The Shadow

Stringer, Arthur, 1874-1950Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 282K words
Chapters: 29

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 Shadow by Arthur StringerAuthor: Stringer, Arthur, 1874-1950,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 2, 2013

Editor's review

Arthur Stringer was a Canadian author of popular fiction and poetry, whose works are chiefly distinguished by their plotting. As a public-domain eBook, The Shadow is accessible and well suited as a sample for understanding Anglophone popular narrative of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Published by Project Gutenberg and in the public domain, the text may be freely quoted, compared with the original, or used for language study. Readers need not pursue bibliographical exactness; it is better treated as short-cycle reading material: first read the main story, then note the period feel in dialogue and scene description. For those studying popular literature, the magazine serial tradition, or English narrative style, this work of manageable length can serve as a light entry point. Note that the electronic edition's formatting and notes depend on the Project Gutenberg transcription and provide no modern introduction, so readers must supply background knowledge themselves or consult other materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners using a short original English text for extensive reading practice
Readers interested in popular fiction of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Researchers needing a public-domain English text for textual analysis or quotation
Commuters who prefer plot-driven reading in manageable length

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern annotations, an introduction, and detailed textual notes
Genre readers who prefer contemporary suspense pacing and strong twist structures
Scholars needing complete research materials such as the author's biography and a chronology of works

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the story's direction, then mark unfamiliar words and period usage on a second pass.
Read alongside the original layout on the Project Gutenberg page to avoid misreading caused by transcription formatting.
For language study, after each chapter retell the plot and character relationships in three sentences.
Researchers of popular literature can record narrative perspective and dialogue style as analytical material.

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 the public domain, and can it be used freely?

The Shadow is published by Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain electronic text. Generally, subject to local copyright law, it may be used for reading, quotation, and teaching; for publication or commercial projects, it is still advisable to check the specific copyright rules of your country or region.

Will it be difficult to read without a modern introduction?

The text itself is popular narrative with relatively clear plot lines, so reading it directly is not very difficult. The main challenges are period usage and background knowledge. Readers can first read the main story, guess unfamiliar expressions from context, and consult a dictionary or relevant historical background materials when necessary.

Is it suitable as material for intensive English reading?

It can be used for extensive reading or for intensive reading of selected passages. It is advisable to choose passages with dense dialogue or concentrated scene description and analyze sentence patterns and word choice; for systematic intensive reading, it is best to pair it with an annotated textbook edition, since the Project Gutenberg electronic version provides no vocabulary list or grammar explanations.

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About the author

Stringer, Arthur, 1874-1950 Author

Stringer, Arthur (1874–1950) was an English-language writer active in the first half of the twentieth century. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life such as nationality and educational background are not clearly recorded. Twelve of his works are held in the collection, covering both fiction and poetry. In fiction, he wrote a series of novels set against the North American prairie, including The Prairie Wife, The Prairie Child and The Prairie Mother, noted for their delicate touch and their attention to family relationships and women's circumstances; he also explored urban suspense and psychological thriller themes in works such as The Wire Tappers, The Shadow and The Man Who Couldn't Sleep, which are tightly plotted and skilled at building tension. His poem Hephaestus, Persephone at Enna, and Sappho in Leucadia shows his taste for classical mythology. Overall, his writing spans popular fiction and poetry, with varied subjects and a plain, readable style.