myebooksbuy
My Books

The whole shelf

All free summaries — page 458

47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 458 of 988.

Cover of Illustrated Science for Boys and Girls

Illustrated Science for Boys and Girls

Anonymous

This inquisitive volume captures the nineteenth-century world of industry through the eyes of a curious observer, transforming the technical mechanics of everyday life into a series of accessible, educational journeys for young readers.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of In Exile, and Other Stories

In Exile, and Other Stories

Mary Hallock Foote

The American frontier is not a monolith of masculine triumph, but a landscape of quiet, crushing isolation where the endurance of the human spirit is tested by the silence of the hills.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of In the Pecos Country

In the Pecos Country

Edward Sylvester Ellis

In the untamed wilderness of the Rio Pecos, a fragile settlement faces annihilation by Apache warriors, forcing a young boy and his Irish companion into a perilous struggle for survival.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of In the Ranks of the C.I.V

In the Ranks of the C.I.V

Erskine Childers

A raw, intimate account of a civilian soldier’s journey from the slushy streets of London to the sun-scorched veldt, offering an unvarnished look at the reality of colonial warfare.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of In the Roar of the Sea

In the Roar of the Sea

S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

A young woman’s desperate struggle for independence pits her against a ruthless, enigmatic smuggler in the windswept isolation of the Cornish coast.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Introducing the American Spirit

Introducing the American Spirit

Edward Alfred Steiner

The American spirit is a complex, often contradictory force that reveals itself most clearly when viewed through the critical eyes of an outsider. It is a portrait of a nation in constant, restless motion.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Jack the Young Canoeman: An Eastern Boy's Voyage in a Chinook Canoe

Jack the Young Canoeman: An Eastern Boy's Voyage in a Chinook Canoe

George Bird Grinnell

A young Easterner explores the wild, rugged coast of British Columbia by canoe, discovering a landscape defined by towering mountains, ancient glaciers, and the enduring customs of the Indigenous people who call it home.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Jeppe on the Hill

Jeppe on the Hill

Ludvig Holberg

A humble, perpetually inebriated peasant finds himself plucked from a dungheap and placed in a baron’s bed, sparking a cruel, transformative comedy about power, status, and the desperate search for dignity.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Lectures and Essays

Lectures and Essays

Goldwin Smith

A collection of incisive intellectual inquiries, these essays dissect the moral foundations of history, the evolution of human society, and the enduring tension between individual conscience and the inexorable pull of political power.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of 'Lena Rivers

'Lena Rivers

Mary Jane Holmes

The journey of a young woman finding her place in a divided family, this novel captures the tension between social ambition and the quiet integrity of the heart. It is a story of resilience, inheritance, and the enduring search for belonging.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Lincoln & other poems

Lincoln & other poems

Edwin Markham

This collection of verse captures the tension between the idealism of a new American century and the grinding realities of industrial inequality. It serves as a stirring, rhythmic manifesto for human brotherhood, rooted in the dignity of the common laborer.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Little Annie's Ramble (From "Twice Told Tales")

Little Annie's Ramble (From "Twice Told Tales")

Nathaniel Hawthorne

This gentle, observant stroll through a nineteenth-century town captures the fleeting threshold between childhood innocence and the burdens of adult life. It is a meditative exploration of how a child’s perspective can briefly restore a weary spirit.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Lore of Proserpine

Lore of Proserpine

Maurice Hewlett

This reflective work explores the boundary between the mundane world and a parallel realm of nature spirits, positing that fairy encounters are not myths, but spiritual realities. It challenges the reader to reconsider the nature of the unseen.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Volume 2

Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Volume 2

William Wordsworth

This collection of pastoral poems explores the quiet, profound intersections between the rugged natural world and the delicate, often tragic lives of those who dwell within its shadow.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Midnight

Midnight

Rutherford G. (Rutherford George) Montgomery

The story of a chestnut stallion born to the high, unforgiving ridges of the American West, this narrative tracks the life of a wild horse who must navigate a landscape filled with predators, natural disasters, and the constant, encroaching pressure of mankind.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin

Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin

Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade

A young boy’s life unfolds in the heart of Africa, revealing the daily rhythms, customs, and survival challenges of his village. This descriptive narrative provides a window into a world shaped by both the natural environment and a complex web of cultural traditions.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Mr. Pim Passes By: A Comedy in Three Acts

Mr. Pim Passes By: A Comedy in Three Acts

A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne

HOOK A well-meaning, muddled traveler accidentally shatters the tranquil domesticity of a traditional country household with news that turns a respectable marriage into a scandal.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Native Races and the War

Native Races and the War

Josephine Elizabeth Grey Butler

This work examines the roots of the South African War, arguing that the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the persistence of slavery under Boer rule were the primary, ignored causes of the conflict.

History - British6 min read
Cover of New Homes for Old

New Homes for Old

Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge

The immigrant home serves as the bedrock of American society, yet it remains misunderstood and unsupported. This study explores the profound adjustments required for families to thrive within a new, rapidly changing national landscape.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Noon-Day Fancies for Our Little Pets: Fully Illustrated

Noon-Day Fancies for Our Little Pets: Fully Illustrated

Unknown

A collection of gentle tales and rhymes, this work offers a window into the simple, domestic joys and small moral lessons of childhood life in a bygone era. It captures the curiosity of youth through observations of nature, pets, and family routines.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Of the Capture of Ticonderoga: His Captivity and Treatment by the British

Of the Capture of Ticonderoga: His Captivity and Treatment by the British

Ethan Allen

A self-taught frontier leader recounts his experiences during the American Revolution, detailing his daring capture of a strategic fortress and the harrowing, years-long ordeal of his subsequent imprisonment by the British.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Over the Front in an Aeroplane, and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches

Over the Front in an Aeroplane, and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches

Ralph Pulitzer

Flying over the Western Front at eighty miles an hour, an observer peers down at a maze of white lines, struggling to distinguish the roads of France from the trenches of a world war.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Patrins: To Which Is Added an Inquirendo Into the Wit & Other Good Parts of His Late Majesty King Charles the Second

Patrins: To Which Is Added an Inquirendo Into the Wit & Other Good Parts of His Late Majesty King Charles the Second

Louise Imogen Guiney

HOOK A series of whimsical, erudite essays wandering through the "thought-country" of late nineteenth-century reflection, finding grace in historical curiosities, forgotten ruins, and the enduring charm of a wayward English king.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire Girl

Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire Girl

Isabel Hornibrook

A young woman navigates the tension between family duty and her own adventurous spirit while her father pursues the invention of a rocket destined for the moon. This tale captures a pivotal moment in American girlhood, blending the rigid social conventions of the early 1920s with the boundless optimism of the…

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Pirate Princes and Yankee Jacks: Setting forth David Forsyth's Adventures in America's Battles on Sea and Desert with the Buccaneer Princes of Barbary, with an Account of a Search under the Sands of the Sahara Desert for the Treasure-filled Tomb of Ancient Kings

Pirate Princes and Yankee Jacks: Setting forth David Forsyth's Adventures in America's Battles on Sea and Desert with the Buccaneer Princes of Barbary, with an Account of a Search under the Sands of the Sahara Desert for the Treasure-filled Tomb of Ancient Kings

Daniel Henderson

HOOK A young man’s pursuit of a legendary treasure tomb entangles him in the dangerous, sun-drenched power struggles of the early American navy against the Barbary pirates.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of Poems on Slavery

Poems on Slavery

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This collection of verse serves as a stark, lyrical indictment of American chattel slavery. It uses the power of rhythmic storytelling to demand moral accountability from a nation that claimed to value both liberty and faith.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Precaution: A Novel

Precaution: A Novel

James Fenimore Cooper

A cautionary tale of love and social standing, where the heavy weight of hidden secrets and the danger of delayed truth threaten to undo the happiness of a virtuous family.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Rose O'Paradise

Rose O'Paradise

Grace Miller White

A young girl, a stolen inheritance, and a haunting melody weave together in a struggle for justice and belonging. Against the backdrop of a lonely, wind-swept farmhouse and the humble shacks of Paradise Road, a soul finds its worth in the most unlikely of places.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Sahara

Sahara

Angus Buchanan

The vast, shifting sands of the Sahara serve as a crucible for human endurance, testing the resolve of a small, determined expedition against the relentless machinery of a drying, decaying landscape.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Scientific American Supplement, No. 315, January 14, 1882

Scientific American Supplement, No. 315, January 14, 1882

Various

This collection of technical dispatches from 1882 serves as a sprawling, fascinating index of late-Victorian industrial ambition and daily domestic life. It captures a moment when the mechanical and the magical—in the form of early electricity—began to reshape the world.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Scientific American Supplement, No. 530, February 27, 1886

Scientific American Supplement, No. 530, February 27, 1886

Various

This collection of reports from 1886 offers a candid, high-definition snapshot of a world accelerating into the industrial age, where engineering, chemistry, and physics were transforming the mundane details of daily life.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Stories of Red Hanrahan

Stories of Red Hanrahan

W. B. (William Butler) Yeats

A hedge schoolmaster wanders the Irish countryside, forever chasing the elusive, haunting beauty of the Sidhe. His path is a cycle of inspiration, exile, and inevitable, lonely decline.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Tafilet

Tafilet

Walter Harris

A solitary traveler ventures into the forbidden Moroccan interior, braving mountain passes and desert heat to reach a legendary oasis and witness the volatile politics of a changing sultanate.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The anatomy of the frog

The anatomy of the frog

Alexander Ecker

This rigorous scientific treatise offers a comprehensive, systematic examination of the physical structure and internal organization of the common frog. It serves as a definitive reference manual for biological study, blending foundational research with meticulous anatomical observation.

General6 min read
Cover of The Backwoodsmen

The Backwoodsmen

Roberts, Charles G. D., Sir

The rugged Canadian wilderness serves as the backdrop for these tales, where the lives of solitary settlers and wild creatures intertwine in a constant, unforgiving struggle for survival.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Bay State Monthly

The Bay State Monthly

Various

This collection captures the civic, industrial, and intellectual pulse of 19th-century Massachusetts, grounding its broader observations in the specific histories of its influential families, growing cities, and evolving social beliefs.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Book of Ballads, edited by Bon Gaultier [pseud.]

The Book of Ballads, edited by Bon Gaultier [pseud.]

Martin, Theodore, Sir

A collection of sharp-witted literary parodies, this volume captures the playful, satirical spirit of Victorian magazine culture through the collaborative genius of two lifelong friends. It remains a masterclass in affectionate mockery of the poets, novelists, and fashions of the mid-nineteenth century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Vol. 11 [of 13]

The chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Vol. 11 [of 13]

Enguerrand de Monstrelet

This sweeping chronicle documents the volatile transition of late medieval France into a centralized monarchy, charting the intricate, often brutal power struggles that reshaped the map of Europe. Through a meticulous recording of treaties, betrayals, and battlefield maneuvers, the narrative preserves the lived…

History7 min read
Cover of The dark

The dark

Leonid Andreyev

A cornered revolutionary seeks refuge in a brothel, only to find that his rigid moral superiority collapses under the gaze of a woman who demands he confront the darkness within himself.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Debtor: A Novel

The Debtor: A Novel

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman

The Carroll family arrives in the suburban village of Banbridge, projecting an air of genteel, aristocratic ease that masks a profound and crumbling insolvency. Their struggle to maintain appearances in a community that thrives on observation and gossip forms the core of this poignant, socially observant drama.

American Literature8 min read
Cover of The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 02

The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 02

Unknown

This volume records the precarious survival of a nascent nation, revealed through the private letters of those tasked with securing its independence in the unforgiving courts of Europe.

History - American7 min read
Cover of The Dwelling House

The Dwelling House

George Vivian Poore

Houses are machines for living, and their design dictates the health and character of those who inhabit them. This technical yet philosophical inquiry challenges the Victorian reliance on complex, expensive, and dangerous plumbing systems, arguing instead for a return to surface-based, nature-aligned sanitation.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of The flying spy

The flying spy

Camillo De Carlo

A daring intelligence officer drifts behind enemy lines to sabotage the Austro-Hungarian war machine from within. This gripping personal account captures the tension of espionage during the final, desperate months of the First World War.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Fortune of the Landrays

The Fortune of the Landrays

Vaughan Kester

A sweeping chronicle of the American West, this multi-generational saga explores the heavy cost of ambition, the fragility of fortune, and the enduring, often painful, ties that bind a family to its past.

American Literature8 min read
Cover of The Gully of Bluemansdyke, and Other stories

The Gully of Bluemansdyke, and Other stories

Arthur Conan Doyle

The rugged frontier and the quiet shadows of the nineteenth century collide in these tales, where sudden violence and desperate bravery define the boundaries of human endurance.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Hoosiers

The Hoosiers

Meredith Nicholson

An intellectual history of the Hoosier State, this volume maps the transformation of a rugged frontier wilderness into a center of American literary and educational ambition. It is a scholarly yet accessible survey of the pioneer experience, the development of local dialect, and the emergence of a distinctive…

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Impossibles

The Impossibles

Randall Garrett

FBI agent Kenneth J. Malone faces a baffling crime spree: luxury cars are vanishing, and the culprits seem to defy the laws of physics. This lighthearted, fast-paced science fiction novel blends a classic police procedural with the unexpected chaos of psionic phenomena. It endures as a charming, self-aware artifact…

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery5 min read
Cover of The Knack of Managing

The Knack of Managing

Lewis K. Urquhart

Managing a business is a universal discipline, not a matter of specific industry expertise, but a skill set grounded in principles that apply equally to global corporations and local street-corner stands.

Business/Management6 min read