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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 468 of 714.

Cover of Cambridge Neighbors (from Literary Friends and Acquaintance)

Cambridge Neighbors (from Literary Friends and Acquaintance)

William Dean Howells

In the twilight of nineteenth-century New England, a young editor steps into an intellectual sanctuary where scholars dig among roses and conversation is treated as a high art.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol 1, No. 11, August, 1920: America's Magazine of Wit, Humor and Filosophy

Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol 1, No. 11, August, 1920: America's Magazine of Wit, Humor and Filosophy

Various

A pocket-sized artifact of Jazz Age irreverence, this 1920 periodical captures the raw, unfiltered appetite of post-war America for snappy humor, Hollywood scandal, combat veteran nostalgia, and unpretentious rural wit.

History - American5 min read
Cover of Children and their books

Children and their books

James Hosmer Penniman

Early childhood presents a brief, urgent window where a child's imagination and character are shaped through the literature they encounter.

Parenthood & Family Relations6 min read
Cover of Colorado—The Bright Romance of American History

Colorado—The Bright Romance of American History

F. C. Grable

A vast, untamed wilderness undergoes centuries of Spanish exploration, indigenous defense, military surveying, and pioneer ambition to emerge as a vibrant American state.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Corporal Sam and Other Stories

Corporal Sam and Other Stories

Arthur Quiller-Couch

Cruelty and unexpected mercy cross paths along bleak roads, inside torn uniforms, and beneath the quiet roofs of old English towns.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Crack of doom

Crack of doom

Stephen Marlowe

An ordinary suburban morning turns surreal as an average man discovers the human race has been quietly replaced by something vastly superior—and utterly heartless.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of Cupid in Africa

Cupid in Africa

Percival Christopher Wren

Unprepared for military life, an artistic young Englishman leaves for the East African theater of World War I, where hardship and romance transform him into a hardened soldier.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Fors Clavigera (Volume 2 of 8): Letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain

Fors Clavigera (Volume 2 of 8): Letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain

John Ruskin

This personal series of direct epistles blends sharp social criticism, classical mythology, and aesthetic theory into an urgent call for moral and economic reform.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Fragments from the Journal of a Solitary Man: (From: "The Doliver Romance and Other Pieces: Tales and Sketches")

Fragments from the Journal of a Solitary Man: (From: "The Doliver Romance and Other Pieces: Tales and Sketches")

Nathaniel Hawthorne

A dying romantic faces the tragic irrelevance of a life spent avoiding real human bonds.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of From London to Land's End: and Two Letters from the "Journey through England by a Gentleman"

From London to Land's End: and Two Letters from the "Journey through England by a Gentleman"

Daniel Defoe

This account traces the physical landscape and civic character of southern England, capturing a society defined by industrial resourcefulness, maritime trade, and local customs.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Funny stories told by the soldiers

Funny stories told by the soldiers

Carleton B. (Carleton Britton) Case

Military absurdity, absurd miscommunications, and quick-witted insubordination fill a relief-seeking collection gathered right as the First World War drew to a close.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Geoffrey the Lollard

Geoffrey the Lollard

Frances Eastwood

Two Lollard brothers flee persecution into hiding, bearing the heavy cost of faith and exile as their family breaks under the relentless hand of the medieval English Church.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Geological Contemporaneity and Persistent Types of Life

Geological Contemporaneity and Persistent Types of Life

Thomas Henry Huxley

A scientific discipline must occasionally audit its intellectual inventory to ensure its paper currency is backed by the solid gold of truth.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of George Washington

George Washington

John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott

From early wilderness expeditions across rugged mountain passes to the desperate winter crossing of the ice-choked Delaware River, this nineteenth-century biography charts the forging of a general and the birth of a republic.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Gullible's Travels, Etc

Gullible's Travels, Etc

Ring Lardner

A middle-class Chicago couple spends every spare dime chasing high society, only to find that every velvet rope leads to an even more expensive room.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Her Infinite Variety

Her Infinite Variety

Brand Whitlock

A young Illinois state senator impulsively champions woman suffrage to impress a brilliant female lawyer, only to ignite a war with his formidable future mother-in-law.

Historical Novels7 min read
Cover of How Paper Boxes Are Made: A practical and instructive book telling how the beginner may manufacture all kinds of paper boxes, with special chapters on the printing department for paper box plants, embossing, gold-leafing, label work, etc

How Paper Boxes Are Made: A practical and instructive book telling how the beginner may manufacture all kinds of paper boxes, with special chapters on the printing department for paper box plants, embossing, gold-leafing, label work, etc

Robert F. Salade

A sturdy paper box requires far more than mere cardboard and glue; it demands precise geometry, careful chemistry, and the mechanical choreography of an entire factory floor.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of In a Green Shade: A Country Commentary

In a Green Shade: A Country Commentary

Maurice Hewlett

A retired man of letters sits in his Wiltshire garden, reflecting on the altered world after the First World War.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of Jerry's Reward

Jerry's Reward

Evelyn Snead Barnett

When a group of city children cruelly mock a hunchbacked ash-collector, they have no idea that the lonely man and his bedridden wife hold the key to saving their homes from a midnight tragedy.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Juvenile Delinquent

Juvenile Delinquent

Edward W. Ludwig

A young boy's illegal love for the written word threatens to tear his hyper-conformist family apart.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy5 min read
Cover of Kings in Exile

Kings in Exile

Roberts, Charles G. D., Sir

A collection of short narratives, this volume chronicles the lives of wild creatures forced into captivity. It offers an unflinching look at the collision between the untamed instincts of the wilderness and the rigid constraints of human confinement.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Kit and Kitty: A Story of West Middlesex

Kit and Kitty: A Story of West Middlesex

R. D. (Richard Doddridge) Blackmore

A quiet Middlesex market garden becomes the arena for a young grower’s devoted pursuit of his true love, as simple rustic honesty faces down urban deceit, malice, and a cold-hearted conspiracy to tear a couple apart.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Life of Luther: with several introductory and concluding chapters from general church history

Life of Luther: with several introductory and concluding chapters from general church history

Gustav A. Just

Faith is forged in the crucible of persecution, refined by trial, and secured only through a relentless defense of the plain truth.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 26, September, 1880

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 26, September, 1880

Various

Wandering through nineteenth-century wildernesses, European high society, and urban tenements, a broad cultural tapestry captures the restless ambition and quiet transformations of a changing era.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Lives of Famous London Beggars: With Forty Portraits of the Most Remarkable

Lives of Famous London Beggars: With Forty Portraits of the Most Remarkable

John Thomas Smith

Driven by an antiquarian’s sharp eye and an artist’s sketchpad, this chronicle walks the cobblestones of Regency London to document the vanishing subculture of street mendicants before parish workhouses and Parliamentary crackdowns sweep them away forever.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Mediæval London

Mediæval London

William Benham

The grand, crowded evolution of a capital emerges through its stone fortresses, bustling trade markets, and solemn cathedral precincts.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Melmoth Reconciled

Melmoth Reconciled

Honoré de Balzac

A desperate man buys absolute power only to realize that complete gratification dries up the human soul. Balzac transforms a gothic legend into a biting satire of Parisian high finance.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Mentally Defective Children

Mentally Defective Children

Alfred Binet

Schooling fails children when it treats every mind as identical. A rigorous scientific framework can identify vulnerable learners and build special educational pathways to protect them from institutional neglect.

Psychiatry/Psychology5 min read
Cover of Misread Passages of Scriptures

Misread Passages of Scriptures

James Baldwin Brown

Divine grace does not override human reason or flatten life into rigid dogmas; it meets suffering, labor, and conscience in the rough grain of reality.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of Modern American Prose Selections

Modern American Prose Selections

Unknown

A nation is held together not by blood or ancient borders, but by the quiet choices of its people as they adapt to a changing world. Through speeches, essays, and personal narratives, this collection maps the living soul of American democracy.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Mother West Wind "Where" Stories

Mother West Wind "Where" Stories

Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

Curiosity drives a rabbit across fields to ask how creatures gained their defining traits.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of Notes and Queries, Number 66, February 1, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Notes and Queries, Number 66, February 1, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Various

An unusual network of curious minds across Britain exchanges insights on rare manuscripts, obscure local folklore, linguistic roots, and disputed biographical facts.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Observations on the Causes, Symptoms, and Nature of Scrofula or King's Evil, Scurvy, and Cancer: With Cases Illustrative of a Peculiar Mode of Treatment

Observations on the Causes, Symptoms, and Nature of Scrofula or King's Evil, Scurvy, and Cancer: With Cases Illustrative of a Peculiar Mode of Treatment

John Kent

A nineteenth-century medical tract combines stern diagnoses with rustic remedies, promising relief from deep-seated bodily afflictions through botanical treatments and plain sense.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Samuel Rawson Gardiner

A titan of English history is weighed not by myth, but by the practical limits of power.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition"

On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition"

Thomas Henry Huxley

A quiet observation of footprints in the sand leads to a profound revelation about how human beings unlock the deepest secrets of nature's lost past.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8)

Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8)

John Henry Newman

The pursuit of holiness is a difficult, narrow path, requiring the constant denial of worldly ambitions and a steadfast devotion to the unseen realities of the Christian faith.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of Penelope's Postscripts

Penelope's Postscripts

Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

An observant American artist frames her European travels through vivid vignettes of humor, quiet sentiment, and sharp domestic insight.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Poems of Pleasure

Poems of Pleasure

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Love is a fiery, cosmic force that transforms human souls, elevating the faithful to angelic heights while threatening to drag the careless into despair.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage

Polly of Lady Gay Cottage

Emma C. Dowd

Polly is a selfless, spirited girl whose deep devotion to her adoptive parents and friends is tested by the sudden arrival of long-lost biological relatives. She navigates the complex demands of loyalty, sacrifice, and belonging with unwavering integrity.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Post-Prandial Philosophy

Post-Prandial Philosophy

Grant Allen

Civilisation relies entirely on the practical arts, yet society's rules are routinely set by men who merely hunt and fight.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of Quill's Window

Quill's Window

George Barr McCutcheon

A smooth-talking stranger comes to an Indiana farming community under false pretenses, manipulating its people and charming its wealthiest heiress while hiding a history of deceit that eventually catches up to him.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Raising P. V. Squabs for Profit

Raising P. V. Squabs for Profit

John S. Trecartin

Properly housed and scientifically fed, the utility pigeon offers steady, dignified profits to anyone willing to replace amateur guesswork with rigorous, businesslike method.

Business/Management5 min read
Cover of Reminiscences of Travel in Australia, America, and Egypt

Reminiscences of Travel in Australia, America, and Egypt

Tangye, Richard, Sir

A Victorian industrialist finds his antidote to travel fatigue in the discipline of the pen, transforming long-distance steamship voyages and overland treks into a sharp-eyed chronicle of a changing nineteenth-century world.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Riley Love-Lyrics

Riley Love-Lyrics

James Whitcomb Riley

A heart looks back through the haze of lost summers, finding that true devotion outlasts both youthful rapture and time itself.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Robert Browning: How to Know Him

Robert Browning: How to Know Him

William Lyon Phelps

A master key to one of England’s most challenging poets, this guide unlocks the human heart behind the complex verse. It turns difficult art into an accessible, lifelong friend.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Salem Chapel, v. 1/2

Salem Chapel, v. 1/2

Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

An ambitious young Nonconformist minister arrives in a quiet provincial town, where the petty demands of his narrow congregation quickly collide with high-society romance and a devastating family scandal.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Satellite Communications Physics

Satellite Communications Physics

Unknown

A handful of basic high school physics principles, when applied by persistent laboratory scientists, can reach into the darkness of space to orbit a working global communications network.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Sketch of the Mythology of the North American Indians: First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 17-56

Sketch of the Mythology of the North American Indians: First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 17-56

John Wesley Powell

The struggle to explain the natural world is a universal human impulse, driving the evolution of thought from the mythic personifications of ancient cultures to the structured inquiries of modern science.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
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