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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 334 of 714.

Cover of Bright Ideas: A Record of Invention and Misinvention

Bright Ideas: A Record of Invention and Misinvention

Herbert Strang

HOOK Two young men return from the Great War to find their inventive spirits undimmed by the mundane constraints of civilian life. Their misadventures in a quiet English village turn local order into a series of chaotic, comedic triumphs.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II

Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II

Charles Lever

A weary, witty, and deeply human correspondence reveals the final decade of a celebrated novelist, documenting his struggle to remain prolific while grappling with failing health, private grief, and the shifting tides of politics.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Christmastide: Its History, Festivities, and Carols

Christmastide: Its History, Festivities, and Carols

William Sandys

This scholarly yet accessible volume illuminates the evolution of Christmas through history, tracing the holiday’s transition from ancient seasonal rites to the multifaceted traditions of the nineteenth century. It serves as a comprehensive guide to the festivities, music, and social customs that have defined the…

History - British7 min read
Cover of Croatian Tales of Long Ago

Croatian Tales of Long Ago

Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic

This collection of Slavic-inspired folklore captures the profound tension between the cold, ego-driven pursuit of status and the enduring warmth of simple human loyalty.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of De turkey and de law

De turkey and de law

Zora Neale Hurston

A spirited Florida comedy, this play follows two rivals whose fight over a woman and a turkey leads to a farcical courtroom drama that exposes the tensions of small-town life.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Dot and Tot of Merryland

Dot and Tot of Merryland

L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum

Two children drift away on a boat, only to discover a secret world of magic and toys hidden behind a curtain of cliffside tunnels. This whimsical odyssey follows their journey through a series of fantastical valleys, each governed by its own strange rules and inhabitants, until they are finally returned to the…

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Experimental Mechanics: A Course of Lectures Delivered at the Royal College of Science for Ireland

Experimental Mechanics: A Course of Lectures Delivered at the Royal College of Science for Ireland

Robert S. (Robert Stawell) Ball

This is a lucid, hands-on introduction to the fundamental principles of physics, written for a general audience to bridge the gap between abstract theory and the mechanical realities of the physical world.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Fairy Realm: A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales Told in Verse

Fairy Realm: A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales Told in Verse

Tom Hood

A whimsical reimagining of classic folklore, this collection breathes fresh, rhythmic life into legendary tales through lighthearted verse and a distinctively Victorian wit.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of Farquharson of Glune

Farquharson of Glune

May Bateman

HOOK A political drama set against the fading influence of the British Empire, where a man of integrity battles both personal betrayal and national decline.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Folk-lore and Legends: German

Folk-lore and Legends: German

Anonymous

This collection gathers the traditional tales of Germany, ranging from moral fables and humorous trickster narratives to haunting legends of spirits, knights, and the restless dead. It serves as a window into the cultural imagination of a land defined by deep forests, rugged mountains, and the winding Rhine.

German Literature6 min read
Cover of Forest and Frontiers

Forest and Frontiers

Unknown

The solitary hunter and the encroaching wilderness collide in these accounts of survival, where the line between the explorer and the beast often blurs into a singular, desperate struggle for dominance.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Frederick Chopin

Frederick Chopin

Pourtalès, Guy de, comte

This biography captures the intimate, fragile life of a musical genius, painting the portrait of an artist who turned his own private tragedies into the most enduring melodies of the nineteenth century.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Grif: A Story of Australian Life

Grif: A Story of Australian Life

B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon

A street-hardened boy seeks only the basic comforts of food and shelter, yet finds himself caught in a web of adult morality and colonial crime.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Handicraft for Girls: A Tentative Course in Needlework, Basketry, Designing, Paper and Cardboard Construction, Textile Fibers and Fabrics and Home Decoration and Care

Handicraft for Girls: A Tentative Course in Needlework, Basketry, Designing, Paper and Cardboard Construction, Textile Fibers and Fabrics and Home Decoration and Care

Idabelle McGlauflin

A foundational guide to early twentieth-century domestic education, this volume offers a structured, hands-on curriculum designed to cultivate technical skill, patience, and artistic discernment in young students through the practical arts of needlework and construction.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Harry F. Marks Catalogue No. 4, 1919: Choice and Unusual Books

Harry F. Marks Catalogue No. 4, 1919: Choice and Unusual Books

Harry F. Marks

Books are the conduits of human experience, offering a refuge that endures long after other recreations fade. This 1919 catalog serves as both a ledger of material value and a testament to the cultural appetites of a bygone era.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Historical and Political Essays

Historical and Political Essays

William Edward Hartpole Lecky

History is best understood not merely as a record of dry facts, but as a transfiguring medium that reveals the moral truths and permanent forces shaping the rise and fall of nations.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Honorine

Honorine

Honoré de Balzac

A man of immense wealth and political standing quietly maintains a secret, obsessive vigil over his estranged wife, who lives in self-imposed, impoverished exile. Their path to reconciliation is a delicate, agonizing study of pride, guilt, and the limits of romantic devotion.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of In Spite of All: A Novel

In Spite of All: A Novel

Edna Lyall

This historical novel traces the fractured lives of two childhood sweethearts torn apart by the brutal ideological divide of the English Civil War. It captures the personal cost of political conviction during a time when faith and loyalty were matters of life and death.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting

In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting

William Henry Giles Kingston

A young man embarks on a journey to the Florida frontier, navigating the treacherous intersection of untamed wilderness, colonial unrest, and his own quest for purpose. This adventure captures the mid-19th-century spirit of exploration, documenting a landscape defined as much by its dangers as by its immense…

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Life in a mediæval city

Life in a mediæval city

Edwin Benson

This survey of fifteenth-century York offers an intimate, grounded look at how a major medieval city functioned, from its bustling market streets to the intricate rituals of its guilds and churches.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Light Science for Leisure Hours: A series of familiar essays on scientific subjects, natural phenomena, &c

Light Science for Leisure Hours: A series of familiar essays on scientific subjects, natural phenomena, &c

Richard A. (Richard Anthony) Proctor

Scientific inquiry reveals the hidden mechanisms of our world, transforming the mundane into the extraordinary through patient, lucid observation. These essays bridge the gap between technical complexity and the curious, non-specialist mind.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of Lincolniana

Lincolniana

Andrew Adderup

A collection of frontier wit and wartime anecdotes, this volume captures the informal, storytelling spirit of the sixteenth president through the eyes of his contemporaries.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Little Books About Old Furniture. Volume II. The Period of Queen Anne

Little Books About Old Furniture. Volume II. The Period of Queen Anne

J. P. (John Percy) Blake

This guide offers a clear, practical view of the elegant walnut furniture that defined English homes from the late seventeenth century through the early eighteenth. It serves as a grounded introduction to a period of remarkable domestic transformation.

Art6 min read
Cover of Man on the Ocean: A Book about Boats and Ships

Man on the Ocean: A Book about Boats and Ships

R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

A ship is a self-sustaining hotel upon the sea, a work of engineering wonder capable of outliving the wildest storms and bridging the vast, trackless desert of the world’s waters.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Molly McDonald: A Tale of the Old Frontier

Molly McDonald: A Tale of the Old Frontier

Randall Parrish

A soldier unjustly disgraced finds redemption in the wild, winter-swept plains while protecting a woman caught in a violent frontier conspiracy.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Mr. Hawkins' Humorous Adventures

Mr. Hawkins' Humorous Adventures

Edgar Franklin

A neighbor’s relentless, catastrophic drive to reinvent the world turns the quiet life of an ordinary man into a harrowing series of near-death experiences. This is the chronicle of one man’s struggle to survive his friendship with a genius of the impractical.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of New Method of Horsemanship: Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat

New Method of Horsemanship: Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat

François Baucher

Mastering the horse begins not with the animal’s nature, but by refining the rider’s own seat and understanding the mechanics of movement. This foundational guide transforms the struggle between human and beast into a partnership of precision.

How To ...7 min read
Cover of Nights with the Gods

Nights with the Gods

Emil Reich

Ancient Greek gods and philosophers gather on the heights above Florence to analyze the absurdities, industrial specialization, and social hypocrisies of turn-of-the-century English civilization.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Princess Badoura: A tale from the Arabian Nights

Princess Badoura: A tale from the Arabian Nights

Laurence Housman

Separated by magical forces after a single night together, two regal lovers traverse ancient empires, monstrous transformations, and elaborate deceptions to reclaim their shared destiny.

Adventure8 min read
Cover of Reason and Faith

Reason and Faith

Henry Rogers

Faith and reason are not adversaries but complementary forces, both essential for navigating the complexities of human existence and understanding the divine design of the universe.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Red Cloud, the Solitary Sioux: A Story of the Great Prairie

Red Cloud, the Solitary Sioux: A Story of the Great Prairie

Butler, William Francis, Sir

The vast, untamed expanse of the North American prairie serves as the backdrop for a quiet, elegiac journey undertaken by a solitary wanderer and his unlikely companion. This is a story of endurance, where the vanishing world of the indigenous hunter meets the encroaching tide of a changing frontier.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch: A contribution to the study of the linguistic relations of English and Scandinavian

Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch: A contribution to the study of the linguistic relations of English and Scandinavian

George T. (George Tobias) Flom

To understand the roots of the Scots tongue is to trace the footprints of Viking settlers across the cold, rugged landscapes of the North. This scholarly inquiry meticulously maps the linguistic convergence between Old Norse and the Southern Lowland Scotch dialect.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Scientific American, Volume 56, No. 9, February 26, 1887

Scientific American, Volume 56, No. 9, February 26, 1887

Various

This snapshot of late-Victorian innovation reveals a world obsessed with industrial efficiency, mechanical mastery, and the boundless potential of applied science to reshape daily life.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 2 (of 3)

Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 2 (of 3)

Theodore Parker

The moral pulse of a nation beats in its public discourse. This collection of sermons and addresses captures the urgent, uncompromising voice of a reformer confronting the spiritual and political crises of nineteenth-century America.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Stage Confidences: Talks About Players and Play Acting

Stage Confidences: Talks About Players and Play Acting

Clara Morris

The stage is a world of glitter, rigid rules, and hidden heartbreaks. Behind the greasepaint, the life of an actress is a relentless test of endurance, requiring a stoic face and a desperate, driving ambition.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Strive and Succeed

Strive and Succeed

Alger, Horatio, Jr.

A resourceful youth navigates the Western frontier through grit and wit, proving that steady character and intellectual self-reliance can turn unexpected trials into personal triumph.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Autobiography of a Thief

The Autobiography of a Thief

Hutchins Hapgood

A career criminal recounts his life inside the nineteenth-century underworld, mapping the evolution of a pickpocket from street-smart youth to institutionalized, weary survivor.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers: And Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open-Air of England

The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers: And Other Plants Which Thrive in the Open-Air of England

Harry Roberts

Finding beauty in the garden is not a matter of expensive display, but of nurturing a quiet, lifelong partnership with the earth. This guide invites readers to embrace the modest, enduring charm of traditional English flora.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of The Boys of Grand Pré School: Illustrated

The Boys of Grand Pré School: Illustrated

James De Mille

High-spirited schoolboys, a bumbling sea captain, and a secret society hunt for treasure through the Nova Scotian countryside, discovering that camaraderie turns even the daily drudgery of academy life into an unforgettable adventure.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Country Beyond: A Romance of the Wilderness

The Country Beyond: A Romance of the Wilderness

James Oliver Curwood

A fugitive outlaw and his loyal dog flee through the Canadian north, searching for a life beyond the reach of the law and the shadows of a violent past. This tale of devotion follows the pair as they navigate a vast, unforgiving wilderness, discovering an unexpected sanctuary in the deep woods.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Farmer's Boy: A Rural Poem

The Farmer's Boy: A Rural Poem

Robert Bloomfield

The pastoral world awakens through the eyes of a laborer, where the changing seasons reflect both the quiet grace of nature and the wearying toll of honest toil. This work captures the rhythm of country life with the steady, observant heart of one who lived it.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Garden of Eden: Stories from the first nine books of the Old Testament

The Garden of Eden: Stories from the first nine books of the Old Testament

George Hodges

This collection brings to life the foundational narratives of the Old Testament, transforming ancient, epic drama into accessible tales of human ambition, faith, and survival.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The gateway to China

The gateway to China

Mary Ninde Gamewell

A vivid portrait of a global crossroads, this account captures the rapid, often jarring evolution of a city caught between centuries of tradition and the relentless march of modernity.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of The Gipsy: A Tale (Vols I & II)

The Gipsy: A Tale (Vols I & II)

G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

A hidden fratricide, a noble heir’s struggle with his own identity, and a mysterious Romani leader collide in this atmospheric tale of honor, duty, and the long-reaching shadows of the past.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of The Girl Scouts at Home

The Girl Scouts at Home

Katherine Keene Galt

A wealthy, isolated girl finds her voice and a broader world through a secret friendship, challenging the rigid social boundaries set by her grandmother.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Gold-Seekers: A Tale of California

The Gold-Seekers: A Tale of California

Gustave Aimard

A seasoned woodsman and his devoted companion navigate the treacherous political and physical landscapes of mid-19th-century Mexico, guiding a desperate French expedition toward the fabled gold mines of the North.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14

The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14

Unknown

This collection of historical chronicles captures the seismic shifts of the late eighteenth century, documenting the transition from absolute monarchy to the birth of modern democratic and revolutionary states. It presents history not as a dry academic exercise, but as a series of urgent, interconnected crises that…

History - American7 min read
Cover of The History of the Confederate War, Its Causes and Its Conduct, Volume 2 (of 2): A Narrative and Critical History

The History of the Confederate War, Its Causes and Its Conduct, Volume 2 (of 2): A Narrative and Critical History

George Cary Eggleston

This detailed narrative history offers a critical, retrospective look at the American Civil War from the viewpoint of a writer who emphasizes the strategic failures and moral complexities inherent in the conflict. It serves as a study of command, examining why certain leaders thrived while others faltered under the…

History - American6 min read
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