The Quest

Frederik Willem van EedenProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 883K words
Chapters: 89

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 Quest by Frederik van EedenAuthor: Eeden, Frederik van, 1860-1932,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Sep 4, 2012

Editor's review

The Quest is a full-length work by the Dutch author Frederik van Eeden, made available as a free English eBook through Project Gutenberg. Van Eeden was a major Dutch writer and thinker of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, whose writing often carries a symbolic quality and a sense of spiritual inquiry; the word “quest” in the title itself signals an inward, philosophical narrative direction. For readers used to plot-driven fiction, the pace may feel slow, but read as an essayistic work with an allegorical quality, it rewards attention to the questioning and reflection beneath the surface. The value of the Gutenberg edition lies in making this hard-to-find text available free in electronic form; it suits readers interested in lesser-known European literature, the symbolist tradition, or reflective narrative as further reading. Readers are advised to learn something of the author’s literary context before beginning, and while reading to watch the symbolic layers behind the characters’ actions rather than pressing for plot resolution.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late nineteenth-century European literature and symbolist narrative
Literary enthusiasts hoping to broaden their reading in Dutch and Low Countries literature
Readers who prefer reflective, allegorical texts to strongly plotted fiction
Students who need a free English electronic text for literary study or course reading

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction expecting fast pacing and strong conflict
Readers unaccustomed to reading in English who are unwilling to use supporting tools
People seeking clear, practical knowledge or step-by-step guidance from the book

Reading tips

Look up Van Eeden’s life and literary background before starting; this helps in understanding the text’s symbolic direction.
Read slowly, following characters and events as threads of thought rather than rushing toward a plot conclusion.
Keep a notebook of recurring images and questions, and return to them after finishing to see how they connect.
If reading English is difficult, use a reliable translation or introductory material alongside the original, but rely mainly on the original.

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 a novel or a philosophical essay?

In the Gutenberg classification it falls under language and literature, so it is a literary work rather than a philosophical treatise. Van Eeden’s writing, however, often has a symbolic and speculative quality, with spiritual questioning woven into the narrative, so it may read more like reflective writing than an ordinary novel. It is best approached as a literary text, while remaining alert to its philosophical dimension.

Can I read this book if my English is not strong?

This is an English-language eBook written in a literary style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with potentially long sentence structures. If your English reading is limited, first use an introduction or translation to grasp the outline, then try the original; a dictionary can help you read paragraph by paragraph, and there is no need to rush.

What is special about the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg was the first project to offer free electronic books, and this is its English electronic text. Its value is that it is free, accessible, and easy to search, making it suitable for study or reading through; but it is an electronic text, not a scholarly annotated edition, so for academic citation you should check authoritative editions as well.

Do I need to know about the author before reading?

You need not become an expert first, but ten minutes spent learning about Van Eeden’s identity and era will help. He was a Dutch writer and thinker whose works often carry a spirit of spiritual inquiry; knowing this makes it easier to accept the book’s slow, symbolic manner of narration.

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About the author

Frederik Willem van Eeden Author · Dutch · 1860–1932

Frederik van Eeden (1860–1932) was a Dutch writer and psychiatrist born in Haarlem. In 1885 he co-founded the literary magazine De Nieuwe Gids and became a central figure of the Dutch Movement of the Eighties. His best-known work, De kleine Johannes (Little Johannes), reached Chinese readers through Lu Xun's translation. His other works include Dante en Beatrice, en andere verzen, The Bride of Dreams and The Quest, spanning fiction, poetry and reflective prose marked by symbolic imagery and psychological insight. He coined the term "lucid dream" and translated works by Tagore. He died in Bussum in 1932. Public information is limited, but the interplay of his literary and medical-psychological concerns merits further study.