The White People

Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5
Word count
111K words
Chapters
12

Tags

English Originals Foreign Literature Suspense ThrillerSocial ObservationFate EntanglementComplex HumanityPsychological InsightHidden PsycheFemale Perspective

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 White People by Frances Hodgson BurnettAuthor: Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 15, 2006

Editor's review

The White People comes from Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden, and is a short work beyond her full-length children's fiction. Burnett excelled at advancing narrative through finely observed settings and an atmosphere tinged with mystery; this book continues her interest in the supernatural and psychological suggestion, offering an intriguing contrast with the better-known The Secret Garden. The Project Gutenberg edition provides the English text; it is brief and suited to a single sitting. As you read, note the shifts in narrative perspective and the crafting of atmosphere—these show Burnett's skill. One caution: this book is easily confused with works of the same title by other authors, so readers should confirm Burnett as the author. As a public-domain ebook, it has no introduction or notes and suits readers with some English reading experience who are interested in Gothic short fiction or Burnett's less representative work.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Before reading, learn about Burnett's background and distinguish her children's fiction from her supernatural work.
  2. Pay attention to shifts in narrator and perspective, then revisit key passages after finishing to appreciate the atmospheric buildup.
  3. Read it alongside The Secret Garden to observe how the author handles different subjects.
  4. Read it in one sitting to keep the atmosphere continuous and avoid frequent interruptions.

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

FAQ

Is this book in the same style as The Secret Garden? Not entirely. The Secret Garden is a warm story of childhood growth, while The White People is a short work leaning toward mystery and the supernatural. Both show Burnett's fine atmospheric writing, but their subjects differ, so readers should not approach this book expecting a children's story.
Why is this book easily confused with other works? The title The White People has been used by several writers in literary history, so searches may turn up works with the same name. The author of this book is Frances Hodgson Burnett; checking the author information will prevent confusion.
How long does it take to read? This is a short work, and the English text is not long; readers with some reading experience can usually finish it in one or two sessions. Setting aside uninterrupted time is recommended so you can fully take in its atmosphere and narrative rhythm.

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About the author

Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924 Author

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was an author of English-language children's literature whose works are often categorized in Chinese contexts as inspirational coming-of-age stories. This library holds 49 of her works, including her best-known titles A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, as well as versions and school editions centering on Sara Crewe. Her writing usually places children at the center, telling stories of how they keep their dignity, draw on imagination, and grow through hardship or sudden change, in a warm and sympathetic tone. Public information is limited, so her biographical details are not elaborated here; yet the repeated publication and adaptation of these works show that her portraits of girls and boys have circulated widely and left a lasting influence on later children's coming-of-age narratives.