The Wilderness Fugitives

Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 262K words
Chapters: 27

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 Wilderness Fugitives by Edward Sylvester EllisAuthor: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 25, 2009

Editor's review

The Wilderness Fugitives is a full-length adventure novel by the nineteenth-century American writer Edward S. Ellis, a representative work of the frontier narrative tradition. Set in the North American wilderness, it unfolds around flight and pursuit, with tight pacing and frequent scene changes that bear the strong imprint of its era. For readers studying the development of American popular literature, frontier fiction, or juvenile adventure novels, this book offers a useful comparative text. The Project Gutenberg public-domain edition is easy to search and cite, making it suitable as a course supplement or as further reading for fans of genre fiction. A caveat: the language and narrative rhythm are distinctly nineteenth-century, the plot relies on coincidence and action set pieces, and characterization is relatively flat; modern readers may need time to adjust. Approach it from the perspective of literary history and read it within the lineage of American adventure fiction rather than expecting contemporary-style psychological depth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars or students of nineteenth-century American popular literature and frontier narrative
Readers who enjoy classic adventure fiction and can accept older narrative pacing
Teachers who need a public-domain English text for course materials or textual analysis
Ebook collectors interested in Project Gutenberg public-domain resources

Not a good fit for

Contemporary fiction readers who prefer modern psychological depth and complex character arcs
Readers who want a Chinese translation and are not comfortable with the English original
Readers impatient with nineteenth-century narrative style and its period limitations

Reading tips

Read the introduction or look up the author and the background of frontier fiction before starting the text.
Proceed chapter by chapter and note how the escape route and scene changes structure the story.
Read alongside materials on the history of American frontier literature to understand the genre tradition.
When encountering unfamiliar place names or period expressions in the English original, brief notes will suffice.

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 suitable as English-learning material?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but note that the book dates from the nineteenth century, so some vocabulary and sentence patterns differ from modern English, and the plot moves quickly. It is best for readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability, used with annotations or a guide to avoid interruptions over period language.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides a public-domain electronic text that is free to access, search, and cite, suitable for research or course use. This edition is the English original and generally does not include modern scholarly annotations or an introduction, so readers must supply background materials themselves.

Do I need to know American frontier history before reading this book?

Systematic historical knowledge is not required, but understanding the basic background of nineteenth-century American frontier narrative will help in grasping character motivations and plot patterns. If reading for literary research, look up a general overview of the genre before moving into close reading.

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About the author

Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Author

Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840-1916) was an American author best known for adventure and historical works for young readers. Because public information about him is limited, biographical details remain difficult to establish with certainty, yet the library holds as many as 58 of his works, indicating that he was a prolific and long-active writer. His writing often centers on frontier settlement, mountain exploration, colonial warfare, and historical figures, as seen in The Great Cattle Trail, The Riflemen of the Miami, and The Cave in the Mountain; these works are tightly plotted and emphasize action and courage, making them well suited to younger readers. He also wrote character sketches such as Thomas Jefferson, a Character Sketch and reference works such as 1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described, reflecting a broad interest in history, mythology, and popular knowledge.