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13,367 public-domain books, summarised. Page 226 of 279.

Cover of Pencillings by the Way: Written During Some Years of Residence and Travel in Europe

Pencillings by the Way: Written During Some Years of Residence and Travel in Europe

Nathaniel Parker Willis

A sudden, rolling sea-wave flashing green and white under a midday sun is the most gorgeously beautiful sight under heaven.

American Literature10 min read
Cover of Simon Magus: An Essay on the Founder of Simonianism Based on the Ancient Sources With a Re-Evaluation of His Philosophy and Teachings

Simon Magus: An Essay on the Founder of Simonianism Based on the Ancient Sources With a Re-Evaluation of His Philosophy and Teachings

G. R. S. (George Robert Stow) Mead

A figure long demonized as the archetype of Christian heresy receives a rigorous, sympathetic re-examination that untangles ancient smearing campaigns to expose a profound system of early mystical philosophy.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Sunday-School Success: A Book of Practical Methods for Sunday-School Teachers and Officers

Sunday-School Success: A Book of Practical Methods for Sunday-School Teachers and Officers

Amos R. (Amos Russel) Wells

Practical instruction meets devoted service in this comprehensive 1897 manual. Amos R. Wells transforms routine religious instruction into an engaging, disciplined craft designed to captivate young minds and deepen spiritual conviction.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights

Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

These tales, salvaged from the margins of history, offer a window into a world where the boundaries between the marvelous and the mundane are as fluid as the shifting desert sands.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Dick Trevanion: A Story of Eighteen Hundred and Four

The Adventures of Dick Trevanion: A Story of Eighteen Hundred and Four

Herbert Strang

Threatened by war, debt, and localized corruption, a Cornish youth steps forward to rescue his home.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Count's Millions

The Count's Millions

Emile Gaboriau

A sudden death leaves a massive Parisian fortune up for grabs, framing an innocent man and sending an abandoned heiress into a network of ruthless conspirators.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery7 min read
Cover of The "Genius"

The "Genius"

Theodore Dreiser

A young man from a small Midwest town discovers an astonishing talent for art, moves to Chicago and New York, and rises rapidly, only to find his life derailed by a relentless pursuit of beauty and women.

American Literature10 min read
Cover of The Honor of the Name

The Honor of the Name

Emile Gaboriau

In a small French village reeling from the shadow of Waterloo, an exiled duke returns to reclaim his lost lands, sparking a chain of bitter betrayals and murderous revenge that spans generations.

French Literature8 min read
Cover of The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 2: Acadia, 1612-1614

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 2: Acadia, 1612-1614

Unknown

A freezing wilderness, two conflicting cultures, and the collapse of a infant colony frame this record of initial French encounter in North America.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed: Being a Familiar and Practical Treatise, More Especially Intended for the Instruction of Females Themselves, but Adapted Also for Popular Use among Students and Practitioners of Medicine

The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed: Being a Familiar and Practical Treatise, More Especially Intended for the Instruction of Females Themselves, but Adapted Also for Popular Use among Students and Practitioners of Medicine

Frederick Hollick

Midwifery in the mid-19th century was often shrouded in technical jargon and professional gatekeeping, keeping women in the dark about their own biological processes. This work serves as an empowering, plain-spoken guide for women to reclaim knowledge of their bodies during the most transformative events of their…

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Mormons and the Theatre

The Mormons and the Theatre

John S. (John Shanks) Lindsay

In the high mountain desert of pioneer Utah, an unlikely culture flourished where theatrical drama and social dancing were treated not as sinful distractions, but as sacred civic duties.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Naval Pioneers of Australia

The Naval Pioneers of Australia

Louis Becke

A handful of early sea-captains braved charted unknown waters, shipwreck, and total isolation to lay the groundwork for an entire continent before civilian history even began.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Principles of Ornament

The Principles of Ornament

James Ward

Ornamental design thrives on the tension between the freedom of nature and the discipline of geometry.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of The Rich Little Poor Boy

The Rich Little Poor Boy

Eleanor Gates

A ten-year-old orphan relies on imagination, books, and pretend play to endure the harsh reality of living with an abusive foster father in a New York tenement.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Riot Act

The Riot Act

Great Britain. Parliament

A single statutory command transformed public assembly into a capital offense, forever embedding a stark legal ultimatum into the English language.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales

Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales

T. L. (Thomas Livingstone) Mitchell

A grueling journey into the arid Australian interior reveals a land of stunning natural variation, immense hardship, and complex encounters between European surveyors and Indigenous communities.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Virgin Soil

Virgin Soil

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

Idealists dream of reshaping a broken world, but real life demands stronger hands and harder truths. This late nineteenth-century Russian novel explores the tragic gap between radical noble intentions and the stubborn reality of the common people.

Novels6 min read
Cover of When the World Shook: Being an Account of the Great Adventure of Bastin, Bickley and Arbuthnot

When the World Shook: Being an Account of the Great Adventure of Bastin, Bickley and Arbuthnot

H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

Three English gentlemen on a South Pacific voyage stumble upon a buried subterranean kingdom, awakening a tyrant who holds the power to end human civilization.

Adventure13 min read
Cover of A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public

A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public

Frank Bertram Wade

This instructional guide offers a practical, scientific bridge between the chemistry of minerals and the commercial realities of the jewelry trade. It remains a foundational resource for understanding how to identify, evaluate, and appreciate gemstones.

How To ...7 min read
Cover of American Inventions and Inventors

American Inventions and Inventors

William A. (William Augustus) Mowry

The ingenuity of the human spirit takes center stage in this historical survey, illustrating how necessity and curiosity have continuously reshaped the American landscape. It traces the evolution of daily existence from primitive survival to modern complexity, celebrating the breakthroughs that defined an era.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Astronomical Myths: Based on Flammarions's "History of the Heavens"

Astronomical Myths: Based on Flammarions's "History of the Heavens"

Camille Flammarion

The ancient heavens were once a mirror for human anxieties, where shifting stars dictated the rhythm of life, the timing of harvests, and the rise of gods. This exploration reveals how humanity translated the silent geometry of the cosmos into the enduring myths of our own creation.

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of Children of the Bush

Children of the Bush

Henry Lawson

This is a collection of stories about the grit, the silence, and the fleeting camaraderie found in the Australian outback at the end of the nineteenth century.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of Dreamthorp

Dreamthorp

Alexander Smith

A quiet, contemplative invitation to find home in the stillness of one’s own mind, where the passing of time and the beauty of small, overlooked things become the subject of profound reflection.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Eve: A Novel

Eve: A Novel

S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

The rugged, untamed landscapes of nineteenth-century Dartmoor provide a harsh backdrop for a story of hidden identities, family discord, and the dangerous intersection of past secrets with present affections.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Green Valley

Green Valley

Katharine Yirsa Reynolds

This portrait of a quiet, turn-of-the-century Yankee town captures the intimate rhythms of neighbors and the enduring pull of home with a gentle, observational grace.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Her Father's Daughter

Her Father's Daughter

Gene Stratton-Porter

A sharp-witted young woman maneuvers through high school rivalries and local secrets in early 20th-century California. She fights to protect her future while navigating a complex web of social expectations and personal ambition.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Impressions of England

Impressions of England

A. Cleveland (Arthur Cleveland) Coxe

This collection of impressions serves as a thoughtful, mid-nineteenth-century travelogue written by an American clergyman. It offers a window into a specific cultural moment, capturing the landscape, architecture, and religious spirit of England through the eyes of a sympathetic observer.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation: Reprinted from Green's Philosophical Works, vol. II., with Preface by Bernard Bosanquet

Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation: Reprinted from Green's Philosophical Works, vol. II., with Preface by Bernard Bosanquet

Thomas Hill Green

These lectures explore the moral foundations of political authority, arguing that the state exists not merely as a power to be obeyed, but as an essential instrument for the realization of human potential and the common good.

Philosophy & Ethics7 min read
Cover of List of post offices in Canada, with the names of the postmasters ... 1873

List of post offices in Canada, with the names of the postmasters ... 1873

Canada. Post Office Department

This official directory maps the sprawling reach of Canada’s postal network in 1873, offering a meticulous snapshot of a young nation’s efforts to connect its disparate communities through correspondence.

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of Louis Lambert

Louis Lambert

Honoré de Balzac

A brilliant young scholar withdraws from the world to map the hidden intersections of mind, spirit, and matter, only to be consumed by the very intensity of his own genius.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Model Women

Model Women

William Anderson

This collection of biographical sketches seeks to inspire young women by presenting historical figures as mirrors for moral development and intellectual growth. Through these lives, the author articulates a vision of womanhood that balances domestic virtue with a burgeoning independence.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Nooks and Corners of Old England

Nooks and Corners of Old England

Allan Fea

This volume serves as a gentle, observational guide to the hidden, fading architecture of rural England. It captures the quiet dignity of manor houses, ancient village inns, and crumbling ruins before the encroaching modern world could sweep them away.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Old Deccan Days

Old Deccan Days

Unknown

This collection of traditional tales captures the vivid, often perilous imagination of Southern India, preserving the voices of oral storytellers. It offers a rare window into a world where magic and domestic struggle are inextricably linked.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of Original Short Stories

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…

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Pitching in a Pinch

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.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Plutarch's Romane Questions: With dissertations on Italian cults, myths, taboos, man-worship, aryan marriage, sympathetic magic and the eating of beans

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.

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy

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.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Stories from the Faerie Queen, Told to the Children

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.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Apple-Tree Table, and Other Sketches

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.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Countess Cathleen

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.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Expositor's Bible: The Book of the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 2: Commonly Called the Minor

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…

History - Religious7 min read
Cover of The Footpath Way: An Anthology for Walkers

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.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Heroic Enthusiasts (Gli Eroici Furori) Part the Second: An Ethical Poem

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.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of The Jewish Manual: Practical Information in Jewish and Modern Cookery with a Collection of Valuable Recipes & Hints Relating to the Toilette

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.

Cooking & Drinking6 min read
Cover of The Library of Work and Play: Working in Metals

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.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of The lurking fear

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.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The Mechanism of Life

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.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of The New Book of Nonsense: Contribution to the Great Central Fair in Aid of the Sanitary Commission

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.

Humour6 min read
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