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All free summaries — page 361

46,038 public-domain books, summarised. Page 361 of 960.

Cover of A Second Book of Operas

A Second Book of Operas

Henry Edward Krehbiel

This collection of essays offers an erudite, wide-ranging survey of the operatic landscape at the turn of the 20th century. It explores the fascinating, often complicated history behind the works that populate the standard repertoire, bridging the gap between historical scholarship and the immediate experience of…

Music6 min read
Cover of A Study of American Beers and Ales

A Study of American Beers and Ales

James Garfield Riley

This technical report offers a rare, chemically precise glimpse into the commercial realities of the American brewing industry during the early twentieth century. It serves as a definitive record of how traditional brewing standards were shifting toward the use of cereal adjuncts.

Drugs/Alcohol/Pharmacology6 min read
Cover of A Woman's Burden: A Novel

A Woman's Burden: A Novel

Fergus Hume

A suffocating London fog sets the stage for a web of blackmail, inheritance, and hidden identities, where a woman’s past threatens to destroy her precarious new life. This Victorian melodrama explores the crushing weight of secrets and the lengths to which one will go to protect them.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Across the Salt Seas: A Romance of the War of Succession

Across the Salt Seas: A Romance of the War of Succession

John Bloundelle-Burton

A soldier sent on a desperate mission to intercept Spanish treasure finds his destiny tangled with a mysterious youth and a haunted, repentant buccaneer.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of American War Ballads and Lyrics, Volume 1 (of 2): A Collection of the Songs and Ballads of the Colonial Wars, the Revolutions, the War of 1812-15, the War with Mexico and the Civil War

American War Ballads and Lyrics, Volume 1 (of 2): A Collection of the Songs and Ballads of the Colonial Wars, the Revolutions, the War of 1812-15, the War with Mexico and the Civil War

Unknown

This collection assembles the verses that echoed through American history, capturing the spirit, defiance, and heartbreak of a nation forged in the fires of conflict. It is a lyrical chronicle of American identity, preserved in the rhythms of the people.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of An Anthology of Australian Verse

An Anthology of Australian Verse

Unknown

This collection serves as a Victorian-era gallery of early Australian and New Zealand verse, capturing a landscape in transition from colonial outpost to a distinct, self-conscious nation. It preserves the voices of pioneers, bushmen, and settlers, documenting their struggle to map the spirit of a vast, formidable…

Poetry7 min read
Cover of Anathema: A Tragedy in Seven Scenes

Anathema: A Tragedy in Seven Scenes

Leonid Andreyev

A tragic spirit seeks to expose the hollowness of divine justice by testing a humble man’s capacity for love, only to find that human goodness is a flame easily extinguished by the world’s indifference.

Plays/Films/Dramas6 min read
Cover of Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1899: Volume LVI, No. 1

Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, November 1899: Volume LVI, No. 1

Various

Democratic ideals collide with the cold realities of history and biology in this collection, where late nineteenth-century thinkers grapple with the consequences of human progress, empire, and scientific discovery.

Journals6 min read
Cover of Armorel of Lyonesse: A Romance of To-day

Armorel of Lyonesse: A Romance of To-day

Walter Besant

A young woman discovers that her isolated island life hides a fortune, leading her into the complex, predatory world of Victorian London’s artistic elite.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

Various

This collection of nineteenth-century periodical writing captures the restless intellect and fierce cultural debates of its era. It serves as a sprawling, multifaceted window into the literary, political, and social preoccupations of the British establishment.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, No. 359, September 1845

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, No. 359, September 1845

Various

This collection of essays and reviews captures the intellectual pulse of mid-nineteenth-century Britain, offering a rigorous, opinionated survey of the era’s art, literature, politics, and historical memory.

Art7 min read
Cover of Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Sidney Heath

The coast of Dorset offers a striking encounter between the untamed forces of the sea and the polished elegance of Victorian and Edwardian resort culture. This guide explores how three distinct neighbors—the modern playground of Bournemouth, the historic port of Poole, and the ancient Priory town of…

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Bundling

Bundling

Henry Reed Stiles

A practice once whispered about with scandalized fascination, this historical study examines the origins, social functions, and slow dissolution of a peculiar, bed-bound courtship ritual.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860

Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860

Henrietta Christian Wright

An exploration of the literary landscape that defined the American identity, tracing the evolution of its stories from colonial roots through the mid-nineteenth century.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Court Beauties of Old Whitehall: Historiettes of the Restoration

Court Beauties of Old Whitehall: Historiettes of the Restoration

W. R. H. (William Rutherford Hayes) Trowbridge

The Restoration court was a theater of excess, where intrigue and romance defined the rise and fall of its most luminous figures. This collection of biographical sketches explores the lives of eight women whose beauty and ambition shaped the corridors of power at Whitehall.

History - British6 min read
Cover of East of Paris: Sketches in the Gâtinais, Bourbonnais, and Champagne

East of Paris: Sketches in the Gâtinais, Bourbonnais, and Champagne

Matilda Betham-Edwards

A veteran traveler traverses the quiet corners of Eastern France, uncovering the history, hospitality, and enduring cultural spirit of provinces that often escape the notice of the conventional tourist.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Essays

Essays

Alice Meynell

These essays offer a quiet, deliberate meditation on the rhythms of nature and the arts, written with a steady hand that finds deep meaning in the margins of daily life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Eyes that cannot see

Eyes that cannot see

Albert Theodor Gnudtzmann

A quiet, devastating drama about the blindness of parental love, this play reveals how even the most well-intentioned guardians can become the greatest obstacles to their child’s independence.

Plays/Films/Dramas6 min read
Cover of Furze the Cruel

Furze the Cruel

John Trevena

On the rugged expanse of Dartmoor, human lives entwine with the harsh, unforgiving landscape. This is a story of how cruelty—much like the omnipresent furze—takes root in the hearts of those who dwell among the rocks.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Garment cutting in the twentieth century

Garment cutting in the twentieth century

Günther F. Hertzer

This technical manual presents a rigid, geometric system for tailoring, where the human form is mapped onto circles and angles to achieve a precise, lasting fit.

Fashion6 min read
Cover of Harper's Young People, November 30, 1880: An Illustrated Monthly

Harper's Young People, November 30, 1880: An Illustrated Monthly

Various

An engaging Victorian time capsule, this collection offers a window into the past through the earnest stories, practical lessons, and curious recreations that shaped the minds of young readers in the late nineteenth century.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of John March, Southerner

John March, Southerner

George Washington Cable

A young man in the post-Civil War South struggles to reconcile his inheritance of a dilapidated estate with the shifting moral and economic tides of his changing home. This sprawling, deeply felt novel tracks a generation attempting to build a future amidst the haunting ruins of the past.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales

Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales

John Oxley

These journals record two grueling nineteenth-century attempts to penetrate the Australian interior, where the promise of fertile lands constantly yields to the mystery of an inland sea that refuses to be found.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Katrine: A Novel

Katrine: A Novel

Elinor Macartney Lane

A young woman’s glorious voice and unwavering loyalty bridge the divide between two worlds, transforming the lives of the men who love her. This portrait of devotion explores the weight of inheritance and the redemptive power of self-surrender.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of King Henry VI, Part 2

King Henry VI, Part 2

William Shakespeare

A fragile king loses his grip on a fracturing England as rival nobles and a populist uprising plunge the nation into the bloody dawn of civil war.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Letters to a Friend, Written to Mrs. Ezra S. Carr, 1866-1879

Letters to a Friend, Written to Mrs. Ezra S. Carr, 1866-1879

John Muir

This collection of personal correspondence captures the formative years of a legendary naturalist, revealing a restless, poetic spirit as he transitions from a solitary wanderer to an articulate voice for the American wilderness.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 099, March, 1876

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 099, March, 1876

Various

The nineteenth-century literary magazine serves as a vibrant, multifaceted mirror of its era, capturing both the rapid industrial progress of a changing world and the enduring human fascination with distant cultures and social reform.

Journals6 min read
Cover of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878

Various

This volume serves as a time capsule of late nineteenth-century intellectual life, gathering diverse reports on global industry, travel, and social discourse. It captures the curiosity of an era transitioning toward the modern age.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Lorraine: A Romance

Lorraine: A Romance

Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers

A young American correspondent and a sheltered French girl find their lives irrevocably entwined as the inexorable tide of the Franco-Prussian War sweeps over the quiet forests of their home.

Historical Novels7 min read
Cover of Madame De Mauves

Madame De Mauves

Henry James

An American woman’s romantic idealism about French nobility collides with the cold, unfaithful reality of her marriage, trapping her in a stoic struggle between private agony and public duty.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Marietta: A Maid of Venice

Marietta: A Maid of Venice

F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford

A gifted Dalmatian glass-worker finds himself caught between the dangerous political conspiracies of noblemen and the burning ambition of a master craftsman. In fifteenth-century Venice, talent and love are both perilous liabilities.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Miscellanies

Miscellanies

Ralph Waldo Emerson

These occasional writings offer a window into the evolution of a singular American mind, capturing the moral urgency and intellectual landscape of the nineteenth century through speeches, letters, and public addresses.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper: Designed Especially to Aid Beginners

Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper: Designed Especially to Aid Beginners

Maria Parloa

A comprehensive guide for the novice homemaker, this manual offers practical, step-by-step instruction on managing a household, purchasing supplies, and preparing balanced, economical meals for a small family.

Cooking & Drinking6 min read
Cover of Musical Instruments [1908]

Musical Instruments [1908]

Carl Engel

A comprehensive survey of human ingenuity, this handbook catalogs the diverse tools through which civilizations have given voice to their spirit, from the bone flutes of antiquity to the sophisticated keyboard instruments of the European Renaissance.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of No Defense, Complete

No Defense, Complete

Gilbert Parker

A spirited Irish gentleman finds his life shattered by a murder accusation he refuses to contest, leading him from the depths of a prison cell to the turbulent decks of a mutinous warship and finally to colonial Jamaica.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Oscar Wilde: An Idler's Impression

Oscar Wilde: An Idler's Impression

Edgar Saltus

A portrait of a singular wit, this account traces the rise of a literary star and his subsequent descent into ruin, offering a glimpse of the man behind the carefully curated persona.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Pomona's Travels: A Series of Letters to the Mistress of Rudder Grange from her Former Handmaiden

Pomona's Travels: A Series of Letters to the Mistress of Rudder Grange from her Former Handmaiden

Frank R. Stockton

A former handmaiden embarks on an exuberant, observational tour of Great Britain, chronicling her encounters with local customs, historical sites, and the eccentricities of travel through a series of spirited letters.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Printing and the Renaissance: A paper read before the Fortnightly Club of Rochester, New York

Printing and the Renaissance: A paper read before the Fortnightly Club of Rochester, New York

John Rothwell Slater

Printing was not the spark that ignited the Renaissance; rather, the intellectual hunger of the era forged the printing press as its essential instrument of change.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660

Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660

Hugo Gernsback

In the year 2660, a brilliant inventor relies on his mastery of science and high-frequency energy to rescue his beloved from the clutches of a desperate rival.

Novels5 min read
Cover of Regeneration

Regeneration

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Living organisms possess a startling, inherent capacity to rebuild themselves after injury, a phenomenon that challenges our most basic assumptions about the nature of life and development.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of Rollo in Naples

Rollo in Naples

Jacob Abbott

This book follows a young boy’s educational travels through the storied landscapes of southern Italy, blending practical lessons in independence with the awe of classical discovery. It serves as a gentle, instructive guide for young readers encountering the wonders of the ancient world.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Scissors

Scissors

Cecil Roberts

A young man’s journey from a childhood in the exotic East to the harsh realities of London and the Great War traces the painful, rhythmic pulse of coming of age.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1

Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1

John Bright

The path of a nation is not charted by the clamor of the elite, but by the steady, moral pressure of the people. These pages capture a voice that dared to challenge the conscience of an empire.

Essays, Letters & Speeches8 min read
Cover of Stories and Sketches by our best authors

Stories and Sketches by our best authors

Various

This collection captures the mid-19th-century American imagination through a series of varied, spirited narratives that range from domestic dramas to harrowing, atmospheric escapades.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Bobby Coon

The Adventures of Bobby Coon

Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

A restless sleeper, a displaced home, and a broken leg lead a raccoon through a series of harrowing encounters in the Green Forest. This story explores how fear is often a product of misunderstanding, and how kindness can bridge the divide between wild neighbors.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack

The Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack

Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

The journey of a migrating duck, separated from her mate by the reach of human hunters, finds hope through the unlikely intervention of the forest creatures. This story chronicles a persistent search for safety in a landscape haunted by the threat of "terrible guns.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 64, February, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 64, February, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

Various

The intellectual pulse of a fractured nation beats within these pages, capturing the urgency of a country struggling to define its soul during the height of the American Civil War.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 119, September, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 119, September, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics

Various

This nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vibrant cultural snapshot, preserving the intellectual pulse, literary anxieties, and post-Civil War temperament of the American Republic in 1867.

American Literature6 min read