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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 326 of 714.

The Life and Times of Alfred the Great: Being the Ford lectures for 1901
Charles Plummer
A master of ninth-century history sifts through the legends, fragments, and manuscripts to find the man behind the myth. This rigorous investigation recovers the true shape of a king whose legacy has been distorted by centuries of misreading.

The Maid-At-Arms: A Novel
Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
In the brutal, unforgiving light of the American Revolution’s northern frontier, a young soldier and a resolute woman navigate a fractured world of shifting loyalties and savage warfare.

The Ned M'Keown Stories: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of
William Carleton
This collection of tales seeks to dismantle the long-standing caricature of the Irish peasant as a bumbling, grotesque buffoon, offering instead an intimate look at the gravity, intellect, and humanity behind the brogue.

The New Century Standard Letter-Writer: Business, Family and Social Correspondence, Love-Letters, Etiquette, Synonyms, Legal Forms, Etc
Alfred B. Chambers
An essential guide to the vanishing art of formal letter-writing, offering templates for every conceivable social, business, and legal necessity of the turn of the century.

The Norse discoverers of America
G. M. (Geoffrey Malcolm) Gathorne-Hardy
The Norse sagas describe journeys across the Atlantic centuries before Columbus, blending oral tradition with the hard realities of navigation. This scholarly work analyzes those accounts to determine where these explorers actually landed.

The Passion for Life
Joseph Hocking
A man facing a terminal diagnosis finds unexpected purpose in a quiet Cornish village, where he stumbles upon a dangerous conspiracy that forces him to choose between a fading life and a desperate act of patriotism.

The Postmaster
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
A retired sea captain trades the salt spray of the Atlantic for the quiet life of a rural postmaster, only to find that small-town commerce and local politics are far more treacherous than the open ocean.

The Rangers
Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce) Thompson
The American Revolution plays out in the rugged heart of Vermont, where loyalties are tested by fire and the fight for independence transforms neighbors into bitter enemies.

The Reminiscences of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton)
Brampton, Henry Hawkins, Baron
A distinguished nineteenth-century jurist looks back on a long career defined by the rigor of the courtroom, the absurdity of human nature, and the heavy burden of dispensing justice.

The Skilful Cook: A Practical Manual of Modern Experience
Mary Harrison
A masterclass in Victorian domestic science, this comprehensive guide offers a practical, disciplined approach to the art of cooking for the home. It transforms kitchen labor into a refined and methodical craft.

The Spy: The Story of a Superfluous Man
Maksim Gorky
Yevsey Klimkov is a man of profound insignificance, a small, timid orphan who drifts into the machinery of state oppression. He is a "superfluous man" in the truest sense, a person so devoid of agency that he becomes the perfect, hollow vessel for a regime built on suspicion and fear.

The Tank Corps
Clough Williams-Ellis
This history chronicles the birth of the Tank Corps, a radical experiment in mechanized warfare that transformed the battlefield and saved countless infantry lives during the First World War.

The Two Noble Kinsmen
William Shakespeare
Two noble cousins, bonded by blood and friendship, find their lives shattered when both fall in love with the same woman. Their rivalry transforms from a noble competition into a tragic fight for survival.

The Two Spies: Nathan Hale and John André
Benson John Lossing
Two men of talent and honor, divided by a revolution, find their lives entwined by the perilous, shadowed art of espionage.

The White Old Maid (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
A haunting pact made over a corpse binds two women to a lifetime of silence, culminating in a spectral reunion decades later.

The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16
John Dryden
This account chronicles the life of the sixteenth-century missionary Francis Xavier, tracing his transformation from a European scholar into a tireless architect of the Jesuit mission across India and Japan.

The Young Buglers
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
Two brothers run away to join the British army, embarking on a series of daring military exploits across the Peninsular War that lead them from the ranks to the officer corps.

Victor Hugo
Algernon Charles Swinburne
A titan of the nineteenth century emerges here not merely as a master of verse and prose, but as a moral force who channeled the collective grief and aspirations of a nation. This deep, reflective study serves as a literary biography and an impassioned defense of a visionary genius whose life’s work—spanning…

West Lawn, and The rector of St. Mark's
Mary Jane Holmes
A woman’s diary becomes the map of her heart as she navigates the quiet, stifling expectations of 19th-century domestic life. Through tangled engagements and hidden histories, the truth finally comes to light.

With Clive in India
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
A young Englishman navigates the treacherous, high-stakes power struggles of 18th-century India, rising from a clerk to a seasoned military commander under the mentorship of Lord Clive. This chronicle of British imperial expansion captures the brutal volatility of the era through a series of relentless sieges,…

Your United States: Impressions of a first visit
Arnold Bennett
An observant visitor captures the pulse of a nation in the midst of a restless, rapid transformation, documenting the dizzying scale and relentless energy of early twentieth-century American life.

A Bit of Sunshine
Unknown
A young girl enjoys a spirited carriage ride through the countryside, observing the simple, vibrant activities of rural life as the sun emerges after a heavy rain.

A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike: because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde
Richard Rainolde
A foundational manual from 1563, this text transforms the abstract art of classical persuasion into a practical, step-by-step engine for building a compelling argument.

A History of Wood-Engraving
George Edward Woodberry
A survey of wood-engraving that traces the craft from its medieval origins to its modern revival, positioning it not merely as a technical skill but as a vital mirror of human civilization.

A journey round my room
Xavier de Maistre
A housebound traveler finds that the true scale of the world is not measured in leagues, but in the infinite landscapes of the human mind.

A Mechanical Account of Poisons in Several Essays
Richard Mead
A rigorous, early-eighteenth-century attempt to explain the mechanics of toxins through physical law rather than occult mystery, shifting the study of venom into the realm of observable, observable anatomy.

A Terrible Tomboy
Angela Brazil
A spirited, tree-climbing girl fights to save her family’s ancestral home from debt, finding her true strength not in defying convention, but in the steadfast love she shows her father.

A Tramp Abroad
Mark Twain
A wanderer’s grand expectations for a continental walking tour collide with the absurdities of travel, resulting in a journey less about the destination and more about the hilarious friction of being a stranger in a strange land.

A Traveler from Altruria: Romance
William Dean Howells
A visitor from a distant land arrives in America, his gentle innocence serving as a mirror to the contradictions and social inequities of the Gilded Age. Through polite, persistent questioning, he forces his hosts to confront the reality of their own ideals.

A true & exact history of the island of Barbados
Richard Ligon
This seventeenth-century account documents the rapid transformation of a Caribbean landscape into a highly organized, brutal engine of sugar production. It serves as a stark testament to the colonial ambition and human cost defining the era.

A Woman-Hater
Charles Reade
A woman’s search for her past intersects with a singer’s ascent and a gentleman’s skepticism in this expansive, spirited Victorian novel. It explores the social and professional limitations placed upon women while weaving a complex tapestry of romantic longing and personal redemption.

An Elementary Text-book of the Microscope: including a description of the methods of preparing and mounting objects, etc
J. W. (John William) Griffith
This practical handbook serves as a foundational guide for the amateur naturalist, demystifying the mechanical and scientific complexities of microscopy. It provides a clear, methodical path for anyone seeking to explore the hidden structural intricacies of the natural world.

Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich
Stephen Leacock
This satirical cycle of interconnected stories portrays the absurd, insulated world of the ultra-wealthy, where the pursuit of profit transforms every human endeavor into a business transaction. It serves as a sharp, enduring critique of how concentrated capital shapes the social and moral fabric of a modern city.

Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 455: Volume 18, New Series, September 18, 1852
Various
This collection of nineteenth-century journalism captures a world in the throes of rapid transition, where the steam engine and scientific inquiry meet enduring social and moral questions. It serves as a curated window into the intellectual and cultural landscape of 1852.

Charlotte's Inheritance
M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
A woman’s survival becomes a race against a calculated, murderous conspiracy. This Victorian drama weaves a chilling web of inheritance, poisoning, and the desperate search for redemption.

Cornwall
S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould
The rugged Cornish peninsula, defined by its granite moors, treacherous coastlines, and ancient tin-mining heritage, offers a distinct, isolated identity within the fabric of England. This survey of the county’s geography, history, and industry captures a land shaped by the Atlantic.

Deaconesses in Europe and their Lessons for America
Jane M. (Jane Marie) Bancroft
This historical study advocates for the revival of a formal female diaconate within the American church, drawing inspiration from European models of organized, compassionate service to the urban poor.

Essays of Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
HOOK A candid exploration of the human condition, this work navigates the messy, contradictory reality of aging, desire, and the art of living with oneself.

Fantasy: A Novel
Matilde Serao
A masterful study of obsession and the performative nature of suffering, this portrait of a toxic friendship dissects the psychological wreckage left by a woman who weaponizes her own melancholy.

Faro Nell and Her Friends: Wolfville Stories
Alfred Henry Lewis
This collection of stories captures the rowdy, vernacular spirit of an Arizona frontier town through the eyes of its most colorful residents. It is a portrait of a place where social customs are as rigid as the law is loose.

Fathers of Men
E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
HOOK A raw, defiant boy from a rough background struggles to survive the rigid social hierarchy of an English boarding school, where his solitary nature clashes with the expectations of his masters and peers.

First Impressions on a Tour upon the Continent: In the summer of 1818 through parts of France, Italy, Switzerland, the borders of Germany, and a part of French Flanders
Marianne Baillie
A keen-eyed observer captures the sights, sounds, and social textures of post-Napoleonic Europe, balancing a sharp wit against the romantic awe of a continent newly opened to travelers.

Frank Merriwell's Chums
Burt L. Standish
The young cadet at Fardale Military Academy finds himself caught in a web of gambling schemes, dangerous feuds, and mysterious riddles. He must prove his integrity while navigating the treacherous social landscape of boarding school life.

Fugitive Slaves (1619-1865)
Marion Gleason McDougall
The persistent struggle of the enslaved to reclaim their humanity from the machinery of state law is a defining, often overlooked, thread of American history.

History of the transmission of ancient books to modern times: together with the process of historical proof
Isaac Taylor
A bridge across time, this work examines the physical and logical realities that allow human history to survive the centuries. It provides a methodical guide for evaluating the reliability of the ancient written record.

History Plays for the Grammar Grades
Mary Ella Lyng
This collection of short dramas offers a window into the pedagogical methods of early twentieth-century American classrooms. Designed for students in the grammar grades, these plays transform significant historical milestones—from the arrival of Columbus to the suffrage movement—into participatory classroom…

In the Riding-School
Hamlin, G., Miss
Guided by a patient, demanding instructor, a young woman learns the rigorous art of horsemanship through a series of disciplined lessons. She discovers that riding is not merely a social outing, but a technical study requiring physical awareness, mental focus, and absolute obedience to the horse’s language.

Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology: Paper 24
John H. White
Early American railroads were dangerous, chaotic experiments until engineers invented the "safety truck," a crucial mechanical innovation that allowed locomotives to navigate rough, winding tracks without derailing.