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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 413 of 988.

Cover of The Fugitive: A Play in Four Acts

The Fugitive: A Play in Four Acts

John Galsworthy

A stifled woman attempts to escape the suffocating expectations of high-society marriage, only to find that the world offers no shelter for those who break its rules.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Game of Chess: A Play in One Act

The Game of Chess: A Play in One Act

Kenneth Sawyer Goodman

A ruthless governor transforms a deadly assassination attempt into a high-stakes psychological battlefield to prove his intellect remains absolute.

Plays/Films/Dramas5 min read
Cover of The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06: (From Barbarossa to Dante)

The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06: (From Barbarossa to Dante)

Unknown

A grand, sweeping record of the High Middle Ages, this volume captures a transformed world shaped by clashing faiths, rising crowns, and the foundational tremors of modern liberty.

History - European7 min read
Cover of The Hittites

The Hittites

A. H. (Archibald Henry) Sayce

A lost empire emerges from forgotten ruins and ancient inscriptions to reclaim its place in the history of the ancient world.

Archaeology & Anthropology5 min read
Cover of The King of the Golden River

The King of the Golden River

John Ruskin

A cruel drought ruined by greed finds its cure in a boy's selfless kindness. True riches spring not from hoarding gold, but from sharing what little one has with the suffering.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of The Lost Valley

The Lost Valley

J. M. (James Morgan) Walsh

A gold strike in the bush, a dying uncle’s puzzle, and a secluded Australian valley hold the key to a family's lost inheritance.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Mating of Lydia

The Mating of Lydia

Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

A reclusive miser hoards art and starves his estate, while a young female artist and a conflicted agent wrestle with love, duty, and dirty money in the Lake District.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Minority of Henry the Third

The Minority of Henry the Third

Kate Norgate

A nine-year-old child inherits a kingdom fractured by civil war and foreign invasion, leaving a fragile coalition of regents, prelates, and mercenary captains to rescue the English monarchy from absolute ruin.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Mystery of the Iron Box: A Ken Holt Mystery

The Mystery of the Iron Box: A Ken Holt Mystery

Bruce Campbell

When a cold midnight draft inside his home leads high school reporter Ken Holt to suspicious footprints in the snow, a stolen watch repair tag puts him and his friend Sandy Allen on the trail of a massive counterfeiting ring.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, April, 1886

The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, April, 1886

Various

An intricate tapestry of historical study, biographical profile, local lore, and editorial reflection captures the civic and intellectual life of late nineteenth-century New England.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"

The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"

I. I. (Isaac Israel) Hayes

Driven by youth and scientific ambition, an American commander leads a small vessel into the frozen perils of the Far North, pursuing the legendary ice-free basin surrounding the Pole while testing the absolute limits of human endurance.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Pansy, November 1886, Vol. 14

The Pansy, November 1886, Vol. 14

Various

In an era of quiet domestic transitions and shifting social expectations, a nineteenth-century children's periodical offers a vibrant glimpse into the everyday hopes, struggles, and values of American youth.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Prelude to Adventure

The Prelude to Adventure

Hugh Walpole

A sudden, violent act in a quiet Cambridge wood shatters a young man’s detached life, awakening a relentless spiritual presence he can neither escape nor ignore.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Shadow of the Czar

The Shadow of the Czar

John R. Carling

An English officer stumbles into a web of Balkan statecraft, secretly guarded princesses, and Russian intrigue in a forgotten principality.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Sperry Gyro-Compass

The Sperry Gyro-Compass

Sperry Gyroscope Company

Driven by the momentum of the planet itself, a spinning wheel turns toward the geographic pole, unlocking true orientation for modern steel ships.

Engineering & Technology5 min read
Cover of The Spoilers

The Spoilers

Rex Beach

A crooked receiver and a corrupt judge conspire to steal Alaska’s richest gold claim, forcing two prospectors into a lawless battle to reclaim their mine.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Story of the Alphabet

The Story of the Alphabet

Edward Clodd

A vast network of marks—scratched into bone, painted on bark, pressed into clay, and carved on granite—gradually coalesces into the handful of letters that currently rest on the page.

History - Other7 min read
Cover of The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, No. 03, March 1891: An Illustrated Monthly

The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, No. 03, March 1891: An Illustrated Monthly

Various

A varied anthology of Victorian literature, profiles, and art commentary offers a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century life, storytelling, and public figures.

Art7 min read
Cover of The War in Syria, Volume 2 (of 2)

The War in Syria, Volume 2 (of 2)

Charles Napier

The Middle East in the mid-nineteenth century becomes a high-stakes chessboard where naval power, fragile diplomatic alliances, and the personal ambitions of local rulers collide. This account captures the complex, often chaotic transition of power in Syria and Egypt as the Ottoman Empire fights to reclaim its…

History - European6 min read
Cover of Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2

Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2

Parry, William Edward, Sir

Navigating dense pack ice, brutal arctic wintering, and treacherous ice-floe treks requires a delicate mix of stoic discipline, ingenuity, and profound respect for the extreme environment.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Touring Afoot

Touring Afoot

Claude P. (Claude Powell) Fordyce

Natural foot travel into the wild offers modern urbanites their best chance to reclaim vital health and primitive independence.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1

Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1

James Athearn Jones

An origin story born from the banks of a rising river finds its match in tales of spirit-wives, celestial hunters, and divine intervention.

History - American7 min read
Cover of Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad

James H. Brace

Four cast-iron tubes cut through riverbed silt and solid rock, tying Manhattan to Long Island beneath the treacherous East River.

Engineering & Technology5 min read
Cover of Vigilante Days and Ways: The pioneers of the Rockies

Vigilante Days and Ways: The pioneers of the Rockies

Nathaniel Pitt Langford

A single, terrifying reality governed the mountain gold rushes of the 1860s: where civil authority had no reach, criminal gangs held absolute power until local miners organized their own swift, extrajudicial force to hang them.

History - American8 min read
Cover of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts

Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts

Elizabeth Robins

An upper-class engagement unspools over a single afternoon as a long-buried betrayal collides with the rising energy of the women’s suffrage movement.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War

With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War

G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

Born into the wealthy planter elite of Tidewater Virginia, a young man must navigate the brutal unraveling of his world when war fractures his nation and forces him to choose between duty, conscience, and survival.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Worlds Within Worlds: The Story of Nuclear Energy, Volume 2 (of 3): Mass and Energy

Worlds Within Worlds: The Story of Nuclear Energy, Volume 2 (of 3): Mass and Energy

Isaac Asimov

A century of physical discovery unfolds as scientists peer inside the atomic nucleus, unlocking vast hidden forces that reshape our understanding of mass, energy, and the material universe.

Science - Physics6 min read
Cover of 30-day wonder

30-day wonder

Richard Wilson

When invincible aliens land in New York and force humanity to obey its own laws, a cynical news editor finds himself drafted as their chief publicist.

Humour6 min read
Cover of A book of women's verse

A book of women's verse

Unknown

Centuries of distinct female voices weave through political peril, domestic constraint, spiritual devotion, and quiet rebellion.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of A Calendar of Sonnets

A Calendar of Sonnets

Helen Hunt Jackson

The turning of the seasons serves as a mirror for the human heart, transforming the cyclical rhythm of the year into a meditative journey of endurance, loss, and quiet transformation.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Mechanico-Physiological Theory of Organic Evolution

A Mechanico-Physiological Theory of Organic Evolution

Carl Nägeli

Life builds itself outward from microscopic structural units, driven by an internal impulse toward complexity that operates with the mechanical certainty of physical law.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of A Psychiatric Milestone: Bloomingdale Hospital Centenary, 1821-1921

A Psychiatric Milestone: Bloomingdale Hospital Centenary, 1821-1921

Unknown

A landmark shift in psychiatric care comes to life as visionaries reject brute physical restraint in favor of moral treatment and compassionate, biological understanding.

Health & Medicine7 min read
Cover of A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland

A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland

James Fenimore Cooper

A keen observer traverses a rapidly shifting post-revolutionary Europe, examining its political fault lines while holding up a steady mirror to the rising ambitions of his young native republic.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of A Short History of Wales

A Short History of Wales

Edwards, Owen Morgan, Sir

The story of a nation unfolds not through its borders, but through the enduring spirit of its people. Across centuries of conquest and change, the identity of a land remains written in its own resilient heart.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Adventures in Journalism

Adventures in Journalism

Philip Gibbs

A relentless drive for truth pushes an English journalist through Fleet Street newsrooms, war-torn battlefields, and foreign political intrigue, uncovering the human reality behind world-changing headlines.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of All on the Irish Shore: Irish Sketches

All on the Irish Shore: Irish Sketches

E. Oe. (Edith Oenone) Somerville

A set of linked, sharply drawn comic sketches opens a window into the horse-dealers, impoverished gentry, and eccentric cottagers of rural turn-of-the-century Ireland.

Humour6 min read
Cover of All Roads Lead to Calvary

All Roads Lead to Calvary

Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

A gifted young woman sets out to reform 20th-century London through intellect and beauty, only to learn that real power requires absolute sacrifice.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of An Account of the Diseases which were most frequent in the British military hospitals in Germany

An Account of the Diseases which were most frequent in the British military hospitals in Germany

Donald Monro

A dry, unyielding climate of mud, crowded transports, and pervasive fever forms the backdrop for this quiet masterpiece of military medicine.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of Anthony Trent, Master Criminal

Anthony Trent, Master Criminal

Wyndham Martyn

A frustrated writer discovers that committing real burglaries is far easier than inventing fake ones, leading him into a high-stakes life of crime across American high society.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of Auld Licht Idylls

Auld Licht Idylls

J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

Life in a nineteenth-century Scottish weaving village moves to the rhythm of handlooms, austere faith, long-standing feuds, and cold northern winters.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Barchester Towers

Barchester Towers

Anthony Trollope

A quiet cathedral city becomes an arena of ferocious clerical ambition when a new bishop arrives with a domineering wife and an scheming chaplain.

British Literature10 min read
Cover of Barks and Purrs

Barks and Purrs

Colette

The sunlit flags of a French patio become an arena of fierce domestic philosophy when a French bulldog and a Maltese cat compare their devotions, torments, and triumphs.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence, Vol. 2

Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence, Vol. 2

Elizabeth Sarah Kite

Before a nation could win its freedom on the battlefield, a single French playwright had to convince a hesitant king to secretly finance the revolution, risking his own fortune and reputation on a distant dream of liberty.

Biographies8 min read
Cover of Bog-Myrtle and Peat: Tales Chiefly of Galloway Gathered from the Years 1889 to 1895

Bog-Myrtle and Peat: Tales Chiefly of Galloway Gathered from the Years 1889 to 1895

S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

Beneath the wide Scottish skies, among heathered hills and shadowed moss-hags, lie secrets of old devotion, tragic young loves, and the quiet, stubborn lives of moorland folk.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Bound to Rise

Bound to Rise

Alger, Horatio, Jr.

An earnest fifteen-year-old farm boy sets out to clear his family’s debt, discovering that grit, steady night study, and strict integrity are the surest ladder out of rural poverty.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Britain for the British

Britain for the British

Robert Blatchford

Stripping economic theory down to plain everyday arithmetic, this treatise directly challenges the working population to reclaim national resources and build a cooperative society.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy: A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery

Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy: A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery

Chevalier Jackson

Before the advent of delicate optical tubes and standardized mechanical routines, retrieving a swallowed safety pin or opening an obstructed airway was a matter of perilous guesswork. This masterclass turns terrifying emergency interventions into disciplined, life-saving visual craft.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of By Rock and Pool on an Austral Shore, and Other Stories

By Rock and Pool on an Austral Shore, and Other Stories

Louis Becke

A harsh sun sweeps over the barrier reefs and quiet rivers of the Pacific, where trader and native live side by side.

Adventure7 min read