serves as a sample of the popular reading tastes of the period; the original English text is also suitable as supplementary reading for literature students studying late nineteenth-century narrative techniques. Readers are advised to consider the publishing context of Caine's time in order to understand his position between serious literature and popular reading. As a public-domain ebook, this edition has no modern introduction or notes, so readers need some background knowledge of their own. Overall, this is a work suited to slow reading and to appreciating character emotion and period atmosphere rather than a modern novel that wins by clever plotting.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers who enjoy late nineteenth-century British popular fiction
English majors studying late Victorian to Edwardian novel narrative
Ebook readers seeking free original English texts in the public domain
Readers interested in novels about family ethics and kinship

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern genre fiction with strong plots
Beginners whose English reading ability is not yet sufficient for a full nineteenth-century novel
Self-learners who need modern introductions, notes or classroom materials

Reading tips

First look up Hall Caine's life and creative background before entering the text, to grasp the tone of his popular ethical narrative.
Proceed chapter by chapter and note character relationships and lines of moral conflict to avoid confusion from the large cast.
Read alongside British novels of the same period to appreciate how popular and serious literature differ in handling themes.
When encountering unfamiliar expressions in the original English, read the surrounding context first rather than checking every word, so as to maintain the overall rhythm.

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 the original English text or a Chinese translation?

This is the original English ebook released by Project Gutenberg, in English and in the public domain. There is no Chinese translation and no modern publisher's introduction or notes.

Is it difficult to read without notes or an introduction?

Hall Caine's narrative language is generally plain, but late nineteenth-century usage differs from today's English. Readers with university-level English can read it smoothly; beginners are advised to learn about the author and period background first.

Is it suitable as English learning material?

It can serve as extensive reading material for intermediate and advanced English readers, to build literary feel and understand long sentences; but it is not a graded reader, and its vocabulary and syntax are not suitable for beginners as intensive reading material.

Why recommend it to literature researchers?

Caine was a widely popular novelist of his time, and his works reflect the tastes and ethical concerns of the popular reading market, offering some reference value for studying the circulation and reception of late nineteenth-century British fiction.

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About the author

Caine, Hall, Sir, 1853-1931 Author

Sir Hall Caine (1853–1931) was a British novelist active from the late Victorian era into the early twentieth century. Public information about his life is limited, so biographical details should not be guessed at; his twenty-one works held in this collection nonetheless show where his literary interests lay. Many of his novels are set on the Isle of Man, his home, including The Manxman, The Deemster and A Son of Hagar. They are known for intricate plots and intense emotion, dealing with family ties, love and marriage, and moral conflict in a popular melodramatic mode. He also wrote Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, recalling his acquaintance with the painter, while works such as The Christian and The Scapegoat explore faith and redemption. Classified here under inspirational growth, his novels are often read in Chinese as stories of characters maturing through hardship, combining readability with moral concern.