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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 224 of 988.
Original Short Stories
Guy de Maupassant
A cold wind blows through these pages, carrying the scent of damp earth, stagnant water, and the bittersweet decay of human aspiration. These stories capture the profound isolation of individuals caught in the machinery of their own desires and the rigid, often cruel, expectations of a society they can neither…
Pitching in a Pinch
Christy Mathewson
A legendary pitcher pulls back the curtain on the mental chess match of the diamond, revealing that the game is won as much by nerves and strategy as by a fast arm.
Plutarch's Romane Questions: With dissertations on Italian cults, myths, taboos, man-worship, aryan marriage, sympathetic magic and the eating of beans
Plutarch
This collection of ancient inquiries and modern analytical essays probes the strange, ritualized origins of Roman life. It serves as a bridge between the classical mind and the dawn of scientific folklore studies.
Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy
John F. W. (John Frederick William) Herschel
Natural philosophy serves as the foundational bridge between simple observation and the profound, orderly understanding of the universe. It transforms the chaotic impressions of the senses into a rigorous system of logical truth.
Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children
Edmund Spenser
Adventure and enchantment collide in this retelling of classic tales, where noble knights, steadfast princesses, and mythical creatures navigate a world governed by the struggle between shadow and light.
The Apple-Tree Table, and Other Sketches
Herman Melville
These sketches capture the restless, observational spirit of a master writer, finding profound mysteries in the mundane and the domestic. They offer a window into an era of American life defined by both rapid change and enduring human character.
The Countess Cathleen
W. B. (William Butler) Yeats
In an Ireland withered by famine, a noblewoman sacrifices her soul to save her people from starvation and despair. This morality play explores the heavy price of altruism and the thin veil between earthly suffering and spiritual redemption.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 2: Commonly Called the Minor
George Adam Smith
This scholarly exploration of the "Minor" Prophets offers a deep dive into the historical, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of the biblical books following the major prophetic works. It serves as a bridge between ancient texts and the modern critical mind, treating these short prophecies as potent windows into the…
The Footpath Way: An Anthology for Walkers
Unknown
The act of walking is more than simple movement; it is a profound method of reclaiming one’s humanity from the artificial constraints of modern life.
The Heroic Enthusiasts (Gli Eroici Furori) Part the Second: An Ethical Poem
Giordano Bruno
The soul’s journey toward the divine is a turbulent, transformative ascent, where suffering acts as the necessary tether pulling the mind away from earthly illusions toward the radiance of ultimate truth.
The Jewish Manual: Practical Information in Jewish and Modern Cookery with a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints Relating to the Toilette
Montefiore, Judith Cohen, Lady
The hearth and the dressing table meet in these pages, offering a Victorian guide to maintaining both a refined Jewish kitchen and a graceful, healthy demeanor.
The Library of Work and Play: Working in Metals
Charles Conrad Sleffel
A master instructor provides a comprehensive, hands-on technical manual for crafting domestic objects and tools from copper, brass, silver, and iron. It is an essential guide for anyone wishing to master the forge and bench.
The lurking fear
H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft
A nameless, creeping death haunts the Catskill Mountains, drawing an obsessed investigator into a labyrinthine nightmare of subterranean horrors. This dark narrative maps the intersection of local folklore, ancestral decay, and a primal, buried threat that defies human comprehension.
The Mechanism of Life
Stéphane Leduc
Nature’s most intricate biological structures may be the inevitable output of simple physical laws. This examination argues that life is not a mystery of vitalism, but a predictable consequence of chemical and osmotic forces.
The New Book of Nonsense: Contribution to the Great Central Fair in Aid of the Sanitary Commission
Anonymous
The absurdities of the human condition are captured here in a collection of verse that laughs at the eccentric, the vain, and the foolish. These glimpses of Victorian whimsy serve as a mirror for a society navigating the turbulence of a nation divided by war.
The outermost house
Henry Beston
A man retreats to a lonely shack on the dunes of Cape Cod to live for a year in rhythm with the seasons and the sea. This record of his solitude offers a timeless meditation on the natural world and the human spirit.
The Putumayo, the Devil's Paradise: Travels in the Peruvian Amazon Region and an Account of the Atrocities Committed upon the Indians Therein
W. E. (Walter Ernest) Hardenburg
This urgent account documents a harrowing humanitarian catastrophe in the early 20th-century Amazon, exposing the industrial-scale enslavement and systematic slaughter of indigenous people for the global rubber trade.
The school and society
John Dewey
The traditional classroom is a stagnant place, but it can be transformed into a vibrant, living community where children learn through purposeful action and social connection.
The Way of a Man
Emerson Hough
A man caught between the traditions of the antebellum South and the raw, untamed reality of the expanding West finds his life irrevocably altered by a single, fateful encounter.
The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast
F. R. (Francis Robert) Goulding
A group of young people, separated from their families during a coastal excursion, must rely on their wits and the natural resources of a wild island to survive and eventually secure their own rescue.
To The Gold Coast for Gold: A Personal Narrative. Vol. II
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
An intrepid Victorian explorer ventures into the humid interior of West Africa, seeking to assess the viability of gold mining while navigating the complex politics of local kings and the frustrations of colonial enterprise.
Wessex Tales
Thomas Hardy
These stories capture the intersection of ancient superstition and modern intrusion, revealing the haunting persistence of the past in a changing countryside.
An Essay on the Beautiful, from the Greek of Plotinus
Plotinus
To behold the Beautiful is to undergo a radical homecoming, turning the soul away from the fleeting shadows of the material world to reclaim its own divine, luminous essence.
Animal Proteins
Hugh Garner Bennett
The chemistry of animal-derived materials is a precise, industrial dance. This technical manual explores the transformation of hides into leather and the extraction of gelatine and glue, bridging the gap between raw biological matter and commercial utility.
Celtic Literature
Matthew Arnold
To understand the English character, one must look beyond the Saxon and the Norman to the overlooked, spirit-rich influence of the Celt. This cultural inquiry seeks to trace the threads of a forgotten heritage.
Hours in a Library, Volume 2: New Edition, with Additions
Leslie Stephen
A master of the essayist’s craft examines the titans of English literature, blending sharp critical insight with a deeply personal, often idiosyncratic appreciation for the humanity behind the printed page.
Looking Backward: 2000-1887
Edward Bellamy
The future is not a far-off dream but an architectural inevitability, waiting for humanity to choose the efficiency of cooperation over the waste of competition. This vision of a transformed world challenges us to see our own era as a primitive, transitional stage of social evolution.
Modern ships of war
Reed, Edward J. (Edward James), Sir
The iron hulls of the late nineteenth century represent a pivotal, often perilous, transition in maritime power. This technical survey examines the race between armor and ordnance that defined the era’s naval architecture.
Much Ado about Nothing
William Shakespeare
Two sparks of wit collide in Messina, where a playful war of words between two confirmed bachelors masks a deeper, budding affection that survives betrayal and scandal.
My Mamie Rose: The Story of My Regeneration
Owen Kildare
This account of an illiterate Bowery brawler’s transformation into a man of letters serves as a raw, unflinching mirror to the forgotten corners of Gilded Age New York.
Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
This collection of travel essays captures a nuanced encounter between an American observer and the storied, heavy-laden atmosphere of Victorian England. It serves as a meditative bridge between two nations sharing a common, yet diverging, cultural heritage.
Racehorses in Australia
Unknown
The thoroughbred is the heartbeat of Australian sporting history, a narrative defined by the long, perilous sea voyages of foundation stallions and the enduring glory of the modern racecourse.
Reminiscences of a South African Pioneer
W. C. (William Charles) Scully
The young man who left Ireland for the South African frontier in the late 1860s did not know that he was walking into a transformation that would turn a quiet, bucolic landscape into an engine of global empire.
The Andes of Southern Peru: Geographical Reconnaissance along the Seventy-Third Meridian
Isaiah Bowman
This account of the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition maps the rugged intersection of geology, climate, and human struggle along the Andes’ seventy-third meridian. It captures a landscape where vertical extremes dictate the limits of survival.
The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh
William Makepeace Thackeray
A playful, satirical fairy tale, this work blends royal intrigue with a sharp, observant wit, following the fortunes of two princes and a long-suffering knocker.
The Colonies, 1492-1750
Reuben Gold Thwaites
A concise survey of the American colonies, this work traces the foundational influences and early political development of the region from the first European contacts through the mid-eighteenth century.
The Cornish Coast (South), and the Isles of Scilly
Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
This travelogue traverses the rugged southern edge of England, chronicling the ancient ports, shifting folklore, and enduring landscapes of a region defined by its perilous, sea-battered coastline.
The Country House
John Galsworthy
The English countryside of the late nineteenth century finds its most vivid reflection in the quiet, rigid life of a family whose status is as rooted as the ancient oaks on their estate. This is a story of how a small, private fracture in a traditional household can threaten to dismantle a world built on…
The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 3 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
David Shea
This expansive, seventeenth-century survey documents the kaleidoscopic landscape of religious belief in India and Persia, capturing a moment of profound theological curiosity and pluralism. It serves as an essential, if idiosyncratic, witness to the intellectual ferment of its time.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel
F. W. (Frederic William) Farrar
A critical study of the Book of Daniel, this work reexamines the prophet’s narrative through the lens of history, language, and the turbulent era of the Maccabean revolt.
The Glimpses of the Moon
Edith Wharton
HOOK Two penniless socialites attempt to sustain a luxurious, cost-free marriage by relying on the generosity of their wealthy friends, only to discover that the price of such a life is their own integrity.
The Gringos: A Story Of The Old California Days In 1849
B. M. Bower
The lawless fervor of the 1849 Gold Rush transforms men into savages, forcing two friends to navigate the brutal justice of the California frontier and the complex loyalties of a changing land.
The Satyricon
Petronius Arbiter
A sprawling, chaotic tapestry of Roman life, this narrative wanders through the underbelly of an empire obsessed with excess, legacy, and the pursuit of fleeting, sensory pleasure. It captures a world where social standing is a performance and survival is a game of wits.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume III. (of X.)
Unknown
This collection serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic survey of American wit at the turn of the twentieth century, capturing the nation’s shifting voice through a mosaic of tall tales, satirical verse, and domestic farce. It offers a candid look at the preoccupations of an era, from the rise of the automobile and the…
The World and Its People, Book VII: Views in Africa
Anna B. Badlam
Across the vast plateaus and river basins of Africa, a continent of striking geographical wonders and diverse cultures unfolds for the curious reader. This collection of descriptive narratives offers a window into the natural landscape and human history of a region long shrouded in mystery to the nineteenth-century…
The World's Greatest Books
Unknown
This expansive collection offers a panoramic view of human history, distilling complex eras into accessible narratives that trace the rise and fall of civilizations. It serves as a monumental survey of the forces that have shaped the modern world.
Trading Jeff and His Dog
Jim Kjelgaard
A resourceful young peddler finds himself entangled in a mountain feud, testing his wits and his loyalty to a massive, haunted dog. This is a story of independence, unlikely friendship, and the collision between rural traditions and the modern world.
Xingu
Edith Wharton
A group of self-important women, desperate to prove their intellectual worth to a famous novelist, fall victim to a clever, improvised deception.