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13,367 public-domain books, summarised. Page 231 of 279.

Cover of The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce

The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce

Christopher Marlowe

A legendary scholar trades his soul for twenty-four years of absolute power, only to find his path toward vanity and indulgence leads to a grotesque, slapstick end.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of The life, letters and work of Frederic Leighton. Volume I

The life, letters and work of Frederic Leighton. Volume I

Barrington, Russell, Mrs.

A portrait of an artist’s early evolution, this volume gathers the letters and experiences that shaped a Victorian master, revealing the dedication and social world behind the brush.

Art6 min read
Cover of The Ministry of Intercession: A Plea for More Prayer

The Ministry of Intercession: A Plea for More Prayer

Andrew Murray

This earnest guide explores the neglected duty of intercessory prayer, offering a path for those who feel their spiritual lives have grown stagnant or ineffective. It serves as a call to prioritize a deeper, consistent life of communion with God.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of The Night Club

The Night Club

Herbert George Jenkins

A jovial London furniture mover finds his true calling as the life of a weekly social circle, where storytelling bridges the gap between classes during the Great War.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The North-Americans of yesterday

The North-Americans of yesterday

Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh

A comprehensive, scholarly survey of indigenous life across North America, this work synthesizes ethnographic observations and historical analysis into a unified portrait of the continent’s original inhabitants.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of The Red Tavern

The Red Tavern

C. R. (Charles Raymond) Macauley

A young knight stumbles into a web of political intrigue, finding that his royal mission is a hollow conspiracy designed to bait him into a lethal trap.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Stag Cook Book: Written for Men by Men

The Stag Cook Book: Written for Men by Men

Unknown

A collection of recipes gathered from famous men in 1922, this volume asserts that any man can master the kitchen if he approaches cooking with the same confidence he brings to his professional life.

Cooking & Drinking6 min read
Cover of The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 15

The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 15

John Dryden

The breadth of a foundational literary mind is captured here, balancing the heroic sweep of classical translation against the sharp, polemical debates that defined English drama and criticism at the close of the seventeenth century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions

Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions

George S. (George Sewall) Boutwell

Education is the bedrock of a stable republic, a vital, living process that transforms the raw potential of youth into the disciplined, productive, and moral citizens required for a thriving, free society.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 1

Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Volume 1

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

A restless Victorian explorer ventures into the West African interior to test the sensational reports of gorillas and the realities of life along the Congo.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of A Book of Sibyls: Miss Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs Opie, Miss Austen

A Book of Sibyls: Miss Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs Opie, Miss Austen

Anne Thackeray Ritchie

These biographical sketches offer an intimate, appreciative look at four pioneering women of English letters, exploring their domestic lives, their creative struggles, and the enduring humanity found within their pages.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of A Handbook of the English Language

A Handbook of the English Language

R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham

This comprehensive survey traces the evolution of the English language from its Germanic foundations to its modern, multifaceted state. It serves as a rigorous scholarly roadmap for understanding the structural and historical forces that shaped the way we speak.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of A Midnight Fantasy

A Midnight Fantasy

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

A restless midnight stroll through Boston sparks a whimsical, imaginative revision of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy. This story explores how two iconic, star-crossed figures might have found happiness if only they had chosen differently.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and a History of His Brigade

A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and a History of His Brigade

William Dobein James

This account offers an intimate, firsthand perspective on the Revolutionary War’s Southern theater, documenting how a small, ragged militia turned the tide of independence through relentless endurance and unconventional warfare.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of All's Well That Ends Well

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

This play explores the collision between rigid social hierarchy and the persistence of desire, following a young woman who pursues an aristocratic husband despite his active refusal of her love. It is a work of uncomfortable truths and complex resolutions, sustained by the enduring question of whether a person can…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lincoln: A History and Description of its Fabric and a List of the Bishops

Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lincoln: A History and Description of its Fabric and a List of the Bishops

A. F. (Albert Frank) Kendrick

This guide provides a comprehensive history and structural analysis of Lincoln Cathedral, offering readers a scholarly yet accessible tour of its architectural evolution, historical figures, and internal treasures.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Cardigan

Cardigan

Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers

A young man thrust into a brewing revolution discovers that true loyalty requires choosing between his past and his future. Caught between the shifting politics of the American frontier and the stirrings of his own heart, he finds that the only map for survival is one he must draw himself.

Adventure8 min read
Cover of Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (1938)

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (1938)

United States. National Park Service

This administrative guide invites readers to discover a volcanic marvel in the Cascade Range, detailing the natural history, recreational offerings, and logistical requirements of visiting one of the nation’s most storied scenic treasures.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of Curiosities of Impecuniosity

Curiosities of Impecuniosity

H. G. Somerville

Lacking coin can be a catalyst for greatness or a path to ruin, revealing the strange, desperate, and often ingenious ways human beings navigate the crushing weight of poverty.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Frank Merriwell at Yale

Frank Merriwell at Yale

Burt L. Standish

The quintessential collegiate hero steps onto the campus, his prowess in sports and character immediately tested by the intense, often brutal rivalries of early twentieth-century undergraduate life.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Fresh Leaves

Fresh Leaves

Fanny Fern

This collection of sharp, satirical essays and sketches captures the vibrant, often brutal pulse of mid-19th-century American urban life with unflinching wit and a deeply empathetic heart.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Gabrielle of the Lagoon: A Romance of the South Seas

Gabrielle of the Lagoon: A Romance of the South Seas

W. H. (William Henry) Myddleton

A young sea apprentice finds his life irrevocably altered after discovering a white girl living among the indigenous tribes of the Solomon Islands.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Galileo Galilei and the Roman Curia: From Authentic Sources

Galileo Galilei and the Roman Curia: From Authentic Sources

Karl von Gebler

The confrontation between a pioneering mind and an unyielding institution serves as a timeless warning about the cost of challenging established truth. A scholar’s pursuit of the stars ultimately leads him into a harrowing struggle for his own life.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, No. X., March 1851

Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, No. X., March 1851

Various

This volume of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic time capsule of mid-nineteenth-century intellectual and social life, bridging the gap between high-minded Victorian literature and the practical interests of a burgeoning American middle class.

Journals7 min read
Cover of Hymn Stories of the Twentieth Century

Hymn Stories of the Twentieth Century

William J. (William John) Hart

Music and memory intertwine in these pages, revealing how common hymns have served as anchors for the human spirit across the turbulent landscape of the twentieth century.

Music6 min read
Cover of Industrial Arts Design: A Textbook of Practical Methods for Students, Teachers, and Craftsmen

Industrial Arts Design: A Textbook of Practical Methods for Students, Teachers, and Craftsmen

William H. (William Harrison) Varnum

This rigorous manual codifies the transition from creative impulse to professional craftsmanship, providing a systematic framework for designing functional objects in wood, clay, and metal. It serves as a bridge between abstract aesthetic theory and the practical, technical limitations of the workshop.

Art6 min read
Cover of John Burnet of Barns: A Romance

John Burnet of Barns: A Romance

John Buchan

A young Scottish exile returns home to find his heritage threatened by a treacherous kinsman and his own true love caught in a web of political intrigue.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Korean Tales: Being a collection of stories translated from the Korean folk lore, together with introductory chapters descriptive of Korea

Korean Tales: Being a collection of stories translated from the Korean folk lore, together with introductory chapters descriptive of Korea

Horace Newton Allen

This collection of traditional narratives serves as a window into the cultural landscape of late 19th-century Korea, blending historical description with the enduring moral archetypes of folk storytelling.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore5 min read
Cover of Legends of the Bastille

Legends of the Bastille

Frantz Funck-Brentano

HOOK The infamous state prison served as a fertile ground for myths of torture and tyranny, yet the reality of its history reveals a surprising chronicle of bureaucracy, administrative leniency, and human endurance.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Letters of Edward FitzGerald, in Two Volumes. Vol. 1

Letters of Edward FitzGerald, in Two Volumes. Vol. 1

Edward FitzGerald

The quiet life is often the most observant one, captured here through decades of correspondence that turn the mundane details of English country living into a meditation on friendship, art, and the passage of time.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Manual of Oriental Antiquities

Manual of Oriental Antiquities

Ernest Babelon

The ancient East—stretching from the plains of Mesopotamia to the rugged heights of Persia—finds its artistic voice through the enduring remnants of stone, clay, and precious metal. This survey reconstructs the vanished majesty of civilizations that shaped the world long before the rise of Greece and Rome.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of My Lady Ludlow

My Lady Ludlow

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

A gentle, aging narrator recounts the vanishing world of a rigid aristocrat, exploring the quiet tensions between tradition and the relentless march of a modernizing age.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Reminiscences, 1819-1899

Reminiscences, 1819-1899

Julia Ward Howe

A life of literary ambition and social advocacy unfolds across the nineteenth century, tracing the evolution of a prominent American voice from the quiet parlors of old New York to the front lines of reform.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Shakespeare's Lost Years in London, 1586-1592

Shakespeare's Lost Years in London, 1586-1592

Arthur Acheson

This study reconstructs the formative years of a literary giant, arguing that personal vendettas and political alliances shaped the plays we now consider masterpieces.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Short story classics (Foreign), Vol. 1, Russian

Short story classics (Foreign), Vol. 1, Russian

Unknown

This collection of Russian short stories offers a profound, often haunting window into the human condition, capturing the stark landscapes and complex social hierarchies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It serves as an essential introduction to the Russian literary masters and their successors,…

Russian Literature6 min read
Cover of Tales and Novels

Tales and Novels

Maria Edgeworth

These stories weave together the high-stakes politics of the British aristocracy, the intricate moral dilemmas of the landed gentry, and the quiet struggles of rural life with a sharp, discerning eye. They offer a vivid, unsentimental portrait of a society balancing public duty against private ambition.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of The Alps

The Alps

Conway, William Martin, Sir

The mountains are not merely scenery but a vast, living archive of physical forces and human endeavor, waiting for those with the patience to truly see them.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of The Black Death in the Fourteenth Century

The Black Death in the Fourteenth Century

J. F. C. (Justus Friedrich Carl) Hecker

HOOK The Black Death was an oriental plague of such ferocity that it depopulated entire nations and shattered the foundations of medieval society, leaving behind only echoes of terror in our collective historical memory.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Dramas of Victor Hugo: Mary Tudor, Marion de Lorme, Esmeralda

The Dramas of Victor Hugo: Mary Tudor, Marion de Lorme, Esmeralda

Victor Hugo

The passions of history collide with the turbulence of the human heart in these three feverish tales of love, betrayal, and inexorable fate.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of The hounds of Tindalos

The hounds of Tindalos

Frank Belknap Long

The boundary between the known world and the terrifying, non-Euclidean reality beyond is thinner than anyone dares to imagine. Those who peer through the veil of time risk waking ancient, cosmic hungers that reside in the angles of existence.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of The Irish Guards in the Great War, Volume 2 (of 2)

The Irish Guards in the Great War, Volume 2 (of 2)

Rudyard Kipling

The Second Battalion of the Irish Guards endures the crucible of the Great War, forging its own identity through relentless service, sacrifice, and the stubborn, mundane labor of survival. This record serves as a testament to the men who defined the battalion’s spirit on the Western Front.

History - European6 min read
Cover of The ivory king

The ivory king

Charles Frederick Holder

The elephant, long celebrated as a creature of myth and majesty, stands as the most powerful land animal on Earth, yet its survival remains precariously balanced against the insatiable human demand for ivory.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of The Library of Work and Play: Mechanics, Indoors and Out

The Library of Work and Play: Mechanics, Indoors and Out

Fred T. (Frederick Thomas) Hodgson

Mastering the physical world requires a blend of curiosity, patience, and the right set of tools. This practical guide serves as an essential manual for those who wish to understand the mechanics governing their surroundings, from the garden path to the gas-engine launch.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Lovely Lady

The Lovely Lady

Mary Austin

A quiet man struggles to reconcile the heavy, practical demands of a life built on duty with the persistent, shimmering pull of an idealized feminine grace.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation

The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation

Scott Nearing

Modern industrialization has knitted the world into a single, fragile web of interdependence. To survive the resulting chaos and prevent further catastrophic wars, humanity must transition toward a rational, federated global economic system.

Economics6 min read
Cover of The Quest of the Simple Life

The Quest of the Simple Life

W. J. (William James) Dawson

This is a meditative account of an urban professional who abandons the crushing pace of London for the quietude of the countryside. It serves as a gentle, reflective manifesto for those seeking to reclaim their health and autonomy.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Scouts of the Valley

The Scouts of the Valley

Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler

The frontier is a place of shadows and survival, where five young men navigate the brutal collision of colonial expansion and indigenous resistance. They move as ghosts through the wilderness, bonded by a desperate, unwavering loyalty.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Spell of Belgium

The Spell of Belgium

Isabel Anderson

A traveler’s account from the dawn of the First World War, capturing a nation’s cultural spirit and its sudden, tragic transformation under the shadow of global conflict.

History - European6 min read
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