The Summons

Alfred Edward Woodley MasonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 559K words
Chapters: 56

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 Summons by A. E. W. Mason. Author: Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley), 1865-1948. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Jul 28, 2005

Editor's review

Mason's The Summons is an English novel in the public domain, distributed free by Project Gutenberg. A. E. W. Mason is known for his plotting, and his works often revolve around suspense and the choices characters make; this book will likewise suit readers who are drawn by story. As an early work of popular English fiction, it moves at a brisk pace and advances its clues clearly, sustaining tension within a relatively short length—good for those who want to build a reading habit with lighter English originals. Its value lies in offering a sample of English narrative that does not depend on complex terminology: sentence structures are fairly regular, dialogue and scene description are balanced, and learners can observe how a novel lays out suspense. It suits分段 reading on a commute or before sleep, and can also serve as extensive reading material for an English reading class. One caveat: the book was written long ago, and its social background, characters' views, and habits of expression are distant from the present; readers should treat it as a period text rather than judge characters' behavior by today's standards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners who want to build a reading habit with lighter English originals
Readers of popular fiction who enjoy suspense and plot momentum
Students who need extensive reading material to add to their English reading volume
Readers interested in the narrative style of early English fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking contemporary literary experimentation or deep psychological portraiture
People who prefer a Chinese translation and are not used to reading English originals
Readers sensitive to the period attitudes in early works

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to establish the character relationships, then proceed section by section to avoid losing the thread.
Guess unfamiliar words from context first and look them up after finishing a passage, so as to keep reading fluently.
After finishing, revisit the key turning points and trace how clues were planted and paid off.
Read alongside other works by the same author to see his usual methods of plotting.

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 English level is this book suitable for?

As an early work of popular English fiction, it has fairly regular sentence structures and is driven mainly by plot, rather than using stream of consciousness or rare expressions as experimental fiction often does. It suits readers with intermediate English reading ability who can finish an ordinary English story with the help of a dictionary; beginners can start with the short chapters and gradually adapt to the narrative pace.

What is the reading experience of the public-domain e-book like?

This book is distributed free by Project Gutenberg, with the full text available for分段 reading on electronic devices. The advantage of a public-domain e-book is easy access and low cost, but the formatting and proofreading are done by a volunteer project, so there may be inconsistent formatting or typos in places. If something seems clearly wrong, you can check against another electronic edition; it generally does not affect overall comprehension.

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

No. The book can be read independently; its characters and plot are self-contained and do not depend on prior events from other works. If you become interested in the author's narrative style after reading, you can then compare other novels by the same author to better appreciate his plotting; reading this book first will not cause any difficulty in understanding.

Is the content suitable for middle school students?

This is an early English novel whose plot centers on suspense and characters' choices; on the whole it is not a difficult text, but the social background and characters' views carry the marks of their time, and some expressions may be distant from contemporary values. Middle school students with the appropriate English ability can read it under the guidance of a teacher or parent, focusing on understanding the plot and learning the language rather than directly adopting the views expressed in the book.

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About the author

Alfred Edward Woodley Mason Author · British · 1865–1948

A. E. W. Mason (Alfred Edward Woodley Mason, 1865–1948) was a British novelist and playwright born in Camberwell, London, and educated at Trinity College, Oxford. His work spans adventure, detective fiction, and romance; his best-known novel, The Four Feathers, is celebrated for its conflict between battlefield duty and honour. His French detective Inspector Hanaud is regarded as one of the prototypes for Hercule Poirot, and such mystery works as At the Villa Rose and The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel also drew readers' attention. Mason served as a Liberal MP in the House of Commons and worked in naval intelligence during the First World War, experiences that lent a realistic texture to his narratives. Twenty of his works are held in the collection; public information is limited, yet his writing retains a place in the history of popular and detective fiction.