14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the Canadian North, keeping your word can demand as much strength as surviving the wilderness.
In The Long Portage, Harold Bindloss takes you into northern country where distance, weather and hard labour shape the journey. Lakes, rivers and forests offer more than a backdrop. They test ordinary people, making each stretch of trail a measure of endurance and each practical task part of the struggle to succeed.
The pressure is moral as well as physical. Men face a choice between easy gain and plain duty, while promises and trust carry real weight. Bindloss explores honour, hardship and the chance to begin again through direct storytelling. The pleasure lies in following the journey and watching what difficult country asks of a person.
What you’ll discover
- A demanding northern world Enter a country of lakes, rivers, forests and long winters that puts human endurance to the test.
- Honour put to work Follow the tension between keeping a trust and reaching for an easier reward.
- The pull of redemption Explore the hope that hard country can offer a chance to change.
- Adventure in practical detail Find canoes, trails, camps and trading posts woven into the demands of the journey.
- Clear, steady storytelling Enjoy a direct style that keeps attention on the journey and the choices along it.
Who will love it
Readers who love wilderness journeys, mysteries solved through tracks and clues, and old English estates will enjoy this novel. It also suits those drawn to a growing romance between a Canadian woodsman and a thoughtful Englishwoman.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Loyalty sends Lisle after the truth
- The caches begin to speak
- English manners conceal revealing reactions
- Bella asks Lisle to protect Jim
- Pressure brings Clarence close to violence
- The North changes Jim's behavior
- Honor lives in actions not appearances
- Comfort cannot buy wilderness survival
- Small acts carry the moral weight
Who’s who
- Vernon LisleA Canadian mining man and skilled woodsman who wants to clear his dead friend's name without hurting innocent people.
- NasmythAn English sportsman and friend of George Gladwyne who promises to help Lisle, though the truth may shame a man of his own class.
- Millicent GladwyneGeorge's sister, an artist finishing his book on wildlife, who loves the English moors and wants to follow her brother's last journey.
- Clarence GladwyneThe surviving cousin and heir, charming and fearful, who wants to protect his reputation and marry money.
- Bella CrestwickA clever, daring young heiress who tries to protect her reckless brother and learns what kind of man to trust.
- Jim CrestwickBella's headstrong younger brother, easily led into debt, who goes north with Lisle to learn what he is made of.
- BatleyA shrewd, genial moneylender who holds Clarence's debts and wants his money back.
- Mrs. GladwyneClarence's gentle, frail, partly deaf mother, who sees only the best in her son and hopes he will marry Millicent.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Long Portage in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Long Portage
by Harold Bindloss · 1912
Vernon Lisle tracks a dead friend's trail through the Canadian wilds to clear his name before an English family.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Half a truth is no use.”
In short
Vernon Lisle stands knee-deep in an icy British Columbian river, fishing for his supper in torn boots. He is not here for sport.
The Long Portage at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h4 h 45 min fast, 7 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 85,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by Harold Bindloss
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hungry fisherman carries a dead man's cause
Vernon Lisle, a lean, weathered mining man, fishes a cold river because the food is running out. He travels with an English sportsman named Nasmyth and a silent packer named Jake. Their boots are in rags, and winter is closing in.
Around the fire, Lisle asks Nasmyth to tell the tale of the Gladwyne expedition. Two cousins, George and Clarence, set out with a guide named Vernon. Their food ran short, and George hurt his leg. Clarence and the guide left him behind and took different banks where food was cached. Clarence came back to find his cousin dead. The guide reached a trading post exhausted and was blamed for eating from a cache. He died before he could answer the charge.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Bindloss, Harold. The Long Portage. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-long-portage.
Bindloss, H. (2026). The long portage. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-long-portage (Original work published 1912)
Bindloss, Harold. The Long Portage. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-long-portage.
@book{bindloss2026long,
author = {Bindloss, Harold},
title = {The Long Portage},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-long-portage},
note = {First published 1912}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Long Portage
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Long Portage about?
It follows Vernon Lisle, a Canadian mining man, who travels to British Columbia and then England to clear the name of his friend, a guide accused of letting a man die. Honor, class and love tangle along the way.
Who is Vernon in The Long Portage?
Vernon is the name of George Gladwyne's guide who died after his expedition. Lisle, the hero, shares the first name because he was named after the guide's father, a neighbor who helped his family.
What does the title The Long Portage mean?
A portage is a stretch where travelers carry their canoe and gear overland around rapids. The book uses the journey as a picture of long, heavy effort, from the Gladwyne route to the drawn-out search for justice.
The author
Harold Bindloss
1866–1945 · British adventure novelist
British writer.
“Half a truth is no use.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
