The Secret Pact

Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine), 1905-2002Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 224K words
Chapters: 23

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 Secret Pact by Mildred A. WirtAuthor: Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine), 1905-2002,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Dec 18, 2010

Editor's review

The Secret Pact is a juvenile work by Mildred A. Wirt, falling under the PZ class of Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Wirt was known for prolific genre fiction, and this book continues her strengths in building suspense and advancing plot, centering on a secret pact; it is a suitable entry point for readers new to English-language juvenile fiction. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is highly accessible and laid out mainly in plain text, easy to read on various devices. Note that the book is dated; its pacing is slower than contemporary YA fiction, and its characterizations bear the typical features of juvenile fiction of its era. For readers curious about English juvenile literature of the early twentieth century or looking for a lightweight original English book to practice reading, it is a low-cost, moderate-length option; those seeking strong plot twists or modern narrative technique may find it plain.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers starting with lightweight original English books
General readers interested in early twentieth-century juvenile literature
Students needing free eBook resources for extracurricular reading
English learners who enjoy suspenseful stories and do not mind a slow pace

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast-paced modern thrillers with strong twists
Beginners with weak English who need annotations or bilingual editions
Readers impatient with the narrative style of old juvenile fiction

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to gauge the language difficulty, then decide whether to read closely or extensively.
Keep a vocabulary notebook for recurring everyday expressions rather than rare words.
After finishing, retell the cause and outcome of the secret pact in your own words to check comprehension.
Read alongside other Project Gutenberg juvenile novels to compare narrative styles.

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 suitable for English beginners to read directly?

Not really for zero beginners or elementary learners. It is an original English juvenile novel; the language is not very difficult, but the book is old, its sentence patterns and vocabulary bear the marks of its time, and there are no annotations. It is best attempted by readers at an intermediate level who can read continuously with a dictionary.

Why is this book free on Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is the earliest platform providing free eBooks, mainly works whose copyright has entered the public domain. This eBook, as published on the platform, can be obtained and read for free; for its exact copyright status, refer to the platform page.

Do I need to know the author's other works to read this book?

No. This is a standalone story that does not depend on prior events from the author's other works. If you like the narrative style, you can look up Wirt's other juvenile novels for further reading.

Comments

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About the author

Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine), 1905-2002 Author

Mildred A. Wirt (1905–2002) was an American writer of children's and young adult literature; publicly available information about her life and education is limited. Thirty of her works are held in this collection, including Whispering Walls, The Brownie Scouts in the Circus, Signal in the Dark, The Clock Strikes Thirteen, Swamp Island, The Secret of the Sundial, The Deserted Yacht, and Voice from the Cave. These works mostly fall under inspirational coming-of-age fiction, often featuring young protagonists and centering on mystery, adventure, and puzzle-solving. The plots move briskly, emphasizing suspense and the testing of character. Written for young readers in accessible language, her stories are strongly narrative and hold a place in the tradition of children's adventure and detective fiction, exerting a degree of influence on later juvenile mystery writing.