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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 286 of 988.

Cover of The Thrall of Leif the Lucky: A Story of Viking Days

The Thrall of Leif the Lucky: A Story of Viking Days

Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz

HOOK Driven by the clash of ancient beliefs and the promise of a New World, a young thrall finds his destiny entwined with the legendary Viking explorer Leif Eriksson.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

The Usurper: An Episode in Japanese History

Judith Gautier

In the shadow of a crumbling empire, a loyal prince and a desperate ruler weave a doomed resistance against a rising usurper. This tale of political intrigue and tragic devotion unfolds amidst the shifting landscapes of a Japan caught between ancient tradition and total war.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Veiled Man: Being an Account of the Risks and Adventures of Sidi Ahamadou, Sheikh of the Azjar Maraude

The Veiled Man: Being an Account of the Risks and Adventures of Sidi Ahamadou, Sheikh of the Azjar Maraude

William Le Queux

This collection of desert memoirs follows a nomadic warrior through a landscape of lost cities, forbidden treasures, and the brutal realities of Saharan tribal life. It is a vivid, if darkly adventurous, portrait of a world governed by blood feuds and shifting allegiances.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Turned Adrift

Turned Adrift

Harry Collingwood

A crew cast adrift by mutineers must rely on ingenuity and sheer grit to survive the perils of the open ocean and a remote volcanic island.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry

Types of Weltschmerz in German Poetry

Wilhelm Alfred Braun

To understand the melancholic ache of the nineteenth-century German soul, one must look past mere sadness to the cultural phenomenon of Weltschmerz. This study dissects the anatomy of that existential grief through the lives of three poets.

German Literature6 min read
Cover of Vandemark's Folly

Vandemark's Folly

Herbert Quick

The frontier is not merely a place of grand vistas, but a rugged crucible where the vulnerable are forged into something resilient and new. This story captures the immense, shifting weight of the American prairie as it transforms an orphaned boy into a man.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of When William IV. Was King

When William IV. Was King

John Ashton

The reign of William IV was a brief, turbulent bridge between the Georgian era and the Victorian age. This account captures the messy, transformative pulse of 1830s England, where steam power and social reform collided with ancient tradition.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Wyoming: A Story of the Outdoor West

Wyoming: A Story of the Outdoor West

William MacLeod Raine

HOOK A young woman drives her automobile into the vast, silent heart of Wyoming, only to find herself caught in a deadly feud between a rugged sheepman and a ruthless local king.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of A Fool and His Money

A Fool and His Money

George Barr McCutcheon

An inheritance, a crumbling German castle, and a runaway countess collide in this tale of an impulsive young man discovering that the price of romance is often higher than gold.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Second Home

A Second Home

Honoré de Balzac

An ambitious, unhappily married judge finds emotional refuge in a hidden, clandestine family, only to face the inevitable collision between his rigid public duty and his private, illicit longing for domestic warmth.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Abbé Aubain and Mosaics

Abbé Aubain and Mosaics

Prosper Mérimée

In these meticulously crafted tales, the boundaries between the rational world and the uncanny dissolve, revealing the cold, sharp precision of human desire and its capacity for ruin.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Advice to Singers

Advice to Singers

Frederick James Crowest

This guide offers a grounded, practical manual for the aspiring vocalist, emphasizing that artistry is a craft built upon discipline, health, and a rigorous rejection of shortcuts. It serves as a sober reminder that a beautiful voice is merely the raw material for a lifetime of dedicated, disciplined study.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Association Football, and How To Play It

Association Football, and How To Play It

John Cameron

This guide captures the spirit of Edwardian-era soccer, blending technical instruction with the rugged, principled philosophy of a professional player-manager who navigated the game’s transition from local pastime to organized industry.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Barbarossa

Barbarossa

Conrad von Bolanden

The struggle between an ambitious emperor and the papacy defines this historical epic, which contrasts the brutal exercise of temporal power against the spiritual endurance of the Church in twelfth-century Europe.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Collected Poems 1901-1918 in Two Volumes. Volume I

Collected Poems 1901-1918 in Two Volumes. Volume I

Walter De la Mare

The human heart is a haunted vessel, echoing with the ghosts of childhood, the silence of the woods, and the encroaching shadow of an inevitable end. Poetry here serves not as a decoration, but as a bridge across the darkening threshold of mortality.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of David Blaize

David Blaize

E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

Schoolboy freedom is a fragile kingdom, easily shattered by a master's footstep or a poorly aimed cricket ball, yet lived with fierce, absolute devotion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of E. P. Roe: Reminiscences of his Life

E. P. Roe: Reminiscences of his Life

Mary A. (Mary Abigail) Roe

This collection of memoirs illuminates the life and character of a man who transitioned from the hardships of a Civil War chaplaincy to become one of the most widely read American novelists of the late nineteenth century.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Erasmus Against War

Erasmus Against War

Desiderius Erasmus

Humanity is born for friendship and kindness, not for the slaughter of war. This timeless appeal argues that the nature of man and the teachings of Christ stand in absolute opposition to the carnage of conflict.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Finding the Worth While in the Southwest

Finding the Worth While in the Southwest

Charles Francis Saunders

The American Southwest is a landscape of profound antiquity and strange, vibrant colors that demand a slow, observant approach. This guide invites the traveler to step out of the modern rush and into a world where ancient cultures still quietly endure.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Fresh Fields

Fresh Fields

John Burroughs

A naturalist crosses the Atlantic to weigh the wild charms of England against the rugged, untamed beauty of his American home.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Gilbertus Anglicus: Medicine of the Thirteenth Century

Gilbertus Anglicus: Medicine of the Thirteenth Century

Henry E. (Henry Ebenezer) Handerson

A scholarly examination of a thirteenth-century medical text, this work reconstructs the life and methods of a forgotten English practitioner who straddled the divide between ancient theory and emerging surgical practice.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of In Convent Walls: The Story of the Despensers

In Convent Walls: The Story of the Despensers

Emily Sarah Holt

A chronicle of the fall of Queen Isabelle and her allies, this narrative observes the heavy price of ambition through the eyes of those trapped within the convent walls of a tumultuous England.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lady Byron Vindicated: A History of the Byron Controversy

Lady Byron Vindicated: A History of the Byron Controversy

Harriet Beecher Stowe

A spirited defense of a maligned widow, this work seeks to clear Lady Byron’s reputation against the enduring, vitriolic legacy of her poet-husband’s accusations. It acts as an intimate, urgent corrective to the public narrative surrounding their volatile separation.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Le Petit Chose (Histoire d'un Enfant)

Le Petit Chose (Histoire d'un Enfant)

Alphonse Daudet

A fragile, idealistic young man navigates the harsh realities of mid-19th-century French society, seeking to restore his fallen family’s honor. This poignant narrative traces his journey from the innocence of childhood to the bitter disillusionments of adulthood.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of Little Memoirs of the Nineteenth Century

Little Memoirs of the Nineteenth Century

George Paston

These portraits of minor nineteenth-century figures illuminate the eccentricities, ambitions, and social textures of an era when art, travel, and literature often served as the defining boundaries of a person’s public identity.

Art7 min read
Cover of Little Miss Peggy: Only a Nursery Story

Little Miss Peggy: Only a Nursery Story

Mrs. Molesworth

A quiet, reflective tale of a young girl’s inner world, this narrative explores the gentle threshold between childhood innocence and the realities of a wider, shifting life. It remains a poignant study of how small fancies serve as anchors when the world feels uncertain.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Love and Marriage

Love and Marriage

Ellen Key

Love is the moral ground of human connection, yet centuries of rigid tradition have stifled its potential. This work argues that society must abandon outdated legal constraints to foster an era of genuine, elective intimacy.

Gender & Sexuality Studies6 min read
Cover of Michel and Angele [A Ladder of Swords]

Michel and Angele [A Ladder of Swords]

Gilbert Parker

A soldier and a Huguenot maiden find shelter in the shadow of Elizabeth’s court, where love is a precarious game played against the whims of a powerful, inscrutable Queen.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Mobilizing Woman-Power

Mobilizing Woman-Power

Harriot Stanton Blatch

Women served as the unswerving second line of defense during the Great War, proving that the mobilization of their labor and intellect was essential to the survival of civilization itself.

Gender & Sexuality Studies6 min read
Cover of Mother West Wind "Why" Stories

Mother West Wind "Why" Stories

Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

The curious rabbit Peter and his forest companions seek the origins of their neighbors' habits, discovering that Old Mother Nature rewards industry and kindness with unique physical traits.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Pilots of the Republic: The Romance of the Pioneer Promoter in the Middle West

Pilots of the Republic: The Romance of the Pioneer Promoter in the Middle West

Archer Butler Hulbert

The American frontier was not merely conquered by armies or frontiersmen, but by visionary promoters whose faith in the nation’s expansion cemented the Union through roads, canals, and railways.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Poison-ivy, poison-oak and poison sumac

Poison-ivy, poison-oak and poison sumac

D. M. (Donald Mundell) Crooks

Learning to identify poisonous plants on sight is the most effective way to avoid the misery of a rash. This practical bulletin provides the essential knowledge needed to recognize and safely eradicate common botanical hazards.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of Rambles Beyond Railways

Rambles Beyond Railways

Wilkie Collins

This vibrant travelogue captures a remote, pre-industrial Cornwall, where the pace of life was dictated by tides and local tradition rather than the relentless march of the steam engine.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography

Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography

Andy Adams

This autobiography traces the rise of a self-made cattleman from the post-Civil War era to the twilight of the open range. It is a detailed, grounded account of a life defined by the rhythmic demands of the trail.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Round About the North Pole

Round About the North Pole

W. J. (William John) Gordon

This survey of Arctic history chronicles centuries of human perseverance in the frozen North, charting the shift from early commercial ambitions to the singular, obsessive quest to reach the Pole.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Scientific American Supplement, No. 299, September 24, 1881

Scientific American Supplement, No. 299, September 24, 1881

Various

This collection of late nineteenth-century technical reports captures the rigorous, industrious spirit of an era defined by steam, steel, and the rapid expansion of applied science. It serves as a time capsule for the professional and practical concerns of engineers, chemists, and surgeons in 1881.

Art6 min read
Cover of Shakespeare Jest-Books: Reprints of the Early and Very Rare Jest-Books Supposed to Have Been Used by Shakespeare

Shakespeare Jest-Books: Reprints of the Early and Very Rare Jest-Books Supposed to Have Been Used by Shakespeare

Unknown

This collection of early jest-books preserves the sharp, often biting humor that echoed through English markets and taverns long before the modern age. It invites readers to look over the shoulder of the past to see what made a sixteenth-century audience laugh.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of St. Martin's Summer

St. Martin's Summer

Rafael Sabatini

The late-blooming romance between a battle-hardened soldier and a spirited noblewoman defies the chill of an autumn landscape. In the shadow of a dark, ancestral fortress, duty yields to a passion as unexpected as a summer day in November.

Historical Novels7 min read
Cover of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878

St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878

Various

A window into the late Victorian imagination, this collection gathers the wonder of the natural world, the thrill of industrial progress, and the simple joys of childhood into a single, vibrant monthly chronicle.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Strong as Death

Strong as Death

Guy de Maupassant

The weight of passing time and the cruelty of aging haunt the heart of a celebrated painter, whose fixation on a fading love drives him to a tragic obsession with her daughter.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Success with Small Fruits

Success with Small Fruits

Edward Payson Roe

This practical manual serves as both a philosophical argument for a return to the land and a technical guide for the successful cultivation of berries. It bridges the gap between the aesthetic pleasure of a home garden and the rigorous demands of commercial fruit farming.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Tartarin of Tarascon

Tartarin of Tarascon

Alphonse Daudet

HOOK A legend in his own mind, a hunter who has never left home, sets out for Algeria to confront the lions of his vivid imagination.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Taxidermy

Taxidermy

Leon Luther Pray

Taxidermy serves as a practical, hands-on manual for the sportsman who wishes to preserve his own trophies, demystifying the craft through step-by-step instruction rather than exhaustive scientific theory. It bridges the gap between the amateur hunter and the professional museum preparator, offering a clear,…

Art6 min read
Cover of The Academy Boys in Camp

The Academy Boys in Camp

Keene, S. F., Mrs.

A group of schoolboys spends a summer on an island, navigating the challenges of nature, their own morality, and the firm, guiding hand of their teacher.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 23, September, 1859: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 23, September, 1859: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

Various

This volume serves as a quintessential time capsule of mid-nineteenth-century intellectual life, capturing the era’s urgent preoccupations with art, theology, social reform, and the emerging American identity. It offers a diverse survey of a culture balancing between inherited European traditions and a restless,…

Art6 min read
Cover of The City of Delight: A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem

The City of Delight: A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem

Elizabeth Miller

The end of an era looms over the ancient world as a city faces its final, desperate reckoning. Amidst the rising smoke of a doomed capital, a young woman’s search for her identity becomes inextricably tangled with the shifting allegiances of war.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Diamond Pin

The Diamond Pin

Carolyn Wells

A locked-room mystery hinges on a cryptic inheritance and a series of bizarre pranks. A young woman must navigate a web of suspicion and abduction to clear her companion’s name.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The Discovery of Muscovy

The Discovery of Muscovy

Richard Hakluyt

The northern seas hold mysteries of commerce and survival, where brave men seek new paths to distant empires and often pay the ultimate price for the hope of discovery.

History - European6 min read