Resumen
Resumen de Eben Holden
Para quién es
For readers who love gentle American fiction, rural life, and friendships between young and old. This coming-of-age story offers plain talk, humor, and a warm bond between an orphan boy and his woodsman guardian.
De qué trata este libro
Eben Holden is a novel by Irving Bacheller, published in 1900. It is the first book that made its author widely read in America. Bacheller grew up in the North Country of New York State, near the Canadian border, and he drew on that farm and forest world for the book.
The story is told by an orphan boy who grows up in the care of a hired man, an old woodsman called Uncle Eb. It follows the boy from a childhood in the woods to a young life in the wider world, in the years around the Civil War. You get a warm picture of rural America, a lot of plain talk and humor, and a close look at one lasting friendship. Let us begin with the odd pair at the center of it all.
En este resumen
- 1An orphan and an old woodsmanFree
- 2A new home on the northern farms
- 3The wider world and a nation at war
- 4What the story means and how it is told
Idea clave 1 de 4
An orphan and an old woodsman
The story begins with a small boy who has lost his parents and has almost nothing of his own. What he has is Eben Holden, a rough, kindly man of the woods who looks after him. The boy calls him Uncle Eb, though they are not family by blood. The bond between them is the first thing the reader learns to trust.
Uncle Eb is not a learned man. He is a hunter and a farmhand, full of country sayings, old tales and odd bits of lore. He teaches the boy by example how to walk in the forest, how to read the weather and how to treat other people. The boy, in turn, is the one person for whom the old man has a reason to settle.
The two leave the place of the boy's early years and look for a home. Their trip through the North Country gives the book its first adventures, and it shows how much each depends on the other. A reader meets the main idea early. Loyalty here is shown in small acts of care, not in speeches.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Eben Holden
- Called Uncle Eb, this kindly woodsman and hired man cares for William despite having no blood relationship to him.
- William Brower
- William is the orphan boy who narrates the story and grows up under Uncle Eb's care.
- Hope Brower
- Hope is a girl in the farming community whose close friendship with William shapes his growing years.
- Horace Greeley
- Greeley is the editor of the New York Tribune and a figure in William's wider world.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 91,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 6 h 5 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Eben Holden
What is Eben Holden about?
It is a novel about an orphan boy and the old woodsman who raises him in the North Country of New York. It follows their friendship, the boy's growing up, and his move into a larger world around the Civil War.
Who is Eben Holden in the book?
Eben Holden is a hired man and woodsman, called Uncle Eb by the boy he cares for. He is unschooled but wise, and he serves as the boy's guardian, teacher and closest friend.
When was Eben Holden written?
Irving Bacheller published it in 1900. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on the real countryside, people and history of northern New York and on the Civil War era.
Is Eben Holden hard to read?
No. The language is plain, the chapters are short and the tone is friendly. The story is easy to follow.
What is the main message of Eben Holden?
The book stresses loyalty, honest work and kindness. It suggests that character grows from the example of people who care for us, and that we owe much to those who raised us.