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34,093 public-domain books, summarised. Page 466 of 711.

Cover of Old Caravan Days

Old Caravan Days

Mary Hartwell Catherwood

When an elderly matriarch packs up her Ohio homestead in 1857 to move west, she transforms a simple journey into a grand, unhurried adventure across the changing American landscape.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of On building a theatre: Stage construction and equipment for small theatres, schools and community

On building a theatre: Stage construction and equipment for small theatres, schools and community

Irving Pichel

A thoughtful guide to designing performing spaces, this text strips away hollow theatrical traditions to prioritize clear sightlines, functional back-stage layouts, and expressive lighting.

Architecture5 min read
Cover of Oral Tradition from the Indus: Comprised in Tales to Which Are Added Explanatory Notes

Oral Tradition from the Indus: Comprised in Tales to Which Are Added Explanatory Notes

John Frederick Adolphus McNair

In a riverside Punjabi village, common villagers, clever tricksters, wandering fakirs, and imperious rulers cross paths in nineteen traditional folk stories.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore7 min read
Cover of Original Penny Readings: A Series of Short Sketches

Original Penny Readings: A Series of Short Sketches

George Manville Fenn

A world of working-class struggle, modest joys, and quiet domestic tragedies reveals itself through the everyday voices of Victorian London.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Our town and civic duty

Our town and civic duty

Jane Eayre Fryer

The virtuous life is built upon the small, consistent acts of a good neighbor. This guide for young citizens illustrates how personal integrity and community service form the bedrock of a stable society.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Pee-wee Harris Adrift

Pee-wee Harris Adrift

Percy Keese Fitzhugh

A small boy loses his scout patrol, claims a drifting patch of earth, and turns an accidental river voyage into a community event.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Piccadilly: A Fragment of Contemporary Biography

Piccadilly: A Fragment of Contemporary Biography

Laurence Oliphant

Behind the polished bay windows of high Victorian London, a manic social reformer conducts a desperate, chaotic experiment in unmasking the hypocrisy of his own class.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 4

Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 4

Robert Bridges

Across two multi-act verse dramas, heroic action and romantic duty are stripped of simple grandeur and weighed against the quiet, stubborn sacrifices demanded by love, honor, and home.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 3 (of 7)

Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 3 (of 7)

Theodore Roosevelt

Governing a rapidly expanding industrial power demands a firm balance between absolute national strength and self-restrained moral civic duty.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Recalled to Life

Recalled to Life

Grant Allen

A terrifying flash of light, a dead body, and total amnesia start this Victorian mystery of identity, deep trauma, and hidden domestic secrets.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery7 min read
Cover of Reube Dare's Shad Boat: A Tale of the Tide Country

Reube Dare's Shad Boat: A Tale of the Tide Country

Roberts, Charles G. D., Sir

A young man buys a shad boat to pay for his blind mother's medical care, but local rivalries, mud flats, and dangerous tides turn his summer's work into a fight for survival.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Saratoga National Historical Park, New York

Saratoga National Historical Park, New York

Francis Wilshin

A brilliantly planned wilderness campaign collapses through miscommunication and stubborn resistance, turning a remote New York plateau into the pivotal battleground of the American Revolution.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 6: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland, part 2

Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 6: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland, part 2

Unknown

Alpine peaks, ancient Roman ruins, and bustling summer resorts blend together in a multi-voiced journey across central and eastern Europe.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Selections from the Observator (1681-1687)

Selections from the Observator (1681-1687)

L'Estrange, Roger, Sir

When a nation fractures, words become weapons, and the printing press transforms into the primary battleground for the soul of the state.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Seven years in Vienna (August, 1907-August, 1914), a record of intrigue

Seven years in Vienna (August, 1907-August, 1914), a record of intrigue

Anonymous

Inside the gilded saloons and police-ringed resorts of Austria-Hungary, an anonymous insider watches an imperial power structure slide toward self-destruction.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Silverpoints

Silverpoints

John Gray

A shimmering artifact of the 1890s Decadent movement, this collection of verse distills sensory overload, sacred devotion, and dark eroticism into jewel-like, unsettling miniatures.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Snarleyyow

Snarleyyow

Frederick Marryat

A tyrannical naval commander, a resilient cabin boy, and a surprisingly indestructible dog clash in an eighteen-century tale of maritime intrigue, smuggling, and vengeance.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Studies on Epidemic Influenza: Comprising Clinical and Laboratory Investigations

Studies on Epidemic Influenza: Comprising Clinical and Laboratory Investigations

University of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine

A deadly respiratory contagion sweeps through a world unprepared for its speed, leaving medical experts scrambling to understand its transmission and mortality.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of a Widow: A Novel

The Adventures of a Widow: A Novel

Edgar Fawcett

A young, wealthy widow attempts to build a serious intellectual salon in Gilded Age New York, only to find herself caught between shallow high society and the vanity of self-absorbed Bohemians.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The American Baron: A Novel

The American Baron: A Novel

James De Mille

A helpless English heiress ricochets through Italy, unwittingly collecting devoted fiances at every turn, while her exhausted traveling companions fight off duels, brigands, and sheer exasperation.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The American family Robinson

The American family Robinson

D. W. (David W.) Belisle

Driven into the western wilderness by discontent, an American family faces captivity, desert hazards, and mysterious ancient ruins as they fight to survive.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Ancient Law

The Ancient Law

Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow

A disgraced man wanders into a small Virginia town under an assumed name, seeking redemption through humble labor, only to learn that escaping his past requires a far deeper sacrifice.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Blacksmith's Hammer

The Blacksmith's Hammer

Eugène Sue

A sharp-edged tale of privilege, revolt, and blood under the shadow of the Sun King.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of The Camp Fire Girls on Ellen's Isle

The Camp Fire Girls on Ellen's Isle

Hildegard G. Frey

A scorched June heatwave sends a band of lively friends escaping to a northern island for a summer of wilderness camping, high-spirited practical jokes, unexpected rescues, and subtle personal growth.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, June 1885, No. 9

The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, June 1885, No. 9

Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle

A vibrant tapestry of nineteenth-century self-education, this magazine issue captures an era when ordinary citizens eagerly pursued science, literature, and practical community reform to expand their world.

Journals6 min read
Cover of The Circassian Chief: A Romance of Russia

The Circassian Chief: A Romance of Russia

William Henry Giles Kingston

A young noble raised in the heart of the Russian empire discovers that his true blood belongs to the wild, unconquered peaks of the Caucasus, where he must choose between imperial power and his people’s freedom.

Adventure9 min read
Cover of The Cowardly Lion of Oz

The Cowardly Lion of Oz

Ruth Plumly Thompson

A bizarre magic trick hurls an American circus clown and an orphan into a fantastical realm, setting off a wild chain of events that threatens the peace of Oz and tests the true nature of courage.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of The curse of the painted cliffs

The curse of the painted cliffs

W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle

A tough young woman in a brutal desert mining town holds out against corruption while waiting to settle a debt of honor.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Disputed V.C.: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny

The Disputed V.C.: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny

Frederick P. Gibbon

A young British ensign fights through the horrors of the 1857 Indian Mutiny while a deceitful rival attempts to steal his military honors.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Drummer Boy

The Drummer Boy

J. T. (John Townsend) Trowbridge

A fiery fourteen-year-old leaves his family sitting-room for the Union barracks, trading his dark curls for a recruit’s crop and a place at the front line of a nation tearing itself apart.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Enjoyment of Art

The Enjoyment of Art

Carleton Eldredge Noyes

A newly minted university graduate stands bewildered in Europe’s famous art galleries, asking why human beings struggle so fiercely to paint canvases and carve stone.

Art5 min read
Cover of The Fantasy Fan, February 1934: The Fans' Own Magazine

The Fantasy Fan, February 1934: The Fans' Own Magazine

Various

An early science fiction fanzine captures a nascent community debating cosmic horror, space exploration, and gothic scholarship.

Journalism/Media/Writing7 min read
Cover of The Film of Fear

The Film of Fear

Frederic Arnold Kummer

A famous screen star receives terrifying threats targeting her face, forcing a famed detective to race against time.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Flower-Fields of Alpine Switzerland: An Appreciation and a Plea

The Flower-Fields of Alpine Switzerland: An Appreciation and a Plea

G. (George) Flemwell

Vast expanses of wild blossoms carpet the Swiss mountainsides before the scythes arrive. This forgotten work makes a passionate case for the fragile beauty of the high pastures.

Art5 min read
Cover of The Flying Legion

The Flying Legion

George Allan England

A band of war-weary veterans steals an advanced experimental airship to conquer the world’s last unexplored fastness, only to find that total freedom demands a far heavier price than any war they ever fought.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The four Corners

The four Corners

Amy Ella Blanchard

In a quiet Virginia mountain town, four sisters navigate small-town routines, family rivalries, and sudden financial strain while their mother travels to recover her health.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Garden of Survival

The Garden of Survival

Algernon Blackwood

A grieving soldier discovers that his dead wife’s unrequited love persists as an invisible, uplifting force of beauty.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight

The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight

J. Cecil (John Cecil) Hughes

The vertical white cliffs and multicolored sands of the Isle of Wight contain an accessible record of Earth’s deep past. Written as a guide for beginners, this survey demonstrates how simple fieldwork can illuminate millions of years of structural change.

Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming6 min read
Cover of The Gilded Man: A Romance of the Andes

The Gilded Man: A Romance of the Andes

Clifford Smyth

A hidden kingdom, an ancient treasure, and a psychological mystery collide beneath the high peaks of the South American Andes.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century: With a supplemental chapter on the revival in America

The Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century: With a supplemental chapter on the revival in America

Edwin Paxton Hood

Eighteenth-century England sits frozen in moral decay, its churches dormant and its public life cynical, until a spontaneous spiritual lightning bolt strikes the nation from the field, the inn, and the university.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Jew

The Jew

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski

A solitary voice can pull a nation back from the edge of its own madness.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Lilac Girl

The Lilac Girl

Ralph Henry Barbour

A chance meeting in the mountains leaves a lone prospector haunted by the fleeting sight of a woman in a lilac-scented garden, sparking a gentle quest through an old New England town to find her.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Microscope

The Microscope

Andrew Ross

A precise lens allows the human eye to transcend its biological limits, converting subtle shifts in distance and light into clear visual revelations.

Engineering & Technology5 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 563, August 25, 1832

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 563, August 25, 1832

Various

A glance into a bygone era reveals how a nineteenth-century public found delight and instruction wrapped in a single, affordable weekend paper.

Archaeology & Anthropology5 min read
Cover of The Mystery of the Downs

The Mystery of the Downs

John R. (John Reay) Watson

A sudden coastal storm forces a lone rider to seek shelter at an isolated farm, where he discovers a body and a web of wartime secrets.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The Parenticide Club

The Parenticide Club

Ambrose Bierce

A dark, satirical masterpiece of patricide, matricide, and legal absurdity, this collection dismantles the sanctity of the American family through cold, deadpan comedy.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Pennycomequicks, Volume 3 (of 3)

The Pennycomequicks, Volume 3 (of 3)

S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

Money, pride, and Victorian propriety collide when a presumed-dead industrialist reappears, unraveling the lives, marriages, and fortunes of his self-interested heirs across England and the Swiss Alps.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Philosophy of Teaching: The Teacher, The Pupil, The School

The Philosophy of Teaching: The Teacher, The Pupil, The School

Nathaniel Sands

True education requires replacing dead languages and mechanical rote learning with the natural observation of the physical world, training youth directly in practical trades, physical health, civic duty, and the real conditions of human well-being.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
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