The Stokesley Secret

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 331K words
Chapters: 34

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 Stokesley Secret by Charlotte M. YongeAuthor: Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Sep 1, 2002

Editor's review

Charlotte Yonge was a major Victorian author of domestic fiction and children's literature. Classified as juvenile literature, this book revolves around a secret within a family and continues her characteristic everyday ethical narrative: it treats promise, trust, and responsibility from a child's perspective, advancing not through strong conflict but through relationships and moral choices. Its value lies in presenting the values and narrative pace of nineteenth-century English domestic education and children's reading; it is a useful sample for readers studying Victorian juvenile literature and ideas of family. For general readers, the story is gentle and the language plain, making it a light English original—though modern readers should note its period didactic tone and gender-role assumptions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate English learners who want to read juvenile fiction in the original English
Readers studying Victorian children's literature and domestic narrative
Casual readers who enjoy gentle family stories without strong plotting
Cultural enthusiasts interested in the evolution of nineteenth-century ideas about children's education

Not a good fit for

Genre-fiction readers who prefer tense plots and strong dramatic conflict
Beginner English readers who need modern annotated editions or Chinese translations
Readers sensitive to the period didactic tone of old-fashioned children's literature

Reading tips

First get to know the family relationships and characters' ages, then begin reading the chapters
Mark old-fashioned expressions and unfamiliar words, and look them up after finishing each chapter
Note how the "secret" drives characters toward moral choices, and keep brief notes
Read alongside other domestic fiction of the same period to compare how child figures are portrayed

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

What age of child is this book suitable for?

According to the Gutenberg entry, the book is classified as juvenile literature, but the original is nineteenth-century English, and its vocabulary and syntax are difficult for contemporary children. It is better suited to teenagers or adults with some English foundation; when reading together, an adult can help explain the period background.

Is the story a complete, standalone novel?

This is one of Yonge's full-length works, with a complete narrative built around family and a secret. For specific chapters and length, consult the electronic text's table of contents; before starting, skim the contents to understand the story's pace and structure.

Do I need to know the author's other works before reading?

No. The book can be read independently and does not depend on characters or plots from the author's other novels. If you want to understand her style and period background, you can supplement with biographical material and general information on Victorian children's literature after reading.

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About the author

Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary), 1823-1901 Author

Charlotte M. Yonge (1823–1901) was a prolific nineteenth-century British novelist and writer of children's literature, with 65 works held in this collection. Public information is limited, but her representative works reveal the range of her writing: family novels such as The Heir of Redclyffe and The Daisy Chain centre on everyday life and moral growth; A Book of Golden Deeds and The Little Duke, aimed at young readers, recount historical stories and heroic character; she also wrote a life of John Coleridge Patteson, missionary bishop of the Melanesian Islands. Her works generally deal with family, faith, duty and history in a gentle, realistic style, and were influential among Victorian readers, with many long surviving as reading for young people.