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7,238 public-domain books, summarised. Page 133 of 151.
U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1969 July - December
Library of Congress. Copyright Office
This record serves as an essential historical ledger, documenting the formal preservation of intellectual property rights for a diverse array of literary and educational works during a singular window of the mid-twentieth century. It functions not as a traditional narrative, but as a dense, cataloged archive that…
Ali Pacha: Celebrated Crimes
Alexandre Dumas
The life of Ali Pacha, the "Lion of Janina," is a harrowing descent from regional power to ruin, documenting the brutal, calculated rise and inevitable fall of a man who treated kingdoms as his personal spoils.
Ancient Manners
Pierre Louÿs
A beautiful and dangerous obsession drives a sculptor and a courtesan through the shimmering, decadent streets of ancient Alexandria.
Army Life in a Black Regiment
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
The first Black regiment mustered into the United States service during the Civil War finds its voice in the field, documenting the transition from enslaved men to disciplined, courageous soldiers.
China and the Chinese
Herbert Allen Giles
This guided tour of Chinese life and letters strips away common misconceptions, revealing a civilization defined by intellectual rigor, democratic impulses, and deep historical continuity. It is a portrait of a culture often misread by the West, viewed here through the lens of a scholar who prizes the human…
Darius the Great: Makers of History
Jacob Abbott
The life of an ancient monarch unfolds here as a study in the emptiness of absolute power, tracing how a man rose to rule the world by the luck of a horse, only to die leaving behind little more than a name.
Eminent Authors of the Nineteenth Century: Literary Portraits
Georg Brandes
This collection of literary portraits examines the architects of nineteenth-century European thought, mapping the evolution of writers who dared to challenge the conventions of their age.
Four Phases of Morals: Socrates, Aristotle, Christianity, Utilitarianism
John Stuart Blackie
This exploration of moral history traces the evolution of human values from antiquity to the modern era, weighing the enduring wisdom of the ancient world against the pragmatic, often rigid, philosophies of the nineteenth century.
Prophets of Dissent
Otto Heller
These four intellectual titans challenged the foundations of their age, offering radical visions of humanity that continue to provoke and unsettle the modern reader.
The Alhambra
Washington Irving
This evocative blend of travelogue, history, and folklore captures the fading majesty of a Moorish fortress through the eyes of a romantic observer. It invites readers into the sun-drenched, labyrinthine ruins of a palace where ghosts of the past linger in every shadow.
The Inhabitants of the Philippines
Frederic H. Sawyer
A vivid, firsthand account of life, governance, and social complexity in the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century, captured by a long-term resident with deep respect for the people.
The Magician
W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham
A brilliant, arrogant occultist exerts a terrifying, supernatural influence over an innocent woman, forcing her fiancé into a desperate battle to reclaim her soul. This atmospheric tale blends the gritty reality of early 20th-century Paris with the dark, unsettling allure of black magic and forbidden knowledge.
The Purple Cloud
M. P. (Matthew Phipps) Shiel
A lone man wanders a silent, empty Earth after a mysterious celestial vapor extinguishes all human life, leaving him to confront the crushing weight of solitude and the possibility of a new beginning.
The Temptation of St. Anthony
Gustave Flaubert
HOOK A solitary hermit, besieged by the ghosts of history and his own unraveling mind, stands at the threshold of madness in the Egyptian desert.
The tunnel thru the air
William D. (William Delbert) Gann
This narrative serves as a speculative blueprint for the future, blending a young man’s romantic devotion with his rise as an inventor during a global conflict that mirrors biblical prophecy. It presents a vision where personal discipline and spiritual alignment lead to technological mastery and ultimate peace.
A Visit to the Philippine Islands
John Bowring
The nineteenth-century Philippine Islands emerge here as a land of untapped potential and complex colonial machinery. This observant travelogue captures a pivotal moment when the archipelago began to shift toward global integration and modern commerce.
Ayesha, the Return of She
H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard
A scholar and his ward journey into the uncharted mountains of Central Asia, seeking the reincarnation of an immortal queen who once defied the gods for love.
In Defense of Women
H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken
A provocative, biting, and often tongue-in-cheek social commentary, this analysis strips away Victorian-era sentimentalities to argue that women possess a superior, more realistic intellect than the men who claim to rule them.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 2 (of 4): Revised edition continued by the author to the end of the XIX century
Richard Muther
This survey captures the long, uneven transition of European art as painters slowly shed the rigid expectations of history and myth to finally embrace the raw, flickering vitality of their own nineteenth-century world.
The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti
John Addington Symonds
The story of a solitary genius struggling against the weight of his own monumental ambitions, this biography captures a life lived in the service of an uncompromising, often agonizing, artistic vision.
The Little Review, October 1917 (Vol. 4, No. 6)
Various
This October 1917 edition of a pioneering literary magazine captures the sharp, defiant spirit of international modernism at the height of the First World War. It serves as a vital artifact of a moment when experimental art met global catastrophe.
The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji
William Elliot Griffis
This historical study examines the layered evolution of Japanese spiritual life, from ancient nature worship to the complex philosophical systems of Shintō, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It offers a scholarly, detailed account of how these traditions intertwined to shape the nation’s cultural identity.
U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1970 January - June
Library of Congress. Copyright Office
This collection serves as a formal, historical ledger documenting the administrative act of extending legal ownership over literary and intellectual works. It captures a precise snapshot of mid-twentieth-century American cultural preservation.
Anthropology
Edward B. (Edward Burnett) Tylor
The study of humanity is not a burden to be shouldered, but a lens that brings the scattered pieces of an education into a single, manageable focus.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7
Edgar Thurston
An expansive survey of the social structures and customs of Southern India, this volume preserves a fleeting moment of colonial-era ethnography through meticulous observation of diverse communities.
Domestic Manners of the Americans
Frances Milton Trollope
This observant travelogue offers a sharp, uncompromising look at American life in the late 1820s, capturing the friction between a tradition-bound European sensibility and the raw, egalitarian spirit of the young United States.
Memoirs of My Life and Writings
Edward Gibbon
A scholar looks back at a life defined by the pursuit of historical truth, tracing his path from a sickly, sheltered youth to the author of one of the most monumental works in the English language.
Mrs. Warren's Daughter: A Story of the Woman's Movement
Harry Johnston
A daughter of ill repute casts off her mother’s shadow to forge a life of political rebellion and professional independence. This narrative spans the decades leading up to the Great War, tracking a woman’s struggle for agency in a world defined by men.
Normandy: The Scenery & Romance of Its Ancient Towns, Complete
Gordon Home
This work serves as a lush, atmospheric invitation to wander through the architectural and historical heritage of Normandy. It captures the essence of a province defined by its medieval stones and quiet, rolling landscapes.
Rings for the finger
George Frederick Kunz
The finger-ring is more than a mere ornament; it is a profound repository of human history, folklore, and the intimate desires of those who wore them across the centuries. This expansive chronicle reveals how a simple circlet of metal has served as a seal of authority, a badge of slavery, a medical talisman, and a…
The Bruce
John Barbour
A sweeping epic of survival and statecraft, this poem recounts the long, bloody struggle of a king to reclaim his crown and secure his nation's independence through sheer tenacity and force of will.
The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
Lieut.-Col. (Nathaniel) Newnham-Davis
The traveler who wanders into a foreign city often finds that hotel staff steer guests toward mediocrity. This practical guide offers an antidote for the hungry, providing a curated roadmap of authentic dining across the European continent.
The Modern Regime, Volume 1
Hippolyte Taine
A meticulous dissection of the Napoleonic state, this study reveals how the centralization of power in the early nineteenth century fundamentally reshaped the French character and established an enduring, rigid architecture for modern governance.
You Never Can Tell
Bernard Shaw
A family reunion turns into a chaotic, witty collision between rigid Victorian tradition and the irreverent, modern spirit of the twentieth century.
A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South
Anna J. (Anna Julia) Cooper
A profound, overlooked perspective from the nineteenth century, this work asserts that the future of racial progress in America depends entirely upon the empowerment and education of Black women.
Bantu Beliefs and Magic: With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony
C. W. (Charles William) Hobley
This account offers a detailed, early-twentieth-century window into the spiritual life, social hierarchies, and ritual practices of the Kikuyu and Kamba peoples of Kenya.
Folklore of the Santal Parganas
Cecil Henry Bompas
This collection preserves the vivid, oral history of the Santal people, capturing a world where spirits dwell in every rock and forest, and where the boundaries between human, animal, and divine are perpetually porous.
Mary Stuart: A Tragedy
Friedrich Schiller
The throne of England is a precarious seat when a rival queen claims the same crown from the confinement of a dungeon. This drama examines the collision of duty, conscience, and political survival in the final days of a long-imprisoned monarch.
Ocean Steamships: A popular account of their construction, development, management and appliances
J. D. Jerrold (James Douglas Jerrold) Kelley
Explore the golden age of steam navigation, where coal-fed engines and iron hulls transformed the world’s oceans into a bustling, interconnected thoroughfare of commerce and travel.
Texas Rocks and Minerals: An Amateur's Guide
Roselle M. Girard
A practical companion for the field, this guide demystifies the geological landscape of Texas through clear, step-by-step identification techniques for its diverse rocks and minerals.
The Century Handbook of Writing
Garland Greever
Clear communication is the primary goal of any writer, and mastering the mechanics of grammar and syntax provides the essential foundation for turning messy thoughts into precise, persuasive prose.
The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin, of Tudela, active 12th century
A man wanders across the known world, mapping the far-flung outposts of his people with a curious, watchful eye. These chronicles capture the pulse of a medieval landscape where faith, trade, and history collide.
The Merry Men, and Other Tales and Fables
Robert Louis Stevenson
A tempestuous collection of stories explores the dark, lingering edges of human morality and the supernatural. These tales traverse lonely islands, haunted manses, and quiet French villages, mapping the precarious boundary between civilized restraint and the wild, untamed forces of the soul.
The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol. 1 (of 4)
Valmiki
This philosophical epic explores the nature of reality and the path to liberation through a profound dialogue between a dispirited prince and a sage. It challenges the solidity of the material world, framing existence as a dream of the intellect.
Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln
The Union is not a contract to be broken at will, but a perpetual bond. This address serves as a final, earnest appeal for peace before the descent into the violence of the American Civil War.
Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
HOOK The ancient Egyptian soul navigated a perilous afterlife, transforming through ritual and prayer to transcend mortality. This classic study illuminates how a civilization grappled with the mystery of eternal existence.
Falling in Love
Grant Allen
Science is often dismissed as a sterile collection of facts, but this collection serves as a vibrant counterargument, proving that the natural world is full of drama, humor, and wonder. It is a wide-ranging anthology of essays—originally published in popular magazines—that unpacks the biological and geological…
Monograms & Ciphers
A. A. (Albert Angus) Turbayne
Mastering the art of the monogram requires both structural precision and an eye for decorative grace. This authoritative guide provides the essential logic and visual vocabulary for transforming simple letters into elegant, enduring marks of identity.