[First Project] Dr Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope

[Chris Salt]

Hi, I'd like to take a crack at converting Dr Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope, one of the titles on the wanted list.

Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/21847

Scans: https://archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool01 / https://archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool02

I picked those scans as they match the PG text. I guess the first question is whether I want to do that? It looks like it was only the first edition that split the book into two volumes. 

The 1928 OUP single-volume edition might be a better template to base the conversion on - https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015003639070&seq=7

Thanks

Chris

[Alex Cabal]

Great, that one would be a good start.

Typically we want the latest possible text, as presumably it has
received the most corrections over time.

In this case the volume divisions don't matter, they were there for ease
of publication and you will remove them. The final ebook will just have
parts, then chapters.

See the manual for how to structure parts/chapters, especially the
`@data-parent` attribute.

Also make sure to remove HTML listing the corrections the PG transcriber
made. (The corrections themselves should be kept, we just don't want the
hover thing they did.)

Make sure to read the Standard Ebooks Manual of Style before starting,
as you won't know what to fix if you haven't read the standards. In
particular, please closely review the semantics, high level patterns,
and typography sections:

https://standardebooks.org/manual

https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/4-semantics

https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/7-high-level-structural-patterns

https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/8-typography

The step by step guide will take you from start to finish. Please follow
it exactly:

https://standardebooks.org/contribute/producing-an-ebook-step-by-step

This page on common issues in older books may be useful:

https://standardebooks.org/contribute/how-tos/common-issues-when-working-on-public-domain-ebooks

Please email often if you have any questions at all. Our standards are
well-established so there is probably already a standard for formatting
whatever problem you've encountered.

When you're ready, email back with a link to your Github repository so
that I can assign you a manager and reviewer.

Have fun! :)


On 4/27/26 7:08 AM, Chris Salt wrote:
> Hi, I'd like to take a crack at converting /Dr Wortle's School/ by

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[Chris Salt]

Thanks, here's the github link: https://github.com/Salty0ldSeadog/anthony-trollope_dr-wortles-school

[Alex Cabal]

OK, Robin will manage with Emma reviewing.

On 4/27/26 3:29 PM, Chris Salt wrote:
> Thanks, here's the github link: https://github.com/Salty0ldSeadog/
> anthony-trollope_dr-wortles-school
>
> On Monday, 27 April 2026 at 20:49:57 UTC+1 Alex Cabal wrote:
>
> Great, that one would be a good start.
>
> Typically we want the latest possible text, as presumably it has
> received the most corrections over time.
>
> In this case the volume divisions don't matter, they were there for
> ease
> of publication and you will remove them. The final ebook will just have
> parts, then chapters.
>
> See the manual for how to structure parts/chapters, especially the
> `@data-parent` attribute.
>
> Also make sure to remove HTML listing the corrections the PG
> transcriber
> made. (The corrections themselves should be kept, we just don't want
> the
> hover thing they did.)
>
> Make sure to read the Standard Ebooks Manual of Style before starting,
> as you won't know what to fix if you haven't read the standards. In
> particular, please closely review the semantics, high level patterns,
> and typography sections:
>
> https://standardebooks.org/manual <https://standardebooks.org/manual>
>

> https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/4-semantics <https://
> standardebooks.org/manual/latest/4-semantics>
>
> https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/7-high-level-structural-
> patterns <https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/7-high-level-
> structural-patterns>
>
> https://standardebooks.org/manual/latest/8-typography <https://
> standardebooks.org/manual/latest/8-typography>

>
> The step by step guide will take you from start to finish. Please
> follow
> it exactly:
>
> https://standardebooks.org/contribute/producing-an-ebook-step-by-

> step <https://standardebooks.org/contribute/producing-an-ebook-step-
> by-step>

>
> This page on common issues in older books may be useful:
>
> https://standardebooks.org/contribute/how-tos/common-issues-when-

> working-on-public-domain-ebooks <https://standardebooks.org/
> contribute/how-tos/common-issues-when-working-on-public-domain-ebooks>

>
> Please email often if you have any questions at all. Our standards are
> well-established so there is probably already a standard for formatting
> whatever problem you've encountered.
>
> When you're ready, email back with a link to your Github repository so
> that I can assign you a manager and reviewer.
>
> Have fun! :)
>
>
> On 4/27/26 7:08 AM, Chris Salt wrote:
> > Hi, I'd like to take a crack at converting /Dr Wortle's School/ by
> > Anthony Trollope, one of the titles on the wanted list.
> >

> > Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/21847 <https://
> gutenberg.org/ebooks/21847>
> > Scans: https://archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool01

> <https://archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool01> / https://

> > archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool02 <http://

> archive.org/details/trollopedrwortlesschool02>
> >
> > I picked those scans as they match the PG text. I guess the first
> > question is whether I want to do that? It looks like it was only the
> > first edition that split the book into two volumes.
> > The 1928 OUP single-volume edition might be a better template to
> base

> > the conversion on - https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt <https://
> babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt>?

> > id=mdp.39015003639070&seq=7
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Chris
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Standard Ebooks" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
> send
> > an email to standardebook...@googlegroups.com
> > <mailto:standardebook...@googlegroups.com>.
> > To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/

> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/>
> > standardebooks/935e0aab-c135-42c4-
> bdc1-10fab1afe683n%40googlegroups.com <http://40googlegroups.com>
> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/935e0aab-
> c135-42c4- <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
> standardebooks/935e0aab-c135-42c4->
> > bdc1-10fab1afe683n%40googlegroups.com?
> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <http://40googlegroups.com?
> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>>.

>
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> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.

[Chris Salt]

Hi, a couple of questions on letters.

Trollope includes the salutation and valediction inline in the starting and closing paragraphs. I've assumed that these should be handled using spans as below. Is that right? Is there a preference for whether the em dash is included in the span?

<blockquote epub:type="z3998:letter">
<p>“<span epub:type="z3998:salutation">My dear Sir</span>⁠—I have been much gratified by what I have heard both from <abbr epub:type="z3998:name-title">Dr.</abbr> Wortle and my son as to his progress.[...] His mother has heard on more than one occasion from her son how very good-natured you have been to him.⁠<span epub:type="z3998:valediction">—Yours faithfully,</span></p>
<footer role="presentation">
<p epub:type="z3998:sender z3998:signature">“Bracy.”</p>
</footer>
</blockquote>

Most of the letters in the book are presented straight but there's one that's structured more as a "quote" of the letter

<p>She wrote a piteous letter to him, in which she implored him to allow her to take her two boys away.</p>
<p>“My dear Doctor Wortle,” she said, “so many people have been telling so many dreadful things about this horrible affair, that I do not dare to send my darling boys back to Bowick again.[...] I hope you won’t be very angry with me, and will write one line to say that you forgive me.⁠—Yours most sincerely,</p>
<p class="ind15">“<span class="smallcaps">Anne Clifford</span>.”</p>

Does that take the same blockquote structure?

Thanks

Chris

[Robin Whittleton]

Yep, that’s the right structure on the first. Don’t include the dash in the span.

In the second, it’s sometimes arguable, but I this case as the scans have the indentation you can replicate the blockquote structure.

-Robin

On 29 Apr 2026, at 07:43, Chris Salt <chris...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, a couple of questions on letters.

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[Chris Salt]

Thanks, Robin. Next question - Trollope wraps names of periodicals in single quotes and lint is not happy about this. If I understand https://standardebooks.org/manual/1.8.7/8-typography#8.2.11.2 then they should be italicized/semanticized instead? However, chapter 14 takes the name of one of his periodicals - ‘Everybody’s Business’ - do I just drop the quotes for that or does it need to be italicized/sematicized as well?

Thanks

Chris

[Robin Whittleton]

Yes, convert it to italics too and give it appropriate semantics. I guess epub:type="se:name.publication.magazine". You’ll need to re-run build-title and build-toc afterwards.

-Robin

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