The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 489
47,330 public-domain books, summarised. Page 489 of 987.
Indian Biography; Vol. 1 (of 2)
B. B. (Benjamin Bussey) Thatcher
To document the lives of the original inhabitants of North America is to offer a necessary restitution of historical justice, acknowledging the genius and principle of leaders who shaped an era of profound change.
Ireland In The New Century
Plunkett, Horace Curzon, Sir
A quiet revolution in Irish life replaces political grievance with economic self-reliance, moral courage, and practical co-operation to build a prosperous nation from within.
Joan of the Journal
Helen Diehl Olds
HOOK A persistent teenager finds her calling in the whirlwind of a local newspaper office, where she helps her brother save his job and uncovers a web of office intrigue.
Kilgorman: A Story of Ireland in 1798
Talbot Baines Reed
A young man navigates the turbulent waters of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, caught between divided loyalties, family secrets, and the shifting tides of war. It is a stirring tale of survival that balances historical upheaval with personal discovery.
Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation: Including Some Strictures Upon the Theories of Rev. Henry L. Mansel and Mr. Herbert Spencer
Jesse Henry Jones
This philosophical treatise mounts a vigorous defense of theism, arguing that the human mind possesses a "Pure Reason" capable of grasping eternal, unconditioned truths that materialist philosophies fail to perceive.
Labyrinth
Helen R. (Helen Rose) Hull
The modern woman’s attempt to reconcile professional identity with domestic obligation creates a maze of conflicting expectations. This exploration of the early twentieth-century female experience reveals the hidden costs of managing both a career and a household.
Life and Writings of Thomas R. Malthus
Charles R. (Charles Robert) Drysdale
This analytical study examines the life and intellectual legacy of Thomas Robert Malthus, specifically focusing on the socio-economic implications of his population theory and its continued relevance to late 19th-century debates on poverty and reform.
Lost on the Moon
Roy Rockwood
Two friends and a team of scientists journey to the moon in a cigar-shaped projectile, only to be stranded on a desolate, silent world of craters and petrified remains.
Mancala, the National Game of Africa
Stewart Culin
Mancala is a game of shifting pebbles and ancient lineage, tracing the movement of human culture across continents through the simple, rhythmic act of transferring counters between holes in the earth.
Mary Louise in the Country
L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum
A young woman seeking a quiet summer in the country finds herself entangled in a web of local secrets, mysterious neighbors, and a potential criminal conspiracy.
Memoirs of the Court of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Volume 6: Being the Historic Memoirs of Madam Campan, First Lady in Waiting to the Queen
Mme. (Jeanne-Louise-Henriette) Campan
In the shadow of the guillotine, a loyal attendant chronicles the final, frantic years of the French monarchy, offering an intimate witness to the collapse of a golden world.
Moral
Ludwig Thoma
A biting satire of social hypocrisy, this play exposes the frantic, comedic scramble of the elite to protect their reputations when a scandal threatens to unveil their private lives.
Moscow: A Story of the French Invasion of 1812
Frederick Whishaw
The drums of 1812 beat a rhythm of tragedy and farce, drawing young lives into the vortex of a crumbling empire and the smoldering ruins of a sacred city.
Notes and Queries, Number 166, January 1, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
The pursuit of forgotten lore and the steady accumulation of small historical truths define this mid-nineteenth-century repository of human knowledge. It serves as a communal ledger for the curious and the scholarly.
Old Scores and New Readings: Discussions on Music & Certain Musicians
John F. Runciman
This collection of critical essays serves as a sharp, opinionated tour through the history of Western music, stripping away stale traditions to reveal the living pulse of genius.
Oliver Cromwell
Theodore Roosevelt
Cromwell, our chief of men, who through a cloud Not of war only, but detractions rude, Guided by faith, and matchless fortitude, To peace and truth, thy glorious way hast ploughed.
Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art.: Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-1883, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 437-466
William Henry Holmes
The evolution of human creativity is often found in the most humble of objects: a water vessel, a storage jar, or a discarded shell. By examining how clay forms mimic nature and earlier crafts, we uncover the silent history of our ancestors’ aesthetic lives.
Out for Business
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
HOOK Driven from home by a cruel stepfather, a spirited youth ventures into the heart of nineteenth-century Chicago to build a life of his own through honesty and grit.
Poppea of the Post-Office
Mabel Osgood Wright
The mystery of an abandoned child’s identity unfolds within the quiet, interconnected lives of a small American village. At the center of the town’s world stands a man who finds his own life transformed by a sudden, secret burden of love.
Practical Graining, with Description of Colors Employed and Tools Used
William E. (William Edmund) Wall
The art of transforming common surfaces into the image of fine hardwoods requires patience, a steady hand, and an observant eye for nature’s patterns.
Puck on Pegasus: Fourth Edition
H. (Henry) Cholmondeley-Pennell
A mischievous sprite in verse, this collection dances between sharp-witted satire and moments of genuine, somber reflection. It captures the frantic, soot-stained energy of the Victorian age with equal parts cynicism and elegance.
Raphael
Paul G. (Paul George) Konody
This volume offers a concise, appreciative examination of Raphael’s life and artistic trajectory, situating the master not as a lonely, tortured genius, but as a uniquely adaptable professional who brought the Renaissance to its absolute, harmonious peak.
Red oleanders
Rabindranath Tagore
The red oleander is a flower of both beauty and warning, a symbol of life force intruding upon a world of cold, mechanical greed. It represents the vibrant, dangerous spirit that refuses to be suppressed by the weight of gold.
Round Cape Horn: Voyage of the Passenger-Ship James W. Paige, from Maine to California in the Year 1852
J. (Joseph) Lamson
The perilous, months-long passage around Cape Horn stands as a vanished chapter of history, rendered obsolete by modern travel. These firsthand observations capture both the grueling maritime struggle and the rough, burgeoning landscape of early California.
Roundabout to Moscow: An Epicurean Journey
John Bell Bouton
This account of European travel avoids the well-worn paths of the standard Victorian guidebook, offering instead a spirited, unconventional survey of sights, cultural impressions, and political reflections. It serves as a bridge between the curiosity of the American tourist and the complex, often misunderstood…
Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 4: France and the Netherlands, Part 2
Unknown
Wandering through sunlit French vineyards and winding Dutch canals, a traveler observes the quiet rhythm of local life before the shadow of a grand medieval fortress alters the horizon.
Self-Help: Sailor's Knots, Part 3
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
A cynical London night-watchman expounds on the perils of good intentions before recounting a chaotic story of three sailors, a fake detective, and a night of backfiring schemes on Tower Hill.
Serbian Fairy Tales
Elodie Lawton Mijatovich
These Serbian folk tales weave a tapestry of wonder, where kings and peasants alike must brave the malice of giants and the whims of fate to find their true destiny.
Short-story masterpieces, Vol. 3
John Cournos
These foundational Russian tales explore the collision of human frailty with the crushing weight of fate. They remain essential reading for anyone seeking the roots of modern psychological realism.
Some notes on the bibliography of the Philippines
Thomas C. (Thomas Cooke) Middleton
A testament to the intellectual life of the East, this record rescues centuries of Philippine scholarship from obscurity. It serves as both a map of colonial literature and a defense of the Malay mind.
Sundown Slim
Henry Herbert Knibbs
A drifter finds redemption in the vast, sun-bleached expanse of the Arizona territory, trading a life of aimless roaming for the unexpected responsibilities of home, loyalty, and a family of his own.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Part 7
Mark Twain
This story traces the harrowing shift from the playfulness of youth to the stark realities of danger, where childhood innocence is tested by darkness, both literal and moral. It captures a pivotal moment when the grand, secret adventures of two boys collide with the life-altering consequences of the adult world.
The antiquities of Bridgnorth
George Bellett
A deep dive into the historical tapestry of an English town, tracing its evolution from a strategic royal stronghold to a community defined by endurance and local identity.
The Arrival of Jimpson, and Other Stories for Boys about Boys
Ralph Henry Barbour
These stories capture the earnest, competitive, and often socially fraught world of turn-of-the-century American boarding schools and colleges. They offer a vivid, nostalgic look at a time when sportsmanship and class loyalty defined a young man’s character.
The autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
The quiet, methodical nature of an American president reveals itself in these pages, offering a portrait of a man who viewed statesmanship not as a performance, but as a series of deliberate, steady tasks. This reflection on a life spent in public service demonstrates how a reserved individual from rural Vermont…
The Beautiful White Devil
Guy Boothby
A doctor finds himself abducted into the service of a notorious, elusive, and beautiful woman, only to discover that his captor is a self-styled vigilante fighting a private war against the world's scoundrels.
The Beaux-Stratagem: A comedy in five acts
George Farquhar
Two penniless gentlemen arrive in a quiet country town, posing as a wealthy lord and his servant to hunt for an heiress. Their scheme ignites a series of romantic entanglements and social upheavals.
The Best Portraits in Engraving
Charles Sumner
A scholar finds solace in the silent company of master engravers, offering an elegant guide to the most exquisite portraiture ever committed to copper.
The Book of Daniel Unlocked
W. S. (William Stuart) Auchincloss
This work argues that the biblical prophecies of Daniel are not vague predictions of a distant future, but precise, historically fulfilled accounts centered on the establishment of the Christian Church.
The Boy and the Sunday School: A Manual of Principle and Method for the Work of the Sunday School with Teen Age Boys
John L. Alexander
A guide for the early twentieth-century church, this manual maps a systematic, organizational approach to retaining adolescent boys within the Sunday school. It shifts focus from blaming boys for "dropping out" to reforming the leadership and structure meant to serve them.
The Brothers-In-Law: A Tale of the Equatorial Islands
Louis Becke
The Pacific islands of the late nineteenth century form a volatile frontier where the reach of law is thin and the influence of individual traders is absolute. Two tales of colonial life, vengeance, and the harsh justice of the atolls illustrate the moral decay and sudden violence inherent in this isolated world.
The Campaign Round Liège
J. M. (John McFarland) Kennedy
This urgent account of the early days of the Great War captures the shock of the German invasion of Belgium and the unexpected, fierce resistance that fundamentally reshaped the conflict.
The Campers Out
Edward Sylvester Ellis
Three unruly boys trade their schoolrooms for a life of crime and wilderness adventure, only to find that the hazards of the woods are far more unforgiving than the teachers they abandoned.
The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty (Thomas Jones, Esq.),: Commonly known as the Welsh Robin Hood
T. J. Llewelyn (Thomas Jeffery Llewelyn) Prichard
A mischievous, legendary Welsh trickster navigates poverty and social injustice, constantly outwitting the arrogant and powerful through his sharp wits and a series of relentless, hilarious practical jokes.
The Cottage of Delight: A Novel
Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben
A young man navigates the suffocating social hierarchies and moral dilemmas of a small Southern town, eventually finding his way to a new life in the city while tethered by the memory of a lost love.
The Cryptogram: A Story of Northwest Canada
William Murray Graydon
In the rugged Canadian wilderness, a young employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company must outwit a ruthless rival and protect the woman he loves, all while uncovering a long-hidden family secret.
The Day of Wrath: A Story of 1914
Louis Tracy
Caught in the sudden, violent onset of the First World War, two strangers must traverse a crumbling Belgium to survive the German invasion and find their way home.
The Foolish Almanak for Anuthur Year: The Furst Cinc the Introdukshun ov the Muk-rake in Magazeen Gardning, and the Speling Reform ov Owr Langwij by Theodor Rosyfelt
Various
HOOK This satirical almanac delivers a cynical, sharp-witted snapshot of American life in 1906, mocking everything from political scandals and social trends to the very language used to describe them.