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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 163 of 988.

Cover of The Mafulu: Mountain People of British New Guinea

The Mafulu: Mountain People of British New Guinea

Robert Wood Williamson

An isolated mountain community navigates survival, social hierarchy, and elaborate ancestral rituals deep within the rugged rainforest interior of early twentieth-century New Guinea.

Archaeology & Anthropology5 min read
Cover of The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, Vol. III (of VI), "The Eternal Quest": The First Complete and Unabridged English Translation, Illustrated with Old Engravings

The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, Vol. III (of VI), "The Eternal Quest": The First Complete and Unabridged English Translation, Illustrated with Old Engravings

Giacomo Casanova

A rogue’s fortune is made on cold audacity, but sustained by the charming illusion that he is the one being taken for a ride.

Biographies10 min read
Cover of The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates

The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates

Xenophon

Philosophical inquiry comes alive through daily human interactions when wisdom abandons high abstraction to fix broken lives, navigate political duty, and prepare a noble mind for death.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The Works of "Fiona Macleod", Volume IV

The Works of "Fiona Macleod", Volume IV

Unknown

A voyage through the misty landscapes of the Scottish Hebrides becomes an inner pilgrimage of mystical visions, ancient Gaelic folklore, and spiritual rebirth.

Philosophy & Ethics7 min read
Cover of Very good, Jeeves

Very good, Jeeves

P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

A valet's quiet brilliance repeatedly saves his well-meaning, aristocratic employer from social disaster, terrible engagements, and wrathful relatives across a series of hilarious scrapes.

Humour6 min read
Cover of A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages

A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages

Henry Charles Lea

To govern the minds and souls of men, medieval Christendom forged a judicial engine that redefined law, heresy, and human conscience.

History - European10 min read
Cover of Ancient Art and Ritual

Ancient Art and Ritual

Jane Ellen Harrison

Art begins not as a passive copy of the world, but as an active, collective impulse to shape reality through shared emotion.

Art7 min read
Cover of Bacon is Shake-Speare: Together with a Reprint of Bacon's Promus of Formularies and Elegancies

Bacon is Shake-Speare: Together with a Reprint of Bacon's Promus of Formularies and Elegancies

Durning-Lawrence, Edwin, Sir

A unyielding polemic against traditional literary history, this work combines detailed archival analysis, cryptographic decipherment, and early modern manuscripts to argue that Francis Bacon secretly authored the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue

Arthur Bartlett Maurice

A grand arterial thoroughfare transforms from a muddy rural road into the glittering, high-society heartland of Gilded Age America.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of First love, and other stories

First love, and other stories

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

Awakening to the dizzying heights and sudden infatuations of youth, a young man discovers that love pays no heed to propriety or peace.

Russian Literature6 min read
Cover of Four Weird Tales

Four Weird Tales

Algernon Blackwood

A weary office clerk rediscovers his ancient soul, and a traveler in Egypt witnesses the terrible price of summoning forgotten gods. Across four eerie tales, the invisible world presses relentlessly against the fragile boundaries of everyday human life.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Heads and tales

Heads and tales

Unknown

Animals and humans have shared space for centuries, but their stranger, sweeter, and more comical intersections are rarely recorded in official histories.

Humour7 min read
Cover of Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume 2 (of 2): Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs

Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume 2 (of 2): Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs

Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

A lone woman rides through the high passes of nineteenth-century Persia and Ottoman Kurdistan, recording with unyielding stamina and cool precision a rugged world of mountain strongholds and ancient Christian enclaves.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Parents and children

Parents and children

Charlotte M. (Charlotte Maria) Mason

Spiritual depth and physical habit meet in this timeless Victorian study of parentage, where guiding a child's character is framed as both a divine trust and an exact daily science.

Parenthood & Family Relations7 min read
Cover of Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise

Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise

David Graham Phillips

A young woman casts off her family's shame and the brutal limits of small-town hypocrisy, choosing the perilous freedom of the road, the factory, and the stage over a life surrendered to other people's terms.

American Literature19 min read
Cover of The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time

The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660: Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time

David Masson

A blind Latin Secretary dictates political pamphlets in defense of a failing republic, while the military dictatorship around him collapses into royalist restoration. Beneath the grand political machinery of seventeenth-century England runs the intimate, unyielding record of a scholar's quiet labor.

Biographies11 min read
Cover of The Magic of the Horse-shoe, with other folk-lore notes

The Magic of the Horse-shoe, with other folk-lore notes

Robert Means Lawrence

A detailed comparative examination reveals how ancient pagan symbols, bodily functions, and ordinary domestic materials evolved into the modern world's most enduring protective charms and superstitious habits.

History - Other5 min read
Cover of The Opera: A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions of all Works in the Modern Repertory

The Opera: A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions of all Works in the Modern Repertory

R. A. (Richard Alexander) Streatfeild

Opera emerged in early seventeenth-century Italy, crossed the Alps into Germany, and transformed from courtly experiments into a global dramatic movement shaped by shifting artistic ideals, theatrical revolutions, and passionate rivalries.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Story of Lewis Carroll: Told for Young People by the Real Alice in Wonderland

The Story of Lewis Carroll: Told for Young People by the Real Alice in Wonderland

Isa Bowman

A gentle, intimate portrait of a legendary author, written by a child he once took under his wing, revealing the quiet, whimsical man behind the famous name.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 2 of 9]

The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 2 of 9]

William Shakespeare

Five distinct worlds of desire, deception, and renewal collide across these early plays, where quick-witted heroines and foolish suitors discover how easily human hearts are won, lost, and reclaimed.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Hebrew Literature

Hebrew Literature

Unknown

Through a meticulous assembly of rabbinic law, mystical arcanum, and liturgical song, this compilation unveils the intellectual and spiritual foundations of the Jewish tradition.

Literature - Other7 min read
Cover of History of the Reign of Philip the Second King of Spain, Vol. 3: And Biographical & Critical Miscellanies

History of the Reign of Philip the Second King of Spain, Vol. 3: And Biographical & Critical Miscellanies

William Hickling Prescott

In the craggy folds of Andalusia, an entire people rises against the iron grip of Spanish intolerance, setting off a war that shakes an empire to its core.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Indian Currency and Finance

Indian Currency and Finance

John Maynard Keynes

In the early twentieth century, an intricate system of gold, silver, and paper money bound the economy of India to global financial markets.

Economics6 min read
Cover of John Thorndyke's Cases: related by Christopher Jervis and edited by R. Austin Freeman

John Thorndyke's Cases: related by Christopher Jervis and edited by R. Austin Freeman

R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman

A medical jurist and his loyal companion unravel London’s most bewildering crimes using microscope lenses, chemical reagents, and rigorous physical logic.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lord Randolph Churchill

Lord Randolph Churchill

Winston Churchill

A fiery aristocratic renegade seizes control of Victorian politics through sheer audacity, only to see his meteoric rise collapse in a single miscalculated moment of resignation.

Biographies10 min read
Cover of Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804

Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804

Alexander von Humboldt

A grand scientific expedition unfolds across South America, replacing outdated mythologies with precise barometric readings, physical observations, and the stunning reality of equinoctial nature.

Science - Biology9 min read
Cover of Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics

Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics

C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis

A soul trapped between the horror of earthly war and the pull of distant beauty seeks a way out through myth and dream.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Deipnosophists

The Deipnosophists

of Naucratis Athenaeus

Gathered around a table in ancient Rome, a host of scholars and connoisseurs spend endless evenings trading poetry, debating etiquette, and dissecting the nuances of food, wine, and song.

Classics of Literature8 min read
Cover of The Man Who Was Afraid

The Man Who Was Afraid

Maksim Gorky

Money, pride, and an aching conscience tear a young merchant apart along the banks of the Volga River.

Novels7 min read
Cover of The Russian Army and the Japanese War, Vol. 2 (of 2): Being Historical and Critical Comments on the Military Policy and Power of Russia and on the Campaign in the Far East

The Russian Army and the Japanese War, Vol. 2 (of 2): Being Historical and Critical Comments on the Military Policy and Power of Russia and on the Campaign in the Far East

A. N. (Alekseĭ Nikolaevich) Kuropatkin

A commander who held the highest post in the field steps forward to account for a catastrophic military collapse, laying bare the structural rot and political folly that turned an empire’s army into a defeated force.

History - European6 min read
Cover of The seven books of Paulus Ægineta, volume 2 (of 3)

The seven books of Paulus Ægineta, volume 2 (of 3)

Aegineta Paulus

A manual of practical operative logic, clinical pathology, and systemic therapeutics compiled by a Byzantine physician and exhaustively annotated by a nineteenth-century scholar.

Health & Medicine11 min read
Cover of The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 22: Juvenilia and Other Papers

The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 22: Juvenilia and Other Papers

Robert Louis Stevenson

A young writer tests his voice across history, light, landscapes, and war games, leaving a paper trail of brilliant early craft.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India

A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India

Robert Sewell

A metropolis of unbelievable wealth and military might vanishes into ruin, erased from memory until two forgotten Portuguese travelogues resurrect its lost world.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 04

A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 04

Voltaire

An encyclopedic survey of human folly dismantles religious dogmas, historical myths, and philosophical absurdities to expose the cruelty of absolute certainty. It champions practical reason and simple virtue over theological dictates and brutal state persecutions.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2

In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2

Henry M. (Henry Morton) Stanley

A relentless march through swamp, forest, and mountain reveals how easily human authority unravels when stripped of its familiar borders.

History - Modern (1750+)8 min read
Cover of The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

The Adventure of the Cardboard Box

Arthur Conan Doyle

A summer heatwave in London brings Sherlock Holmes a dark, visceral mystery: a respectable spinster receives a yellow cardboard box in the post containing two severed human ears packed in coarse salt.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The book of the ladies: Illustrious Dames: The Reign and Amours of the Bourbon Régime

The book of the ladies: Illustrious Dames: The Reign and Amours of the Bourbon Régime

Pierre de Bourdeille Brantôme

A courtier’s eye captures the grand, tumultuous spectacle of Renaissance Europe through the royal women who held its thrones and shaped its political destiny.

Biographies5 min read
Cover of The City of the Mormons

The City of the Mormons

Henry Caswall

A frontier river trip becomes an eyewitness exposure of religious delusion when an English clergyman crosses the Mississippi to confront a self-proclaimed prophet face-to-face.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Curiosities of Dudley and the Black Country, From 1800 to 1860: Also an Account of the Trials and Sufferings of Dud Dudley, with His Mettallum Martis: Etc

The Curiosities of Dudley and the Black Country, From 1800 to 1860: Also an Account of the Trials and Sufferings of Dud Dudley, with His Mettallum Martis: Etc

C. F. G. Clark

Black Country coal pits, roaring blast furnaces, and furious parliamentary elections come alive through archival local notices, mid-century electoral rolls, and seventeenth-century metallurgical treatises.

History - British7 min read
Cover of The Lost Continent

The Lost Continent

C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne

Before the great island sank beneath the waves, its rulers grew so arrogant they challenged the Gods themselves.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, Complete

The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, Complete

William Wake

An expansive collection of early Christian writings reveals the vibrant, unstandardized landscape of faith before central authorities drew rigid boundaries around sacred scripture.

History - Religious6 min read
Cover of Archimedes

Archimedes

Heath, Thomas Little, Sir

Long before modern calculus gave formal language to the infinite, an ancient thinker weighed geometric shapes on imaginary levers and counted the grains of sand required to fill the universe.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Extinct Monsters: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal Life

Extinct Monsters: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal Life

H. N. (Henry Neville) Hutchinson

Enormous ancient skeletons once sparked legends of giants and dragons. Unearthing these remains transformed old fables into the rigorous science of paleontology, revealing an era when massive reptiles and giant mammals ruled the primeval earth.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Hunting in Many Lands: The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club

Hunting in Many Lands: The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club

Unknown

Across vast wild terrains, hunters share tales of pursuit, physical peril, and rugged wilderness, ultimately turning their sights toward wildlife conservation and the defense of public lands.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Illuminated Manuscripts

Illuminated Manuscripts

John William Bradley

A meticulous, sweeping history traces how hand-written books transformed from plain Roman scripts into lavishly gilded masterpieces across a thousand years.

Art5 min read
Cover of Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, or, A garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English ayre will permitt to be noursed vp: a kitchen garden of all manner of herbes, rootes & fruites for meate or sauce vsed with vs, and, an orchard of all sorte of fruitbearing trees and shrubbes fit for our land, together with the right orderinge, planting & preseruing of them and their vses & vertues

Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, or, A garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English ayre will permitt to be noursed vp: a kitchen garden of all manner of herbes, rootes & fruites for meate or sauce vsed with vs, and, an orchard of all sorte of fruitbearing trees and shrubbes fit for our land, together with the right orderinge, planting & preseruing of them and their vses & vertues

John Parkinson

An English garden designed in the early seventeenth century is an earthly copy of Paradise, a deliberate gathering of God’s creations brought together under variable skies to delight the senses and sustain the household.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)18 min read
Cover of Rupert of Hentzau: From The Memoirs of Fritz Von Tarlenheim: Sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda

Rupert of Hentzau: From The Memoirs of Fritz Von Tarlenheim: Sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda

Anthony Hope

A lost love letter, an intercepted courier, and a dead king’s substitute spark a desperate, silent war in the dark corridors of Ruritania.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Sawdust & Spangles: Stories & Secrets of the Circus

Sawdust & Spangles: Stories & Secrets of the Circus

W. C. (William Cameron) Coup

Behind the painted wagons, glittering acts, and roaring menageries lies a brutal nineteenth-century trade defined by mud, runaway trains, and fierce commercial battles.

Biographies7 min read