myebooksbuy
My Books

The whole shelf

All free summaries — page 439

32,123 public-domain books, summarised. Page 439 of 670.

Cover of Maori and Settler: A Story of The New Zealand War

Maori and Settler: A Story of The New Zealand War

G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

A family’s quiet pursuit of a new life in the New Zealand wilderness is violently interrupted by the brutal realities of colonial frontier conflict.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of McClure's Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 6, May, 1896

McClure's Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 6, May, 1896

Various

A time capsule of the late Victorian era, this collection captures the shifting frontier between traditional craftsmanship and the rapid, often unsettling, arrival of modern science and global political intrigue.

Art6 min read
Cover of Modern Skepticism: A Course of Lectures Delivered at the Request of the Christian Evidence Society

Modern Skepticism: A Course of Lectures Delivered at the Request of the Christian Evidence Society

Unknown

This collection of lectures offers a systematic defense of Christian orthodoxy, constructed by Victorian-era scholars to address the intellectual challenges posed by emerging secular philosophies and biblical criticism.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Nuts and Nutcrackers

Nuts and Nutcrackers

Charles Lever

The world is a hard-shelled filbert, and these essays are the iron crackers meant to break it open. Through a series of sharp, cynical observations, the author picks apart the pretensions of the Victorian age.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of On English Homophones: Society for Pure English, Tract 02

On English Homophones: Society for Pure English, Tract 02

Robert Bridges

A language burdened by too many identical sounds risks losing its precision, and this urgent examination argues that English is rapidly becoming a clumsy instrument of communication. It serves as a call to recognize, and perhaps reverse, the erosion of our spoken heritage.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of On the Frontier

On the Frontier

Bret Harte

The wild, untamed frontier of nineteenth-century California acts as a crucible for human ambition, where the shifting mists and rugged terrain mirror the moral ambiguity of the desperate souls seeking their fortunes.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Our Little Russian Cousin

Our Little Russian Cousin

Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade

This travelogue-style narrative offers an intimate glimpse into the daily life, traditions, and sharp social contrasts of early 20th-century Russia through the eyes of a privileged young girl.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Over the Sliprails

Over the Sliprails

Henry Lawson

Life in the Australian bush is a relentless, dusty struggle where the landscape dictates the temperament of those who endure it. This collection of stories captures the harsh, sun-scorched reality of the frontier with unvarnished, empathetic clarity.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of Paul and Virginia from the French of J.B.H. de Saint Pierre

Paul and Virginia from the French of J.B.H. de Saint Pierre

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre

In a remote, idyllic valley on the island of Mauritius, two children grow up in a garden paradise, only to have their innocent bond shattered by the encroaching demands of the civilized world and a tragic storm.

French Literature7 min read
Cover of Phil-o-rum's Canoe, and Madeleine Vercheres: Two Poems

Phil-o-rum's Canoe, and Madeleine Vercheres: Two Poems

William Henry Drummond

These two narrative poems capture the spirit of early Canada through the voices of a weary frontiersman and a legendary heroine of the French colonial frontier.

Poetry7 min read
Cover of 'Possum

'Possum

Mary Grant Bruce

A family exchanges the polished comfort of suburban life for the rugged, unpredictable reality of an Australian farm. Their journey toward self-reliance is a testament to the transformative power of shared labor and new horizons.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Psichopath

Psichopath

Randall Garrett

A secret government agent must neutralize a brilliant scientist who is subconsciously sabotaging his own experiments through psychic interference. This story explores the clash between rigid scientific dogma and the terrifying reality of uncontrollable mental power.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Roman Sepulchral Inscriptions: Their Relation to Archæology, Language, and Religion

Roman Sepulchral Inscriptions: Their Relation to Archæology, Language, and Religion

John Kenrick

The stones of ancient Rome do not merely mark graves; they speak, offering an intimate and unvarnished record of the lives, loves, and anxieties of a people long vanished.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Russian Life To-day

Russian Life To-day

Bury, Herbert, Bp.

A sympathetic observer documents his travels across a vast, changing Empire, offering an intimate window into the faith, customs, and daily rhythms of Russia on the precipice of the First World War.

History - European7 min read
Cover of Scientific American Supplement, No. 717, September 28, 1889

Scientific American Supplement, No. 717, September 28, 1889

Various

Scientific American Supplement, No. 717, serves as a remarkable time capsule of late nineteenth-century industrial optimism and technical curiosity. It offers a wide-ranging survey of the engineering, physical sciences, and manufacturing practices that defined the era.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Side-stepping with Shorty

Side-stepping with Shorty

Sewell Ford

A physical trainer with a sharp wit and a knack for fixing broken lives navigates the eccentricities of New York City’s high society and low-rent districts. He is a man who builds reputations as effectively as he builds muscle.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of State of the Union Addresses

State of the Union Addresses

Rutherford Birchard Hayes

These annual reports document the stability and growth of a nation recovering from civil conflict, detailing a presidency defined by economic consolidation and the struggle to protect newly won constitutional rights.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of "Swingin round the cirkle"

"Swingin round the cirkle"

David Ross Locke

This satirical work offers a searing, caustic look at the wreckage of American politics during the Reconstruction era. It remains a singular artifact of how humor was weaponized to expose the hypocrisy and moral rot of a defeated political faction.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Anglo-Saxon Century and the Unification of the English-Speaking People

The Anglo-Saxon Century and the Unification of the English-Speaking People

John R. (John Randolph) Dos Passos

Great power, common ancestry, and the shared ideals of the English-speaking world demand a formal, permanent political union to ensure the future of global civilization. This vision for a unified Anglo-Saxon future defines a critical moment at the turn of the twentieth century.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 56, June, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 56, June, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

Various

A vibrant, multifaceted snapshot of the American mind at a pivotal moment, this collection captures a nation struggling to define itself through the lens of nature, art, and the furnace of civil conflict.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Beach of Dreams: A Romance

The Beach of Dreams: A Romance

H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole

This story of survival and transformation follows a woman cast away on a desolate island, where she discovers that the harshness of the wild is less alienating than the rigid conventions of her own society.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Boy Travellers in Australasia: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan, and Feejee Islands

The Boy Travellers in Australasia: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan, and Feejee Islands

Thomas Wallace Knox

Two young travelers embark on a wide-ranging expedition through the Pacific Islands and Australia, documenting the geography, history, and customs of the region for a curious Victorian audience.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Camp Fire Girls Go Motoring

The Camp Fire Girls Go Motoring

Hildegard G. Frey

A group of young women embark on a cross-country motoring trip, only to find themselves ensnared in a web of mistaken identities, stolen trunks, and mysterious pursuers. This lively tale follows the Winnebago Camp Fire Girls as they navigate the unpredictable roads of the early twentieth century.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Complete Writings of Charles Dudley Warner

The Complete Writings of Charles Dudley Warner

Charles Dudley Warner

A collection of witty, observant essays and travel sketches that find profound charm in gardening failures, domestic pets, and the eccentricities of rural Nova Scotia.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Conflict

The Conflict

David Graham Phillips

A restless heiress navigates the suffocating constraints of her social class in a changing industrial landscape, ultimately seeking a life of purpose beyond the traditional expectations of marriage and domesticity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Eve of the French Revolution

The Eve of the French Revolution

Edward J. (Edward Jackson) Lowell

The French Revolution did not arrive as a sudden bolt of lightning, but as the inevitable collapse of a social and political structure that had been rotting from within for nearly a century.

History - European7 min read
Cover of The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 2: Psalms XXXIX.-LXXXIX

The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 2: Psalms XXXIX.-LXXXIX

Alexander Maclaren

This study explores the ancient songs of Israel, mapping the landscape of human suffering and the persistence of hope when God feels distant.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 3: Psalms XC.-CL

The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 3: Psalms XC.-CL

Alexander Maclaren

This commentary serves as a meditative bridge between ancient Hebrew poetry and the heart of the seeker, exploring how the final collection of Psalms addresses the endurance of faith through life’s inevitable trials. It seeks to uncover the enduring relevance of these sacred songs, framing them not as relics, but…

Poetry7 min read
Cover of The Firefly of France

The Firefly of France

Marion Polk Angellotti

An ordinary New Yorker finds himself entangled in a high-stakes web of espionage, romance, and wartime intrigue after a chance encounter at a hotel. What begins as a simple mystery quickly transforms into a dangerous journey toward the front lines of World War I.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Four Roads

The Four Roads

Sheila Kaye-Smith

Four roads cut through the Sussex landscape, binding together a village of farmers, preachers, and soldiers caught in the inexorable machinery of the Great War.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Front Yard, and Other Italian Stories

The Front Yard, and Other Italian Stories

Constance Fenimore Woolson

This collection of sketches and tales captures the quiet, often melancholy lives of Americans abroad, mapping the intersection of wandering souls and the timeless, unyielding landscapes of Italy.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The German Spy System from Within

The German Spy System from Within

Anonymous

Germany’s clandestine efforts to undermine its neighbors from within are exposed as a pervasive, systematic, and long-standing threat to British security. This urgent warning demands a more aggressive response from the government during wartime.

History - British7 min read
Cover of The Girl from the Marsh Croft

The Girl from the Marsh Croft

Selma Lagerlöf

A young woman’s act of quiet integrity unravels a web of secrets in this collection of stories, where the boundaries between rural harshness and moral redemption blur.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Hills of Refuge: A Novel

The Hills of Refuge: A Novel

Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben

A man sacrifices his future to shield a disgraced brother, only to find redemption in the humble, rural life he sought to escape. This is a story of shifting identities, moral exhaustion, and the quiet weight of family secrets.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, Part 35

The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, Part 35

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

This volume follows the iconic knight and his squire as they leave the comfort of a ducal palace, only to find that their reputation—and a fraudulent sequel—has arrived at their destination before them. It is a profound meditation on identity, authorship, and the burden of fame.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The History Teacher's Magazine, Vol. I, No. 9, May, 1910

The History Teacher's Magazine, Vol. I, No. 9, May, 1910

Various

This record provides a window into the professional landscape of American history education at the turn of the twentieth century. It serves as a vital artifact of pedagogical theory and academic networking from 1910.

History - Schools & Universities6 min read
Cover of The Horse Shoe: The True Legend of St. Dunstan and the Devil, Showing How the Horse-Shoe Came to Be a Charm against Witchcraft

The Horse Shoe: The True Legend of St. Dunstan and the Devil, Showing How the Horse-Shoe Came to Be a Charm against Witchcraft

Edward G. Flight

The legend of a saint who bested the devil by turning his forge into a courtroom and his hammer into an instrument of supernatural justice remains a curious, enduring piece of folklore.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Huge Hunter

The Huge Hunter

Edward Sylvester Ellis

The sight of a giant mechanical man striding across the plains strikes terror into the hearts of men who have only ever known the slow, steady pace of the wilderness.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The Legends of the Iroquois

The Legends of the Iroquois

Unknown

The legends of the Iroquois offer a window into a world where the natural and the supernatural are woven into the very fabric of the forest.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of The Little Red Foot

The Little Red Foot

Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers

In the shadow of the American Revolution, a hardened scout and a spirited Scottish woman find themselves bound together by love and the brutal, shifting loyalties of the frontier.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Lost Pibroch, and other Sheiling Stories

The Lost Pibroch, and other Sheiling Stories

Neil Munro

The pipes carry the weight of seven generations, a haunting call to ancient feuds and long-forgotten departures. To hear the true music is to know the ache of a world that can never be recovered.

Music6 min read
Cover of The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat

The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat

Janet Aldridge

A summer vacation on a houseboat turns into a test of nerves and resourcefulness as a group of young women navigates unpredictable waters, a local mystery, and a rival group of boys.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific

The Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific

John Henry Goldfrap

A pair of young wireless operators face treacherous storms, man-eating sharks, and jungle outlaws while helping a millionaire hunt for a missing brother in the South Pacific.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Principles of the Art of Conversation

The Principles of the Art of Conversation

J. P. (John Pentland) Mahaffy

Conversation is an art of human connection that feels effortless when performed perfectly, yet thrives on deliberate principles. It is not merely the exchange of facts, but a social grace that can be cultivated by anyone willing to study its underlying mechanics.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of The Real Latin Quarter

The Real Latin Quarter

F. Berkeley (Frank Berkeley) Smith

The Latin Quarter is a world unto itself, a vibrant neighborhood where starving artists, devoted lovers, and eccentric wanderers collide in a perennial pursuit of beauty, art, and romance.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of The South-West, by a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 1

The South-West, by a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 1

J. H. (Joseph Holt) Ingraham

A curious traveler drifts from the North to the Mississippi, capturing the vibrant and unsettling spirit of the American South-West through a series of observant, epistolary dispatches.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 6, February, 1835

The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 6, February, 1835

Various

This vibrant window into 1835 captures the intellectual pulse of the American South, blending historical inquiry, literary critique, and the era’s restless pursuit of progress and moral self-improvement.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Story of Books

The Story of Books

Gertrude Burford Rawlings

Before the digital age, human knowledge lived and breathed through the physical labor of scribes, the slow evolution of the printing press, and the careful preservation of rare, ink-stained pages.

History - Other6 min read
Advertisement