The Proud Prince

McCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly), 1860-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 270K words
Chapters: 28

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 Proud Prince by Justin H. McCarthyAuthor: McCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly), 1860-1936,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 14, 2008

Editor's review

This is a novel set against a backdrop of historical romance. The author, Justin McCarthy, combines the craft of a playwright and a novelist: the narrative pacing has a distinctly theatrical feel, and the dialogue is concise and full of dramatic tension. The title "The Proud Prince" itself points to the core conflict of character: the pull between identity, dignity, and emotion forms the inner drive that propels the plot. As a free public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, its value lies not only in the text itself but also in giving readers zero-barrier access to the landscape of English popular literature from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. While reading, note how the author handles the shift between court scenes and private emotions, and how theatrical experience influences the novel's staging of scenes. It is suitable as supplementary reading for the theme of "historical romance and popular narrative" in English literature courses, and also for reading in segments during commutes or before bed. One caveat: this is the original English edition, and the book was written relatively early, so some vocabulary and sentence patterns differ from modern English; reading with annotations or a dictionary is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in late nineteenth-century English historical romance novels
English majors using it as supplementary material for studying popular literature and dramatic adaptation
Readers who enjoy stories of court intrigue and character conflict
Readers who want low-cost access to English originals through public-domain eBooks

Not a good fit for

Beginners who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Readers who prefer fast-paced modern genre fiction and lack patience for old-style sentence patterns
Researchers seeking detailed historical research or scholarly annotations

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to use a dictionary or an annotated e-reader edition.
Pay attention to scene transitions and dialogue design; consider the author's identity as a playwright when thinking about narrative features.
Read three to four chapters at a fixed weekly pace; after finishing, summarize changes in character relationships in two or three sentences to avoid confusing the plot.
If used for a course, select one court scene and one private scene for comparative close reading.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English edition, released as a public-domain eBook by Project Gutenberg. The language belongs to late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century written English and differs somewhat from modern English in vocabulary and sentence structure; upper-intermediate English reading ability or above is recommended.

Can I understand it without background knowledge of drama?

Yes. Although the book comes from a playwright and its narrative has a theatrical feel, the plot itself does not depend on professional dramatic knowledge. Readers need only follow the character relationships and personality conflicts to read smoothly; theatrical experience mainly affects the level of appreciation for scene staging and dialogue rhythm.

Is it suitable as English learning material?

It can serve as extensive reading material for intermediate-to-advanced English learners, but is not recommended as an introductory textbook. The book contains many old-style sentence patterns and historical vocabulary; use a dictionary alongside it, focus mainly on understanding the plot and secondarily on accumulating expressions, and do not parse the grammar word by word.

What should I note when reading the electronic edition?

This is a public-domain eBook, and formatting may differ across platforms. Choose a reader with adjustable font size and line spacing, and make good use of the built-in dictionary. Since it is the original English edition without modern annotations, you may skip historical names or place names at first; this will not affect understanding of the main storyline.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

McCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly), 1860-1936 Author

Justin H. McCarthy (1860–1936) was a British writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though public information about his life is limited. Nine of his works are held here, spanning novels, historical writing and drama, mostly drawing on British and European history. Novels such as The Lady of Loyalty House, If I Were King, The Proud Prince and Marjorie are set against royal power, court intrigue and political conflict, and are rich in romance and incident; The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama reflects his interest in dramatic writing. His historical works include volumes III and IV of A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, which narrate the court and politics of the Hanoverian era. Overall, his writing combines popular storytelling with historical subjects, with an emphasis on plot and dramatic tension.