Peter the Great - Jacob Abbott

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Résumé :
Preface There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam, a ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood, and is now much decayed; but, to preserve it from farther injury, it has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick, and it is visited annually by great numbers of curious travelers. The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full of interest and instruction for all. About the author: Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second t to his surname, to avoid being Jacob Abbot the 3rd (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later). Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City. He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School. His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

Biographie:
Jacob Abbott was an American author, educator, clergyman, and one of the most widely read writers of historical and moral instruction for young people in the nineteenth century. He was born in Hallowell, Maine, in 1803, educated at Bowdoin College and Andover Theological Seminary, and spent the early part of his career as a teacher and minister. His experience in education shaped nearly everything he wrote: Abbott had a gift for organizing difficult subjects into clear narratives that younger readers and general readers could follow.Abbott became especially famous for his many books for children and families, including the popular Rollo books and the historical series often known as Makers of History or Famous Characters of History. These volumes introduced readers to major figures from ancient, medieval, and early modern history, including rulers, conquerors, queens, generals, and statesmen. His aim was not modern academic history, but readable instruction: character, consequence, ambition, courage, error, and moral lesson were all part of the story.His historical biographies covered figures such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Cyrus the Great, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth, Hannibal, and Genghis Khan. Abbott wrote at a time when history for young readers was expected to be vivid, improving, and orderly, and his books reflect that world. They are direct, narrative-driven, and often shaped by the moral and cultural assumptions of nineteenth-century America.Abbott died in 1879, leaving behind an enormous body of educational, religious, historical, and juvenile writing. His work remained in print for generations because it offered readers an accessible path into history before modern children's nonfiction had fully developed as a publishing category. Today his books are valuable both as introductions to major historical figures and as examples of how nineteenth-century writers taught history to young readers....