The Young Guard

Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 57K words
Chapters: 6

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 Young Guard by E. W. HornungAuthor: Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 11, 2016

Editor's review

Hornung was a late-nineteenth-century British popular novelist known for his gentleman-adventurer figures. The Young Guard continues his brisk narrative style, centering on a boy's growth and sense of responsibility, with tight plotting and lively dialogue; it carries a clear Victorian moralizing tone while retaining the readability expected of popular fiction. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easily accessible and serves as a sample of late-nineteenth-century English popular literature. Readers should note how the author handles the young protagonist's choices in adversity, and how honor, loyalty, and courage were understood at the time. Given its early date, some values may feel distant to today's readers; read it as literary history and textual appreciation rather than a contemporary guide for young people's behavior. The English original is moderate in length, suitable for reading in segments during commutes or before bed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers interested in late-nineteenth-century British popular fiction
Readers seeking low-cost access to classic English-language eBooks
Literature students studying Victorian narratives of youthful growth
Casual readers who enjoy fast-paced, straightforward adventure stories
English learners who need original English texts for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Serious literary readers expecting deep psychological portrayal and complex narrative structure
Beginners impatient with early English usage and period attitudes
Parents and teachers seeking contemporary guidance for young people's development

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the main plot, then revisit key chapters to consider character motivation and period attitudes.
Mark unfamiliar words and period expressions as you read, and look them up in batches to improve original-text reading skills.
Read alongside other late-nineteenth-century British adventure novels to observe shared features and differences.
Use the eBook's search function to locate characters' appearances and map the main relationships and growth arcs.

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 a war story about the Young Guard?

No. This is an English novel by Hornung; "Young Guard" refers to the group of young protagonists and is unrelated to the Soviet wartime work of the same name. It concerns youthful growth and adventure and belongs to late-nineteenth-century British popular literature, so readers should not be misled by the Chinese title.

Is the English original difficult to read?

The overall style is popular fiction, with fairly simple sentence structures, though it includes some Victorian usage and uncommon words. Readers with roughly CET-4 level English can read it with a dictionary; read for plot first and study language later rather than checking every word.

Is this suitable as a growth reader for children?

Use caution. The values reflect a clear period imprint, and its treatment of honor and obedience is not fully consistent with contemporary educational ideas. For young readers, an adult should discuss it with them to help distinguish period limitations rather than directly adopting the book's behavioral norms.

What should I note about using the Project Gutenberg edition?

This is a free eBook, mainly in plain text, and may contain punctuation or paragraph flaws from scanning and conversion. If a paragraph seems abnormal, judge from context rather than assuming a content error. Using reading software that supports font adjustment is recommended to reduce fatigue during long reading sessions.

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About the author

Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William), 1866-1921 Author

E. W. Hornung (Ernest William Hornung, 1866–1921) was a British author best known for creating the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. The collection here holds twenty-nine of his works, including the Raffles stories such as The Amateur Cracksman, Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman and A Thief in the Night, as well as crime and adventure novels like Stingaree and Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front, based on his experiences in the First World War. His writing is brisk and neatly plotted, with a polished tone suited to characters who live on the edge of the law, and it holds a place in the traditions of crime and adventure fiction. Public information about his life is limited, so this introduction concentrates on his subjects and style.