Fifty Famous Stories Retold

James Baldwin (1841-1925)

Approximate level: B1
Length: 32,861 words
Reading time: 2 h 44 min
Chapters: 49
Language: English
On Project Gutenberg since: 2006

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James Baldwin’s 1896 collection retells fifty stories drawn from history, legend, and the traditions of different peoples. Its subjects include famous figures, heroic episodes, and stories that carry moral ideas, while avoiding fairy tales and myths. The language is clear but sometimes formal and old-fashioned, with vocabulary about history, literature, and character. Sentences can be long and carefully structured, especially in the introduction, so you may need to follow several connected ideas at once.

2,548 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

History
Folklore
Readers

Questions about this book

What level of English do I need for this book?

The estimate is B1, based on how common the words are and how long the sentences run. It is an approximation, not a test result. With a translation under every sentence you can start one level earlier than you would with a paper copy.

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How long does it take to read?

About 2 h 44 min at a native pace, spread over 49 chapters. In a foreign language plan for more: half an hour a day finishes a book of this size in a few weeks.