The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 446
34,093 public-domain books, summarised. Page 446 of 711.
Knocking the Neighbors
George Ade
This collection of satirical fables skewers the social climbers, moralists, and pretenders of early 20th-century America with sharp, rhythmic wit. It is a cynical yet hilarious guided tour of a world obsessed with appearances and status.
Knots
Arthur F. Aldridge
The mastery of rope is an ancient, quiet language of security, translated here for the modern hand into a precise, enduring craft.
Life and Adventure in the South Pacific
John D. Jones
To hunt the leviathans of the deep, young hands must endure years of bone-wearying toil, tempestuous seas, and odd encounters across a vast, uncharted ocean.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 15, No. 86, February, 1875
Various
This nineteenth-century periodical offers a panoramic window into the Victorian mind, blending travelogues, scientific inquiry, and fiction into a singular snapshot of cultural life. It serves as a fascinating repository of period perspectives, capturing the era’s preoccupations with global exploration, social…
Luther and the Reformation:: The Life-Springs of Our Liberties
Joseph Augustus Seiss
The story of a miner's son who challenged the masters of the world, this work traces the spiritual and civil inheritances that shaped the foundations of modern liberty.
Masters in Art, Part 79, Volume 7, July, 1906: Ingres: A Series of Illustrated Monographs
Unknown
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the 19th-century French master, navigated a volatile career of intense artistic devotion, enduring poverty, and ultimate acclaim. This monograph traces his journey from a struggling artist in Paris to the revered director of the French Academy in Rome.
Melody
Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
A blind girl’s voice carries such rare beauty that it draws both the devoted love of her small village and the predatory ambition of a passing stranger.
Memories and Anecdotes
Kate Sanborn
This collection of personal recollections captures the fading atmosphere of nineteenth-century New England intellectual life. It serves as a gentle, conversational bridge to a world of village eccentrics, literary icons, and the quiet rhythms of a bygone era.
Memories of Old Montana
Con Price
This is a plain-spoken collection of true-to-life vignettes from the fading days of the open range, capturing the grit, humor, and camaraderie of the American West. It serves as a personal archive of a vanished era, written by a man who lived through the transition from lawless frontier to settled statehood.
Millbank Penitentiary: An Experiment in Reformation
Arthur Griffiths
Millbank Penitentiary stands as a monumental case study in the evolution of British penal philosophy. This chronicle examines the rise, the institutional struggles, and the eventual dismantling of a facility designed to reconcile punishment with moral reform.
Mother Stories
Maud Lindsay
This collection of stories offers a gentle, earnest bridge between the natural world and the moral development of a child. It serves as a guide for parents who seek to instill virtues through the power of simple, rhythmic storytelling.
Murad the Unlucky, and Other Tales
Maria Edgeworth
These tales explore the tension between character and circumstance, asking whether our outcomes are shaped by an inescapable fate or by the quiet, steady discipline of our own choices. Through the lives of the unlucky and the privileged, the narratives weigh the value of reason against the impulses of the heart.
Nancy Stair: A Novel
Elinor Macartney Lane
A brilliant, unconventional young woman learns that the fire of poetic genius pales beside the quiet, profound fulfillment of motherhood.
New observations on the natural history of bees
François Huber
A masterclass in observation, this foundational text reveals the secret lives of bees through patient, inventive experiments. It demystifies the hive by stripping away myth and replacing it with rigorous, firsthand evidence.
Newer ideals of peace
Jane Addams
The rigid, outdated forms of traditional government are failing, and only by embracing the raw, cosmopolitan energy of the industrial city can we finally outgrow the primitive impulse toward war.
Notes and Queries, Number 19, March 9, 1850
Various
This periodical serves as a mid-nineteenth-century hub for Victorian scholars and inquisitive readers, facilitating a communal exchange of historical, linguistic, and folkloric discovery through a structured format of notes, queries, and replies.
Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales
Juliana Horatia Ewing
This collection offers a series of inventive, original fairy tales that strip away the whimsy of modern retellings to reveal the stark, moral, and often humorous truths hidden within traditional folklore. These are stories of consequence, where a reckless wish or a moment of greed carries the weight of a lifelong…
Old Greek Education
J. P. (John Pentland) Mahaffy
A window into the classical world, this study reveals how the ancient Greeks shaped their citizens, from the first lessons of the nursery to the sophisticated halls of the Athenian universities.
On the Study of Zoology
Thomas Henry Huxley
This work serves as a manifesto for the place of science in education, arguing that true knowledge arises not from textbooks, but from the direct, sensory observation of the natural world.
On the Trail of Deserters
Robert Goldthwaite Carter
A grueling, freezing pursuit across the Texas frontier, this memoir recounts a rare, successful mission to track down ten armed deserters during the harsh winter of 1871.
Our business civilization
James Truslow Adams
America’s mid-twentieth-century preoccupation with commerce and material accumulation threatens to hollow out the nation’s cultural soul. This incisive critique examines the heavy price of prioritizing profit over the deeper arts of human existence.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, December 26, 1891
Various
This volume captures the irreverent, sharp-witted spirit of late-Victorian England, blending biting social satire with a whimsical, often absurd, view of contemporary life. It serves as a curated snapshot of the cultural anxieties and diversions that defined the end of the nineteenth century.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 23, 1917
Various
This collection of wit, satire, and reflection captures the distinct rhythm of daily life in Britain during the third year of the Great War. It serves as a vital historical record of how a nation maintained its composure through humor.
Puvis de Chavannes
François Crastre
A life dedicated to noble beauty, this account traces the evolution of a painter who endured years of obscurity to eventually redefine monumental art through serenity, synthesis, and a profound devotion to the human form.
Red Money
Fergus Hume
HOOK A vast inheritance, a cold-blooded murder, and a trail of blood-stained money entangle a widow and her cousin in a web of blackmail and gypsy intrigue.
Rosemary in Search of a Father
C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
A lonely American expatriate in Monte Carlo finds his life transformed when a young girl mistakes him for the father she has only ever imagined.
S. W. Partridge & Co. Catalogue of Popular Illustrated Books, 1904
England) S. W. Partridge & Co. (London
This expansive record of early twentieth-century publishing offers a window into the literary landscape of 1904, revealing the moral priorities, educational ambitions, and commercial strategies of a prominent London house. It is a comprehensive inventory of the books and magazines that populated the homes, Sunday…
Saint Vincent, with notes and publishers' prices
Francis John Hamilton Scott Napier
A meticulous study of the postal history of Saint Vincent, this handbook serves as a definitive guide for collectors navigating the complex landscape of nineteenth-century colonial stamp issues, surcharges, and printing variations.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 303, October 22, 1881
Various
This expansive periodical acts as a crystalline lens, focusing the relentless industrial and intellectual energy of the nineteenth century into a single, comprehensive snapshot of human progress. It serves as both a ledger of engineering marvels and a chronicle of the Victorian quest to master the physical world.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 455, September 20, 1884
Various
This collection of technical dispatches captures the boundless curiosity and industrial fervor of the late nineteenth century. It serves as a vivid time capsule of an era when engineering and empirical inquiry felt like the keys to the future.
Sermons on Various Important Subjects: Written Partly on Sundry of the More Difficult Passages in the Sacred Volume
Andrew Lee
This collection of discourses from a Connecticut pastor captures the intellectual rigor and theological sobriety of the early American Republic, offering a window into a mind shaped by revolutionary upheaval and traditional faith.
Songs Before Sunrise
Algernon Charles Swinburne
The poet sets a trumpet to his lips, summoning the dawn of a republican age where old tyrannies are swept away by the collective spirit of humanity. These verses act as a call to arms for the liberation of the soul and the dismantling of historical chains.
Songs of Action
Arthur Conan Doyle
The rugged, rhythmic verses of this collection capture the vitality of Victorian life, exploring themes of duty, sport, and the quiet dignity of the common man. These poems serve as a spirited chronicle of an era defined by empire, camaraderie, and the relentless march of time.
St. George's Cross
H. G. (Henry George) Keene
Caught between the crumbling monarchy of Charles II and the rising tide of the Commonwealth, a small island community struggles to survive the ambitions of a local despot. This historical drama captures the tensions of the 1640s through the lens of those living in the Channel Islands.
St. Nicholas Vol XIII. No. 8 June 1886: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks
Various
This anthology captures the spirit of nineteenth-century American youth, blending serialized fiction, historical biography, and the curious, inquisitive nature of the Victorian era. It serves as a window into a world where literature, science, and morality formed a single, cohesive education.
Substitutes for Flesh Foods: Vegetarian Cook Book
Edwin Giles Fulton
This practical manual offers a turn-of-the-century perspective on meatless living, blending early health-food advocacy with a vast array of recipes for plant-based roasts, soups, and salads.
Surrey: Painted by Sutton Palmer
A. R. Hope (Ascott Robert Hope) Moncrieff
The lush landscapes of Surrey serve as a verdant, historical backyard for the bustling metropolis of London. This guide captures the county's varied character, blending geographical observation with a deep appreciation for its enduring natural beauty.
The 3rd Party
Lee B. Holum
HOOK A chemist is snatched from his work on a revolutionary new power source, becoming a pawn in a shadow war between global powers.
The Admirable Tinker: Child of the World
Edgar Jepson
This story follows an extraordinarily resourceful boy who assumes the role of architect in his own life and the lives of those he loves. It is a lighthearted, turn-of-the-century adventure that captures the whimsy and confidence of a child who believes he can steer the world.
The Arabian Art of Taming and Training Wild & Vicious Horses
P. R. Kincaid
This manual serves as a practical guide for horse training, advocating a philosophy of gentle dominance over brute force to cultivate a harmonious, trusting relationship between the rider and the animal.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 42, April, 1861: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
This collection captures the American pulse in April 1861, standing at the precipice of the Civil War with a blend of literary reflection, political urgency, and observation of a fractured landscape.
The Boy Chums in the Forest
Wilmer M. (Wilmer Mateo) Ely
The Florida Everglades serve as the backdrop for this wilderness adventure, where a small party of explorers finds themselves caught in a dangerous struggle against lawless men and the untamed swamp.
The Boy Patrol on Guard
Edward Sylvester Ellis
A spirited Irish youth finds his way into the heart of a Maine wilderness, where he discovers the camaraderie, woodcraft, and quiet mysteries of a local Boy Scout troop.
The Boy Scouts at the Panama-Pacific Exposition
John Henry Goldfrap
A pair of resourceful Eagle Scouts trade the familiar waters of Long Island for the grand spectacles of the 1915 San Francisco world’s fair, where they must protect a priceless scientific secret from opportunistic thieves.
The dragon
M. P. (Matthew Phipps) Shiel
An aristocratic warrior rises to defend a crumbling Britain against an existential threat, wielding a mysterious, world-altering weapon amidst a global catastrophe.
The Iroquois Book of Rites
Horatio Hale
A sophisticated political structure emerges from these ancient records, revealing a society built on the deliberate pursuit of peace and the careful preservation of human dignity through law.
"The Ladies": A Shining Constellation of Wit and Beauty
L. Adams (Lily Adams) Beck
This collection of reimagined histories invites readers to step behind the velvet curtains of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to witness the private struggles and hidden hearts of history’s most famous women.
The Little Match Man
Luigi Barzini
A cynical foreign journalist in Japan befriends a sentient, match-sized tree spirit who guides his reporting and ultimately influences the outcome of a wartime military campaign.