Public-domain ebook
by Oliver Optic
Language: en2,922 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Children & Young Adult Reading·Adventure·Novels
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #22365.
The book is a mid‑nineteenth‑century juvenile adventure that blends nautical excitement with a clear Christian moral purpose. It opens with a preface in which the author explains that readers will not find exaggerated romance but rather a steady progression of “material and moral triumphs” as the young hero, Paul Duncan, navigates both literal seas and the challenges of growing up. The first chapter immediately places Paul in a tense moment on a modest boat, where he must choose between obeying his mother’s warning and yielding to his friend Thomas Nettle’s daring dares. Through dialogue and description the narrative establishes the central conflict of duty versus independence, while hinting at the broader social contrast between Paul’s modest family and Thomas’s affluent background.
Written in a straightforward, didactic style typical of Victorian moral tales, the voice is earnest and occasionally didactic, reflecting the period’s emphasis on character building. The prose is peppered with nautical terminology and moral reflection, making it appealing to readers who enjoy historical sea stories, classic coming‑of‑age plots, and literature that foregrounds ethical development. Young readers interested in wholesome adventure, as well adults who appreciate the period’s moral storytelling, will find the book’s measured pace and earnest tone engaging.
The opening · free to read
In presenting to his young friends the sixth volume of the "Library for Young People," the author cannot be unconscious of what the readers of his former books require of him. They will turn the leaves of "Little by Little," expecting to find an abundance of stirring incidents; and he hopes they will not be disappointed. Some of the older readers and sterner critics will look for romantic and rather exaggerated events; but he thinks they will look in vain, for as we grow older we become more reasonable, and do not expect showers of gold to fall upon every seedy hero, or to see nice young gentlemen leap over lofty precipices without sometimes being dashed to pieces.
But the author hopes that something more than exciting incidents will be found upon his pages; that, though he has seldom, if ever, gone out of his way to define the moral quality, or measure the moral quantity, of the words and deeds of his characters, the story will not be found wanting in a true Christian spirit.
Paul Duncan, the hero of this volume, is a nautical young gentleman, and most of the events of the story occur upon the water; but the author hopes his young lady friends will not make faces at him on this account. The boys insisted upon having a sea story, and being the "lords of creation," of course they must be indulged; but the writer most solemnly promises to remember the girls next time.
Thanking my young friends again for the continued kindness manifested towards my pets, I give them "Little by Little," hoping that the excellent spirit of Paul Duncan will pervade their minds and hearts, and lead them forward to the material and moral triumphs which crowned his useful life.
WILLIAM T. ADAMS. DORCHESTER, August 28, 1860.
CONTENTS.
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