The Silent House

Fergus Hume (Fergusson Wright Hume)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 404K words
Chapters: 41

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 Silent House by Fergus HumeAuthor: Hume, Fergus, 1859-1932,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 17, 2006

Editor's review

The Silent House is an English novel by Fergus Hume, part of the Project Gutenberg free eBook collection. Hume was a popular fiction writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often working with mystery and crime themes. The book is presented in the original English, with a narrative style characteristic of the late Victorian to Edwardian era, and its plot advances through dialogue and scene-setting. As a public-domain eBook, its greatest value lies in offering readers a low-cost entry point to early English mystery fiction, suitable as supplementary material for reading English literature. Readers can experience the pace of old-style mystery stories while observing the language habits and narrative techniques of popular fiction of the time. Note, however, that the electronic edition is in the original English and dates from an early period, so some expressions are distant from modern English and readers need a certain foundation in English reading. It is better suited to reading for literary interest or as English extensive reading material than as a core text for systematic academic research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who enjoy early English mystery and crime fiction
Learners who want to use public-domain eBooks for English extensive reading practice
Readers interested in popular literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a Chinese translation or bilingual reading
Readers expecting modern fast-paced mystery narratives
People with weak English reading skills who struggle with old-style expressions

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to get familiar with the language style and character relationships, then proceed chapter by chapter
Keep a vocabulary notebook to record recurring old-style expressions and idioms
Use an audiobook or text-to-speech tool to help adapt to the rhythm of English narration

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 from the Project Gutenberg public-domain eBook project. The main text is in English with no Chinese translation. A certain foundation in English is needed before reading; try the opening pages first to judge the difficulty.

Can someone with no English read this book?

Not really recommended. The book dates from an early period, its language contains old-style expressions, and it is in the original English. With weak English skills, reading will be quite difficult; a Chinese translation or bilingual edition would be a better stepping stone.

Is this book suitable for academic research?

As a public-domain popular novel text, it can be used to understand Hume's writing style or the linguistic features of early English mystery fiction. For in-depth academic research, however, consult relevant literary histories and criticism as well; it is not advisable to base a study on this book alone.

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About the author

Fergus Hume (Fergusson Wright Hume) Author · English · 1859–1932

Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist. Born in England, he moved with his family to New Zealand as a child, studied at the University of Otago and qualified as a lawyer. In 1885 he went to Melbourne, and the following year he published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab at his own expense, achieving instant fame; the book is regarded as a bestselling classic in the history of detective fiction. In 1888 Hume returned to England to settle, and thereafter devoted himself to detective and suspense fiction, producing more than a hundred works in his lifetime, of which 66 are held in this collection, including The Silent House, The Gentleman Who Vanished and The Spider. He died in Essex in 1932.