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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 493 of 988.

Cover of Garman and Worse: A Norwegian Novel

Garman and Worse: A Norwegian Novel

Alexander Lange Kielland

A coastal town’s rigid hierarchy fractures under the weight of social hypocrisy and stifled ambition. This narrative examines the price of conformity in a society where duty and reputation define a person’s worth.

Novels7 min read
Cover of General Crook and the Fighting Apaches: Treating Also of the Part Borne by Jimmie Dunn in the days, 1871-1886, When With Soldiers and Pack-trains and Indian Scouts, but Employing the Stronger Weapons of Kindness, Firmness and Honesty, the Gray Fox Worked Hard to the End That the White Men and the Red Men in the Southwest as in the Northwest Might Better Understand One Another

General Crook and the Fighting Apaches: Treating Also of the Part Borne by Jimmie Dunn in the days, 1871-1886, When With Soldiers and Pack-trains and Indian Scouts, but Employing the Stronger Weapons of Kindness, Firmness and Honesty, the Gray Fox Worked Hard to the End That the White Men and the Red Men in the Southwest as in the Northwest Might Better Understand One Another

Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) Sabin

This account follows the long, grueling campaign to bring peace to the American Southwest, centered on the efforts of a soldier known as the "Gray Fox." It is a rugged, character-driven chronicle of the Apache Wars that captures the persistent tension between military duty and the human desire for understanding.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Harriet and the Piper

Harriet and the Piper

Kathleen Thompson Norris

The shadow of a past secret haunts a woman finding her place in a wealthy household, where love and social duty collide in a high-stakes game of reputation.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Harry Milvaine

Harry Milvaine

Gordon Stables

This tale of a restless youth’s global odyssey balances the quiet beauty of a Scottish childhood against the stark, perilous realities of survival in foreign lands. It is a classic bildungsroman that charts the transformation of a dreamy, adventurous boy into a man of duty and courage.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Hey Rub-a-dub-dub: A Book of the Mystery and Wonder and Terror of Life

Hey Rub-a-dub-dub: A Book of the Mystery and Wonder and Terror of Life

Theodore Dreiser

This collection of essays and dramatic sketches serves as a stark, uncompromising autopsy of the American soul at the dawn of the twentieth century. It peels back the thin veneer of national progress to reveal a chaotic, indifferent universe where traditional morality is less a guiding star than a fragile,…

American Literature7 min read
Cover of His Own People

His Own People

Booth Tarkington

A naive American traveler finds his romanticized dreams of European high society shattered by a group of sophisticated swindlers. This cautionary tale exposes the painful gap between a young man’s aspirational fantasies and the gritty reality of his own vulnerability.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Jethou

Jethou

Ernest R. (Ernest Richard) Suffling

A young man secures his father’s reluctant permission to live as a solitary castaway on a Channel Island, only to discover that self-imposed exile offers more adventure—and mystery—than he ever anticipated.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor

Elbert Hubbard

A young immigrant arrives in America with little more than a set of German flutes, only to build a vast fortune through an uncanny ability to anticipate the growth of a continent.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Julius LeVallon: An Episode

Julius LeVallon: An Episode

Algernon Blackwood

This narrative explores the haunting, metaphysical tether between three souls across eons, tracing their desperate attempt to rectify an ancient, cosmic transgression through the ritual of reincarnation. It is a work of atmospheric suspense and philosophical inquiry, lingering in the liminal spaces where individual…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Katerfelto: A Story of Exmoor

Katerfelto: A Story of Exmoor

G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville

This is a story of wild landscapes and human obsession, set against the unforgiving terrain of Exmoor. It captures the tension between the freedom of the open moor and the encroaching reach of the law.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Kernel Cob And Little Miss Sweetclover

Kernel Cob And Little Miss Sweetclover

George Mitchell

When two neglected children craft dolls from garden flowers, their creations embark on a global odyssey to reunite the siblings with their long-lost parents.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Kings, Queens and Pawns: An American Woman at the Front

Kings, Queens and Pawns: An American Woman at the Front

Mary Roberts Rinehart

An American observer traverses the muddy, blood-soaked reality of the early Great War, moving from the polished parades of London to the shattered, desperate front lines of Belgium.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Legends: Autobiographical Sketches

Legends: Autobiographical Sketches

August Strindberg

This haunting account of a mind fracturing under the weight of its own isolation captures the terrifying boundary where personal history dissolves into supernatural obsession. It stands as a visceral testament to a psyche desperate for meaning in a godless universe.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Letters to Helen: Impressions of an Artist on the Western Front

Letters to Helen: Impressions of an Artist on the Western Front

Keith Henderson

This collection of correspondence offers a quiet, unvarnished look at the First World War through the eyes of an artist tasked with mapping the terrain of the Western Front. It captures the tension between the mundane routines of military life and the catastrophic reality of the trenches.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Life of Thomas à Becket

Life of Thomas à Becket

Henry Hart Milman

The dramatic clash between a king and his former friend, who transforms from a worldly chancellor into a defiant martyr, remains one of the most compelling chapters in English history.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 100, April, 1876

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 100, April, 1876

Various

This volume offers a vibrant, kaleidoscopic snapshot of 1876, capturing the late Victorian imagination through a blend of technical reporting, travel narrative, and serialized fiction. It serves as a fascinating time capsule of a world obsessed with progress, propriety, and the exploration of distant cultures.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Memoir of Queen Adelaide, Consort of King William IV

Memoir of Queen Adelaide, Consort of King William IV

Dr. (John) Doran

A quiet, steady life of duty unfolds within these pages, revealing a woman who navigated the tumultuous storms of British reform and royal expectation with unyielding grace and private kindness.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Memoirs of a griffin

Memoirs of a griffin

Francis John Bellew

This vivid, semi-autobiographical account captures the disorienting, often absurd transition of a young, naive British officer arriving in colonial India during the early nineteenth century. It serves as an intimate, unfiltered window into a bygone era of military life.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Monopolies and the People

Monopolies and the People

D. C. Cloud

The unchecked power of concentrated wealth threatens the foundational promise of republican self-governance. Citizens must reclaim their sovereignty from the pervasive influence of corporate monopolies and restore the supremacy of the law.

Economics8 min read
Cover of More About Teddy B. and Teddy G., the Roosevelt Bears: Being Volume Two Depicting Their Further Travels and Adventures

More About Teddy B. and Teddy G., the Roosevelt Bears: Being Volume Two Depicting Their Further Travels and Adventures

Seymour Eaton

The Roosevelt Bears are two adventurous creatures from the mountains of Colorado who travel across the United States, delighting children and creating gentle mischief wherever they go. They prove that even bears can be humanized, spreading joy and curiosity in equal measure.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Mr. Punch in Society: Being the Humours of Social Life

Mr. Punch in Society: Being the Humours of Social Life

Unknown

This collection serves as a witty, biting mirror to the social anxieties and absurd rituals of the British upper class at the turn of the century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Mrs. Leary's Cow: A Legend of Chicago

Mrs. Leary's Cow: A Legend of Chicago

C. C. (Charles Cole) Hine

A satirical retelling of the Great Chicago Fire, this work uses a legendary bovine scapegoat to lampoon the panicked financial fallout and bureaucratic hypocrisy that followed the city’s destruction.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Native Son

Native Son

T. D. Hamm

A young Martian colonist struggles to adjust to life on Earth, where his physical differences and acute senses make him feel like a freak. His isolation culminates in a tragic misunderstanding of the technology surrounding him.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Notes and Queries, Number 84, June 7, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Notes and Queries, Number 84, June 7, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Various

This weekly chronicle serves as a nineteenth-century clearinghouse for the curious, where Victorian scholars and laymen trade obscure facts, solve etymological riddles, and document the vanishing history of their age.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Old Court Life in Spain, vol. 1/2

Old Court Life in Spain, vol. 1/2

Frances Minto Dickinson Elliot

This narrative tapestry weaves together the dramatic, often violent, history of medieval Spain from the Visigothic collapse to the rise of the great Christian kingdoms. It is a chronicle of shifting loyalties, where the lines between hero and traitor blur under the pressure of war and personal vendetta.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Old Lady Mary: A Story of the Seen and the Unseen

Old Lady Mary: A Story of the Seen and the Unseen

Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

The tragedy of an unfinished life is not the dying itself, but the silence that follows. This haunting narrative explores the desperate, ghostly effort to reach back across the veil and correct a final, irreparable mistake.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Orphans of the Storm

Orphans of the Storm

Henry MacMahon

Two innocent sisters are cruelly separated by the machinations of the French aristocracy, only to be swept into the violent currents of a revolution that threatens to claim their lives. This is a dramatic tale of devotion, betrayal, and the desperate struggle for survival against the backdrop of the Terror.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Peggy Parsons, a Hampton Freshman

Peggy Parsons, a Hampton Freshman

Annabel Sharp

Hook A spirited freshman navigates the joys, social pressures, and hidden anxieties of her first year at college, discovering that true belonging is found not in status, but in unwavering friendship.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of Phantom Wires: A Novel

Phantom Wires: A Novel

Arthur Stringer

A master of the wire-tap and the locked room finds his greatest challenge in the dangerous, shifting intimacy of his own marriage. This is a story of two people bound by illicit skills and the desperate, recurring hope that they might finally leave their past behind.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, August 1, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, August 1, 1891

Various

This collection of late-Victorian satire captures the nervous, witty, and deeply political temperament of 1891 London. It offers a fractured mirror of an empire obsessed with its own prestige, its parliamentary theater, and the absurdities of its global influence.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Religious Poems, Selected

Religious Poems, Selected

Various

These verses offer a quiet space for reflection, gathering timeless meditations on faith, sorrow, and the promise of peace. They remain a steady companion for anyone seeking solace in poetic form.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton

Alice Crary Sutcliffe

An ambitious Pennsylvania farm boy spends his youth painting portraits and designing mechanical draftings, eventually crossing the Atlantic to reshape global commerce and military strategy through the power of steam and underwater navigation.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Roger Kyffin's Ward

Roger Kyffin's Ward

William Henry Giles Kingston

A young man of high character finds his life and reputation imperiled by a web of greed and political instability during the turbulent years of the late eighteenth century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Romantic Canada

Romantic Canada

Victoria Hayward

A vivid, sprawling portrait of a nation in transition, this narrative captures the rhythms of rural life and the diverse communities that define the Canadian landscape in the early twentieth century.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Sandy

Sandy

Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice

This orphan of the Irish docks finds his true home not in a land, but in the steadfastness of his own heart. A story of rugged optimism, it follows a young man’s journey from penniless stowaway to an American success story, fueled by a singular, unshakeable capacity for love.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Scaffolding

Scaffolding

A. G. H. Thatcher

This technical manual transforms the unseen, hazardous skeleton of urban development into a disciplined, engineered science. It serves as an essential guide for those tasked with the structural survival of both buildings and the men who raise them.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX.—No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878

Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX.—No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878

Various

This weekly journal captures the restless ambition of the Gilded Age, mapping a world where scientific curiosity, industrial invention, and commercial enterprise collide in every column. It serves as both a chronicle of rapid progress and a manual for the aspiring modern inventor.

Art6 min read
Cover of Scientific Studies

Scientific Studies

Henry Dircks

History serves as a vast laboratory where the boundaries between genuine mechanical genius and the persistence of delusion are tested through the lives and follies of the past.

History - Modern (1750+)7 min read
Cover of Short Cruises

Short Cruises

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

These tales of working-class life in turn-of-the-century England capture the quiet desperation and sharp-witted mischief of men and women navigating the small, often ridiculous crises of their daily routines.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: A Practical Exposition

St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: A Practical Exposition

Charles Gore

This guide offers a clear, accessible path through the Epistle to the Ephesians, framing the ancient letter as a timeless blueprint for human community and personal moral renewal. It serves as both a scholarly bridge and a practical manual for the modern believer.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of Stories of Animal Sagacity

Stories of Animal Sagacity

William Henry Giles Kingston

This collection presents a series of anecdotal observations intended to demonstrate that animals possess both the capacity for complex reasoning and a profound emotional life. It argues that creatures, far from being driven solely by instinct, exhibit qualities of loyalty, courage, and sympathy that mirror those of…

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Strangers and Wayfarers

Strangers and Wayfarers

Sarah Orne Jewett

The lives of rural New Englanders—often overlooked, aging, and burdened by the quiet weight of the past—find their dignity and grace in these compassionate, observant vignettes.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Ten Nights in a Bar Room

Ten Nights in a Bar Room

T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

A traveler arrives at a pristine village tavern, only to witness the quiet, systematic unraveling of a community seduced by drink. This stark narrative traces the path from initial prosperity to total moral and domestic ruin.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The 116th Battalion in France

The 116th Battalion in France

E. P. S. (Evelyn Prestwood Seymour) Allen

This regimental history chronicles the frontline experiences of a Canadian infantry unit, capturing the transition of raw recruits into seasoned veterans through the brutal, transformative years of the First World War. It serves as a direct, unadorned account of the tactical realities and shared camaraderie of the…

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of The Adventurers

The Adventurers

Gustave Aimard

The life of a gentleman adventurer is a high-stakes gamble against fate, where one’s only true currency is courage and a loyal friend. This sweeping tale of nineteenth-century South America follows the volatile intersection of political intrigue, personal obsession, and the rugged, unmapped vastness of the frontier.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Aldine, Vol. 5, No. 1., January, 1872: A Typographic Art Journal

The Aldine, Vol. 5, No. 1., January, 1872: A Typographic Art Journal

Various

This collection serves as a vibrant cultural window into the Gilded Age, blending rigorous artistic criticism with imaginative storytelling and observational essays. It captures the intellectual pulse of 1872 through a distinctly American lens.

Art6 min read
Cover of The apiary

The apiary

Alfred Neighbor

This practical guide offers an intimate look into the world of Victorian apiary, detailing the precise methods required to cultivate bees with both scientific rigor and humane consideration. It serves as a comprehensive manual for the nineteenth-century enthusiast, blending technical instruction with a profound…

How To ...6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 52, February, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 52, February, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

Various

The national pulse of a country at war beats through these pages, capturing the urgency, artistic ambition, and moral fervor of a defining moment in American history.

American Literature6 min read