The Master Craftsman: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The Master Craftsman: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Master Craftsman is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Besant, Walter (1836–1901).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
The Master Craftsman by Walter Besant is a novel written in the late 19th century. It interweaves a Wapping legend of a lost bag of jewels with a contemporary London story about sudden poverty, temptation, and ambition. The likely focus is on Sir George Burnikel, his politically astute friend Lady Frances, and his determined cousin Robert, as money, class, and duty pull them toward an old mystery and new careers. The opening of the novel sets the hook with a prologue in 1804 Wapping: the tavern-haunting sailor John Burnikel flaunts a bag of gems he claims came from an Indian monarch, shows it to his grand-nephews, then dies; the nephews tear his cottage apart, can’t find the treasure, quarrel, and part in bitterness. Shifting to the present day, young Sir George learns his father has squandered the family fortune; a solicitor urges him to “marry money” or find a career, while Lady Frances presses him toward politics and even offers funds—offers he refuses. George is then visited by a strikingly similar-looking cousin, Robert, a Wapping boat-builder who believes in the family jewel-legend and seeks practical help to enter Parliament as an Independent; George agrees to find out how, and goes down to Wapping, where the river’s history and Execution Dock frame the path back to the family’s origins and the dormant mystery.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Master Craftsman
- Author credits: Besant, Walter (1836–1901)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Boatbuilders -- Fiction
- Cousins -- Fiction
- England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
- Mate selection -- Fiction
- Politicians -- Fiction
- Treasure troves -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: British Literature
- Category: Novels
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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