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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 281 of 988.

Cover of Historic Oddities and Strange Events

Historic Oddities and Strange Events

S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

History often forgets the peripheral figures and bizarre occurrences that ripple through time, leaving only the main currents in the record. This collection gathers the forgotten, the scandalous, and the inexplicable from the margins of the past.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Holbein's "Ambassadors", the picture and the men

Holbein's "Ambassadors", the picture and the men

Mary F. S. (Mary Frederica Sophia) Hervey

Through the lens of a single, enigmatic masterpiece, this historical investigation reconstructs the fractured political world of the sixteenth century, revealing the intellectual lives of two French diplomats caught between art, faith, and duty.

General6 min read
Cover of Joyce Morrell's Harvest: The Annals of Selwick Hall

Joyce Morrell's Harvest: The Annals of Selwick Hall

Emily Sarah Holt

A quiet, devout household in the English countryside faces the sudden, sharp trials of life and love, learning the profound, often painful lesson of waiting on the Lord’s timing.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Liberalism and the Social Problem

Liberalism and the Social Problem

Winston Churchill

This collection of speeches captures a pivotal transition in British governance, as a young, ambitious legislator articulates the case for a modern state that balances industrial growth with the fundamental well-being of its citizens.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Literary Taste: How to Form It: With Detailed Instructions for Collecting a Complete Library of English Literature

Literary Taste: How to Form It: With Detailed Instructions for Collecting a Complete Library of English Literature

Arnold Bennett

To cultivate a true appreciation for the written word is to embark on a journey of self-transformation. This guide offers a practical, disciplined path toward building a library and refining one's internal capacity for lasting pleasure.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Millet

Millet

Percy Moore Turner

A profound and melancholic chronicler of the French peasantry, this artist transformed the humble struggle of rural life into enduring, philosophical masterpieces.

Art6 min read
Cover of Musical Criticisms

Musical Criticisms

Arthur Johnstone

These collected journalistic dispatches offer an intimate, rigorous survey of the turn-of-the-century classical music scene, capturing the transition from Romantic traditions to the bold, modern complexities of the early twentieth century.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Our Next-Door Neighbors

Our Next-Door Neighbors

Belle Kanaris Maniates

The sudden arrival of five rambunctious children next door turns a quiet, childless household upside down, forcing a young couple to navigate the chaotic and often humorous reality of being "parents" by proximity.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Overland: A Novel

Overland: A Novel

John William De Forest

The rugged frontier of the American West serves as the backdrop for a harrowing, high-stakes journey where survival is a constant battle against both treacherous terrain and human malice.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Prowling about Panama

Prowling about Panama

George A. (George Amos) Miller

This book offers a vivid, early-twentieth-century window into the Isthmus of Panama, blending the sensory details of a travelogue with the ambitious, reformist zeal of a missionary observer.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-04-28

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-04-28

Various

A collection of period wit and commentary, these pages capture the idiosyncratic voice of a nation navigating the immediate aftermath of the Great War through satire, sketches, and sharp-eyed social observation.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Remarkable rogues

Remarkable rogues

Charles Kingston

This collection of true-crime narratives explores the lives of notorious figures from Europe and America, dissecting their elaborate frauds, cold-blooded murders, and the insatiable greed that ultimately led to their ruin.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Strange marriage customs

Strange marriage customs

Leo Markun

How much of the spark in our romantic lives is choice, and how much is merely the invisible hand of tradition, law, or economic necessity?

Romance6 min read
Cover of Survey of the High Roads of England and Wales. Part the First.: Comprising the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. etc

Survey of the High Roads of England and Wales. Part the First.: Comprising the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. etc

Edward S. Mogg

This meticulous guide serves as an essential 1817 companion for the Regency-era traveler, mapping the estates and turnpikes of Southern England with a focus on the grand homes of the landed gentry.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Bobby Orde

The Adventures of Bobby Orde

Stewart Edward White

A boy growing up in a Michigan sawmill town learns the difficult art of becoming a man through the quiet, immersive rituals of shooting, printing, and navigating the mysteries of the natural world.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont

The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont

Louis de Rougemont

This narrative captures the feverish, singular experience of a man claiming to have survived a lifetime of shipwrecks, isolation, and eventual chieftainship among the indigenous peoples of the Australian interior.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The American Horsewoman

The American Horsewoman

Elizabeth Karr

Mastery of the saddle requires more than instinct; it demands a disciplined understanding of the horse and a commitment to rigorous, intentional technique. This practical manual provides a comprehensive guide for the American woman seeking to transition from a hesitant rider to an accomplished equestrienne.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of The Book-Bills of Narcissus: An Account Rendered by Richard Le Gallienne

The Book-Bills of Narcissus: An Account Rendered by Richard Le Gallienne

Richard Le Gallienne

The story follows the internal and external growth of an idealistic young man whose life is charted not by diaries, but by the receipts of his bibliomania. Through the eyes of a devoted friend, we witness the quiet, intense odyssey of a soul seeking beauty and truth in a world that often demands a more conventional…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The book of friendly giants

The book of friendly giants

Eunice Fuller

Giants are rarely the villains they are made out to be in nursery tales, but rather are oversized, kind-hearted souls who often find themselves in clumsy, well-meaning scrapes. This collection gathers legends and literary adaptations to reveal the true, gentle nature of the giant race.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The boy's Froissart

The boy's Froissart

Jean Froissart

This chronicle captures the pageantry and brutality of the Hundred Years’ War, recording the deeds of knights, kings, and commoners across a transformative era of European history.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Ebbing Of The Tide: South Sea Stories - 1896

The Ebbing Of The Tide: South Sea Stories - 1896

Louis Becke

The South Seas serve as a sanctuary for the desperate and the damned, where the boundaries between civilization and savagery dissolve in the heat of the tropics.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of The Eye of Dread

The Eye of Dread

Payne Erskine

The shadows of the past and the secrets of a quiet village converge in a web of lost identity and lingering grief. A man’s return from the void forces a reckoning that tests the boundaries of faith, family, and the enduring power of love.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry in the War 1914-1918

The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry in the War 1914-1918

Great Britain. Army. Highland Light Infantry. Battalion, 5th

The 5th Battalion Highland Light Infantry serves as an unflinching chronicle of a Territorial unit’s transformation from civilian volunteers into battle-hardened veterans. It captures the raw, granular reality of total war across two continents.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Golf Course Mystery

The Golf Course Mystery

Chester K. Steele

When a wealthy golfer drops dead on the fairway, a quiet community faces a scandal that threatens the legacy of a prominent family.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The House in the Water: A Book of Animal Stories

The House in the Water: A Book of Animal Stories

Roberts, Charles G. D., Sir

In the untamed wilderness of the North, the lives of beavers, bears, and moose unfold in a harsh, beautiful dance of survival. These tales capture the raw, indifferent majesty of the wild.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Little Review, October 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 7)

The Little Review, October 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 7)

Various

This collection captures the urgent, defiant pulse of early 20th-century modernism, where experimental prose and fierce cultural critique collide in the pages of a quintessential Chicago literary magazine.

Art6 min read
Cover of The Martian

The Martian

A. R. (Alec Rowley) Hilliard

A lone traveler from Mars, stranded in a hostile world, discovers that his vast scientific knowledge serves only to trap him in a cage of human greed.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Mary Frances Story Book

The Mary Frances Story Book

Jane Eayre Fryer

A young girl sets sail across a sea of brilliant blue to discover an enchanted island where the inhabitants live only to tell the world’s most enduring tales. This imaginative journey serves as the frame for a delightful collection of classic stories gathered and retold for a new generation of listeners.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Old Northwest: A Chronicle of the Ohio Valley and Beyond

The Old Northwest: A Chronicle of the Ohio Valley and Beyond

Frederic Austin Ogg

The Old Northwest traces the transformation of the Ohio Valley from a contested frontier into the heart of a rapidly expanding American republic. It captures the raw, often brutal struggle for dominion between empires, indigenous peoples, and settlers.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Olden Time Series, Vol. 6: Literary Curiosities: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts

The Olden Time Series, Vol. 6: Literary Curiosities: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts

Henry M. (Henry Mason) Brooks

This collection offers a mosaic of early American life, rescued from the ephemeral pages of long-forgotten newspapers. It is a charming, erratic journey through the social rituals, oddities, and public anxieties of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century New England.

History - American5 min read
Cover of The Philosophy of the Weather. And a Guide to Its Changes

The Philosophy of the Weather. And a Guide to Its Changes

T. B. (Thomas Belden) Butler

Nature’s most violent storms and mildest breezes are governed not by the simple whims of heat, but by a complex, global machinery of magnetism and electricity.

Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming6 min read
Cover of The Plunderers: A Novel

The Plunderers: A Novel

Edwin Lefevre

A man of mystery orchestrates elaborate, psychological gambits against the titans of Wall Street, turning their own greed and insecurities into a weapon for social redistribution.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The shadow of the East

The shadow of the East

E. M. (Edith Maude) Hull

A weary traveler haunted by a secret shame searches the globe for penance, only to find that the past he desperately flees is tethered to the one soul he deems too pure to claim.

Novels7 min read
Cover of The Squaw Man: A Novel

The Squaw Man: A Novel

Edwin Milton Royle

A man’s sacrifice to protect his family’s honor leads him into the harsh, untamed American West, where he must reconcile the life he left behind with the one he has built in the wilderness.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Tree of Heaven

The Tree of Heaven

May Sinclair

This is a sprawling, deeply felt portrait of an English family whose domestic rhythms are irrevocably shattered by the Great War. It captures the transition from a sheltered Victorian upbringing to the harsh, fractured reality of the early twentieth century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The troubadours

The troubadours

Francis Hueffer

The troubadours of medieval Provence were not merely singers of romance, but the architects of a sophisticated literary culture that helped define the Western concept of courtly love and poetic artistry. This exploration serves as a vital bridge for those seeking to understand the historical reality behind the…

Poetry6 min read
Cover of The useful trees of northern Nigeria

The useful trees of northern Nigeria

Hugh Vandervaes Lely

This detailed field guide serves as a practical, observational record of the diverse trees inhabiting the savannah forests of Northern Nigeria. It provides a methodical, century-old lens into the botanical identity and utility of the region’s timber and flora.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 10

The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 10

John Dryden

Poetry and polemics define the intellectual landscape of this collection, capturing a master writer at the height of his influence during the turbulent reign of the later Stuarts. It serves as a formidable record of a shifting age.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1956 January - June

U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1956 January - June

Library of Congress. Copyright Office

This administrative record captures the pulse of American literary and legal output from 1928, documenting the bureaucratic renewal of intellectual property rights during the mid-twentieth century.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 1, March, 1906

Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 1, March, 1906

Various

This collection serves as a vivid snapshot of early twentieth-century American populism, capturing the urgent, combative spirit of a nation grappling with industrial consolidation, political corruption, and the fading promise of agrarian independence.

Economics6 min read
Cover of Young Wallingford

Young Wallingford

George Randolph Chester

A professional confidence man navigates the high-stakes world of early 20th-century American finance, proving that the line between a shrewd entrepreneur and a swindler is often merely a matter of perspective.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Bed of Roses

A Bed of Roses

Walter Lionel George

Victoria Fulton is a woman who, having been cast into the grinding machinery of London’s labor market, chooses to sell her beauty rather than her servitude. This narrative follows her ascent from destitution to a position of calculating, independent comfort.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Certain Rich Man

A Certain Rich Man

William Allen White

This story explores the slow erosion of a man’s conscience, charting how early idealism is systematically sacrificed to the relentless pursuit of industrial power. It serves as a somber meditation on the cost of success in a changing America.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of A. W. Kinglake: A Biographical and Literary Study

A. W. Kinglake: A Biographical and Literary Study

William Tuckwell

This portrait of a Victorian intellectual captures a man who navigated the shifting currents of his age with a blend of sharp wit, deep reticence, and a lifelong devotion to the craft of history.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Ancient Man: The Beginning of Civilizations

Ancient Man: The Beginning of Civilizations

Hendrik Willem Van Loon

HOOK This history explores the dawn of human civilization, tracing how our ancestors moved from primitive survival to building cities, writing language, and forging the states that define our modern world.

History - Ancient7 min read
Cover of Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

The world of high-stakes power and the intimate wreckage of a consuming romance collide in this portrait of a legendary collapse. It is a study of how grand figures, when stripped of their empires, face the finality of their own choices.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Aspects of Reproduction and Development in the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)

Aspects of Reproduction and Development in the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)

Henry S. (Henry Sheldon) Fitch

The prairie vole, a common but ecologically vital inhabitant of North American grasslands, leads a life defined by high-frequency reproduction and surprising social complexity.

Nature/Gardening/Animals5 min read
Cover of Belford's Magazine, Vol II, No. 10, March 1889

Belford's Magazine, Vol II, No. 10, March 1889

Various

This collection of essays, reviews, and fiction offers a window into the intellectual and social anxieties of late 19th-century America, balancing political critique with late-Victorian gothic drama.

Journals6 min read