The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 317
34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 317 of 714.
The Moccasin Maker
E. Pauline Johnson
In these vivid Canadian stories, indigenous strength and European tradition meet, collide, and reshape one another along the wild frontier.
The Nation's Peril.: Twelve Years' Experience in the South. Then and Now. The Ku Klux Klan, a Complete Exposition of the Order: Its Purpose, Plans, Operations, Social and Political Significance
Anonymous
The political landscape of the Reconstruction era serves as the backdrop for this urgent, polemical examination of the violence and intimidation orchestrated by the Ku Klux Klan to subvert the post-Civil War order.
The Open Air
Richard Jefferies
A child’s wild escape into a cornfield leads to a quiet conversation with the wheat, setting the tone for a profound journey through nature’s quiet power and humanity’s restless disconnect.
The Precipice: A Novel
Elia Wilkinson Peattie
A call to professional independence and personal fulfillment, this narrative follows a woman navigating the treacherous, exhilarating edge between traditional domestic expectations and a modern career. It is a portrait of a spirited mind refusing to be diminished by the "precipice" of public life.
The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight
Elizabeth Von Arnim
A young princess escapes the suffocating weight of royal protocol and a forced marriage, hoping to find a simpler life in an English village. Her quest for freedom soon reveals the unintended consequences of imposing her own ideals upon a world that does not understand them.
The Suitors of Yvonne: being a portion of the memoirs of the Sieur Gaston de Luynes
Rafael Sabatini
A disgraced mercenary risks his life to protect the foolish nephew of Cardinal Mazarin, only to fall desperately in love with the high-born woman he was sent to manipulate.
The Three Just Men
Edgar Wallace
A shadow war unfolds across London as three enigmatic vigilantes orchestrate a high-stakes campaign to dismantle a lethal criminal mastermind. They navigate a labyrinth of stolen gold, deadly toxins, and the dangerous pursuit of an ancient fortune.
The Tithe-Proctor: The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two
William Carleton
A man tasked with collecting church tithes in a volatile, fractured Ireland finds his family’s lives—and his own soul—imperiled by the very system he serves.
The Well of the Saints: A Comedy in Three Acts
J. M. (John Millington) Synge
A blind couple regains their sight, only to reject it.
The Youthful Wanderer: An Account of a Tour through England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the Rhine, Switzerland, Italy, and Egypt, Adapted to the Wants of Young Americans Taking Their First Glimpses at the Old World
George H. Heffner
This account serves as a practical, encouraging manual for young Americans, demonstrating that a transformative tour of the Old World is well within the reach of the modest, studious traveler.
Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters
Victor Appleton
Tom Swift, a young inventor, develops an aerial fire-fighting system to combat blazes in tall buildings.
Wit, humor, reason, rhetoric, prose, poetry and story woven into eight popular lectures
George W. Bain
The platform is a stage for character, a place where sincere conviction and simple storytelling unite to steer the listener toward a life of temperance, faith, and honorable service.
Women and War Work
Helen Miller Moyes
The total mobilization of a nation requires more than armies; it demands the full, deliberate participation of every citizen. This account captures the transformation of British society through the lens of women's wartime service.
A Catalogue of Books Published by Methuen and Company, February, 1908
Methuen & Co.
This ledger of literary ambition captures the heartbeat of the Edwardian reading public, offering a panoramic view of the intellectual and aesthetic marketplace at the dawn of the twentieth century. It serves as a static moment in time, documenting the reach of a prominent publisher at the height of the British…
Anguish Languish
Howard L. Chace
A masterclass in linguistic play, this collection reimagines classic tales and rhymes through the phonetic equivalent of a funhouse mirror, forcing the reader to hear the familiar with entirely new ears.
Arundel
E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson
A young woman’s search for purpose in the rigid, comfortable suburbs of Edwardian England leads her through a landscape of quiet passion, sudden loss, and the necessity of renunciation.
Cassell's book of birds
Alfred Edmund Brehm
This expansive Victorian natural history compendium serves as a meticulously detailed survey of the avian world, blending rigorous scientific classification with the anecdotal wonder of nineteenth-century exploration. It captures a time when the globe felt both vast and increasingly accessible, documenting the…
Count Brühl
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
The life of a courtier is a precarious climb, where a charming smile can mask the sharpest ambition and a single misstep leads to a lonely, permanent fall.
Daily Thoughts: selected from the writings of Charles Kingsley by his wife
Charles Kingsley
A guide to finding holiness in the ordinary, this collection frames the challenges of daily existence as a rigorous, loving education under the hand of God. It invites readers to embrace the work of their present moment.
David: A Tragedy
Cale Young Rice
This dramatic rendering reimagines the rise of the shepherd-king as a tumultuous collision between divine destiny and human frailty. It is a work of high-stakes conflict, centering on the psychological unraveling of a monarch who feels his power slipping away.
East of Suez: A Play in Seven Scenes
W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham
A woman caught between two cultures faces the ultimate reckoning when her past collides with her present. This drama explores the destructive intersection of desire, deception, and the weight of heritage in 1920s Peking.
Eighteen months in the war zone
Kate John Finzi
HOOK This immersive diary documents eighteen months of volunteer service in the frantic, makeshift medical hubs of Boulogne, where the reality of war is measured not in strategy, but in bandages, mud, and endless human loss.
Faith and Unfaith: A Novel
Duchess
The shadows of a family secret and the fragility of human trust define the lives of those caught in the orbit of an aristocratic household. A young woman’s pride and a husband’s long-held silence collide, proving that love cannot survive where doubt is allowed to fester.
Geology of Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming: A Contribution to General Geology
Charles Sherwood Robinson
Devils Tower stands as a testament to the slow, relentless power of erosion, an ancient column of igneous rock rising defiantly from the colorful, softer sedimentary layers of the Wyoming landscape.
Glances at Europe: In a Series of Letters from Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, &c. During the Summer of 1851
Horace Greeley
A seasoned American newspaper editor traverses the mid-nineteenth-century European landscape, offering sharp, pragmatic observations on industrial progress, labor reform, and the enduring contrasts between Old World tradition and the promise of a modern, interconnected era.
How to Teach Reading in the Public Schools
S. H. (Solomon Henry) Clark
This manual transforms the act of reading aloud from a mechanical chore into a vital, intuitive expression of human thought and emotion.
Hydriatic treatment of Scarlet Fever in its Different Forms
Charles Munde
A guide to the Victorian-era medical practice of water-cure, this manual offers a rigorous, systematic method for treating scarlet fever at home. It challenges the conventional medical establishment of the mid-19th century.
International Language, Past, Present & Future: With Specimens of Esperanto and Grammar
Walter John Clark
This examination of linguistic unity argues that a neutral, artificial language is the most practical solution to the modern world's fractured communication. It presents Esperanto not as a mere curiosity, but as a scientifically viable tool for global connection.
Is man a free agent?
James Hawthorne Loryea
The mechanical nature of human choice is the central inquiry of this work. It proposes that what we call free will is actually a series of reflexive responses to environmental cues.
James Fenimore Cooper: American Men of Letters
Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury
A towering literary reputation is forged not in the comfort of success, but in the relentless, often bitter fires of public controversy and unyielding personal conviction.
Life of Wagner
Ludwig Nohl
A towering, often turbulent artistic life unfolds here, tracing the evolution of a man who sought to transform the very nature of music-drama into a mirror of human existence and the deepest German ideals.
Modern Billiards: A Complete Text-Book of the Game, Containing Plain and Practical Instructions How to Play and Acquire Skill at This Scientific Amusement
Benjamin Garno
Billiards is a discipline of geometry, patience, and rigorous physical control, demanding as much from the mind as from the steady hand. This comprehensive guide serves as both a manual for the aspiring player and a historical ledger of the sport's evolution.
Modern dancing and dancers
J. E. Crawford (John Ernest Crawford) Flitch
A vibrant portrait of the early twentieth-century dance world, this work captures a transformative era where classical ballet collided with revolutionary new forms of movement. It serves as both a historical record and a passionate aesthetic manifesto.
My Boyhood
John Burroughs
A naturalist reflects on his origins, capturing the rhythm of a vanished rural life while grappling with the complex legacy of his family’s hard-won, mountain-bound existence.
Nathan Hale
Jean Christie Root
A young patriot chooses the weight of a nation over the security of his own life, transforming an act of sacrifice into an enduring symbol of American devotion.
Nero
Stephen Phillips
HOOK Driven by an insatiable need for artistic expression and political control, a young emperor descends into a cycle of matricide and madness.
Norðurfari
Pliny Miles
A traveler ventures into the raw, volcanic interior of the North, mapping a landscape defined by fire, ice, and ancient sagas. He discovers a land where nature remains in its wildest, most untamed moods.
Notes and Queries, Number 190, June 18, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century periodical serves as a communal clearinghouse for historical, literary, and scientific trivia, inviting readers to solve one another's obscure research puzzles through shared expertise and rigorous inquiry.
On the Seashore: Cassell's "Eyes and No Eyes" Series, Book VII
R. Cadwallader Smith
This guide reveals the hidden, often brutal, and always fascinating lives of the creatures and plants that inhabit the boundary between tide and land.
On Yacht Sailing: A Simple Treatise for Beginners upon the Art of Handling Small Yachts and Boats
Thomas Fleming Day
This primer offers a straightforward, no-nonsense path for the novice sailor to master small craft. It serves as an essential manual for those who prefer the tactile, hands-on development of seamanship over the ease of modern, automated vessels.
Over the Canadian Battlefields: Notes of a Little Journey in France, in March, 1919
John Wesley Dafoe
This brief account offers a meditative, eyewitness tour of the Canadian front in France during the immediate aftermath of the Great War. It captures the solemnity of a nation grappling with its sudden loss and newfound identity.
Poems, 1916-1918
Francis Brett Young
The beauty of the world persists even amidst the wreckage of war, captured in these lines where a soldier finds, in the smallest natural details, an armor against the encroaching darkness of the front.
Rock Blasting: A Practical Treatise on the Means Employed in Blasting Rocks for Industrial Purposes
George G. (George Guillaume) André
The mastery of controlled destruction requires a precise balance of chemistry, physics, and manual ingenuity. This treatise provides an exhaustive guide to the tools and volatile agents that allow engineers to reshape the landscape for industrial advancement.
Seventeen Talks on the Banking Question: Between Uncle Sam and Mr. Farmer, Mr. Banker, Mr. Lawyer, Mr. Laboringman, Mr. Merchant, Mr. Manufacturer
Charles N. (Charles Newell) Fowler
The American financial system, once a chaotic landscape of competing currencies and recurring panics, is dissected here through a series of Socratic dialogues designed to reveal the mechanics of stable, honest banking.
Snowflakes and Sunbeams
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
The wilderness of the Canadian Northwest offers a vast, unforgiving stage for the transition from youth to manhood. Through peril, camaraderie, and the harsh lessons of the frontier, a group of young men discover the true weight of their own character.
Some Eminent Women of Our Times: Short Biographical Sketches
Fawcett, Millicent Garrett, Dame
This collection of portraits illuminates the lives of nineteenth-century women whose intellectual vigor and moral courage helped redefine the scope of feminine influence in the public sphere.
Some Longer Elizabethan Poems
Unknown
This collection gathers a diverse array of late sixteenth-century verse, capturing the intellectual fervor and ornamental playfulness of the Elizabethan era. It offers an intimate look at how poets of the period navigated the intersection of public duty, private grief, and philosophical inquiry.
Spain, v. 2 (of 2)
Edmondo De Amicis
A travelogue of sensory overload and historical reverence, this journey through the heart of Spain captures the vanishing remnants of a storied, sun-drenched landscape. It is a vivid, romanticized exploration of a country caught between its ancient, mysterious past and the encroaching modern world.