myebooksbuy
My Books

The whole shelf

All free summaries — page 495

32,123 public-domain books, summarised. Page 495 of 670.

Cover of Reminiscences of Queensland, 1862-1869

Reminiscences of Queensland, 1862-1869

William Henry Corfield

A young Englishman abandons the predictability of home for the rugged, unknown horizons of Queensland, helping to forge a new society in the harsh Australian interior.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Salome

Salome

Emma Marshall

The story of a young girl navigating the sudden collapse of her family’s fortunes, this narrative explores the quiet weight of domestic responsibility and the enduring influence of a steadfast heart.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Sermons on Evil-Speaking

Sermons on Evil-Speaking

Isaac Barrow

The tongue is a small instrument that wields the power to either build or destroy, requiring the constant, disciplined vigilance of a thoughtful mind to avoid the ruinous pitfalls of malice and profanity.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Speciation of the Wandering Shrew

Speciation of the Wandering Shrew

James S. (James Smith) Findley

This monograph examines the intricate biological relationships and evolutionary history of a group of North American shrews. It provides a meticulous taxonomic revision of the Sorex vagrans species complex, detailing how environmental shifts have shaped their current distribution.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of Stories of the Ships

Stories of the Ships

Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman

The vast, churning machinery of the Great War’s naval theater comes alive through the lived experiences of the men who manned the British Grand Fleet. This collection of firsthand accounts captures the grit, boredom, and sudden, violent intensity of life at sea between 1914 and 1918.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Studies in the Theory of Descent (Volumes 1 and 2)

Studies in the Theory of Descent (Volumes 1 and 2)

August Weismann

A delicate caterpillar startles a hungry bird by swelling its body to reveal sudden, terrifying eye-spots. Through such vivid natural wonders, August Weismann builds a rigorous argument for how physical traits evolve through environmental pressure.

Science - Biology8 min read
Cover of Synopsis of Some Genera of the Large Pyrenomycetes: Camillea, Thamnomyces, Engleromyces

Synopsis of Some Genera of the Large Pyrenomycetes: Camillea, Thamnomyces, Engleromyces

C. G. (Curtis Gates) Lloyd

This technical monograph provides a systematic, illustrated survey of obscure tropical fungi, offering a pragmatic approach to the identification of Camillea, Thamnomyces, and Engleromyces amidst a tangled history of botanical naming.

Science - Biology5 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Prickly Porky

The Adventures of Prickly Porky

Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

A misunderstood stranger from the North turns the social order of the Green Forest upside down when his peculiar habit of rolling downhill is mistaken for a terrifying, supernatural creature.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics

Various

This November 1866 installment of a prominent American literary magazine serves as a vibrant, multifaceted time capsule, capturing the intellectual pulse of the post-Civil War era through fiction, historical commentary, and sharp political analysis.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Autobiography of a Cornish Smuggler: (Captain Harry Carter, of Prussia Cove) 1749-1809

The Autobiography of a Cornish Smuggler: (Captain Harry Carter, of Prussia Cove) 1749-1809

Harry Carter

A life forged in the lawless shadows of the Cornish coast gives way to an unexpected spiritual awakening, transforming a notorious smuggler into a man of quiet, enduring faith.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Bay State Monthly

The Bay State Monthly

Various

This collection of historical sketches and chronicles documents the civic, religious, and personal development of Massachusetts communities. Through detailed portraits of prominent figures and municipal milestones, it preserves the cultural lineage of New England.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Bird in the Box

The Bird in the Box

Mary M. (Mary Martha) Mears

A soul’s quest for liberation through the fires of love and the discipline of labor unfolds against a backdrop of mist-shrouded coasts and the industrial pulse of the city.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The bracelets

The bracelets

Maria Edgeworth

Success in competition often masks deeper character flaws, and true nobility is found not in victory, but in the quiet consistency of a virtuous heart.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Broken Cup

The Broken Cup

Heinrich Zschokke

This pastoral comedy captures the charm and absurdity of small-town life, where a simple misunderstanding over a porcelain cup blossoms into a life-changing romance. It is a lighthearted, rhythmic tale of rural gossip, petty corruption, and the quiet endurance of love.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Californians

The Californians

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

Caught between the fading traditions of old California and the rigid, cold expectations of the American elite, a young woman struggles to define her identity in a world that demands her silence.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The campfire girls of Roselawn

The campfire girls of Roselawn

Margaret Penrose

Two spirited friends embrace the dawn of radio technology while unraveling a kidnapping mystery, proving that modern curiosity and old-fashioned courage make for a transformative summer adventure.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Case for India

The Case for India

Annie Besant

A vision of self-governance emerges from the heart of a colonial crisis, challenging the morality of foreign rule while demanding a seat at the table of free nations. This account captures a pivotal moment when the tide of history turned against imperial bureaucracy.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The challenge of the dead

The challenge of the dead

Stephen Graham

A former soldier retraces his steps across the scarred Western Front two years after the Armistice, seeking meaning among silent battlefields, ruined towns, and fresh wooden crosses.

History - Modern (1750+)7 min read
Cover of The Chimney-Corner

The Chimney-Corner

Harriet Beecher Stowe

The domestic sphere is not merely a stage for household management, but the vital laboratory where the character of a democratic nation is forged and tested.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The city of the discreet

The city of the discreet

Pío Baroja

HOOK A young man, armed with intellect and cynicism, attempts to navigate the labyrinthine social codes of Córdoba, only to find his carefully constructed defenses undone by the simplicity of a woman’s heart.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Dust of Conflict

The Dust of Conflict

Harold Bindloss

A modest young Englishman, falsely accused of a fatal crime, seeks a fresh start in the crucible of nineteenth-century Cuba.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Empire Makers: A Romance of Adventure and War in South Africa

The Empire Makers: A Romance of Adventure and War in South Africa

Hume Nesbit

A spirited, unyielding pro-imperial sentiment drives three young Englishmen across the South African veldt into high-stakes political intrigue, prison, lost ancient cities, and the front lines of the Anglo-Boer War.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Eyes Have It

The Eyes Have It

Randall Garrett

In an alternate history where magic replaced physical science, a high-stakes murder investigation reveals the dark secrets hidden within a noble house.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The Frost Spirit, and other poems: Part 1 From Volume II of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier

The Frost Spirit, and other poems: Part 1 From Volume II of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier

The shifting seasons of New England—from the "Frost Spirit" of winter to the "resurrection" of spring—serve as the lyrical landscape for these meditations on faith, nature, and the endurance of the human heart.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Grandchildren of the Ghetto

The Grandchildren of the Ghetto

Israel Zangwill

The children of immigrants navigate the friction between ancestral tradition and the pull of the modern world, searching for a place to belong in the shifting landscape of London’s Jewish quarters.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Harbor of Doubt

The Harbor of Doubt

Francis William Sullivan

The sea demands everything from those who live by it, and for one young captain, the price of survival is a reputation shattered by treachery and a struggle to reclaim his honor.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The humour of Holland

The humour of Holland

Alice Werner

Dutch wit reveals itself not in singular, explosive guises, but through a steady, observant irony that delights in the small discrepancies of life. It is a collection of cultural character studies, gathered to bridge the distance between the English-speaking reader and the Dutch literary spirit.

Humour6 min read
Cover of The Indian Princess

The Indian Princess

James Nelson Barker

A dramatic retelling of the Pocahontas legend, this play reimagines early colonial Virginia as a stage for romantic longing, political treachery, and the idealistic vision of a new American civilization.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The island of the stairs

The island of the stairs

Cyrus Townsend Brady

A sudden death, a split map, and a desperate run across the Pacific make for a classic tale of high-seas survival.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The King's Achievement

The King's Achievement

Robert Hugh Benson

Two brothers navigate the violent religious upheavals of Henry VIII’s reign, with one finding sanctity in the monastery and the other becoming an instrument of the King’s ruthless dissolution of the Church.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 3, September 1837

The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 3, September 1837

Various

This volume presents a curated miscellany of nineteenth-century intellectual life, offering readers a window into the varied tastes, literary preoccupations, and cultural anxieties of the 1830s through essays, travel sketches, and critical reviews.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of The mule-bone

The mule-bone

Zora Neale Hurston

Two friends, a guitarist and a dancer, find their lifelong bond tested by a town’s pettiness and their own pursuit of the same woman. This play captures the rhythm and sharp-tongued humor of a Florida community as it navigates love, ego, and the social pressures of a small town.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The mutual influence of Christianity and the Stoic school

The mutual influence of Christianity and the Stoic school

James Henry Bryant

This scholarly examination traces the intricate historical and philosophical dialogue between the rigid self-reliance of the Stoic school and the transformative message of early Christianity. It illuminates how two disparate worldviews intersected, influenced one another, and ultimately defined the ethical contours…

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of The Pennyles Pilgrimage: Or The Money-lesse Perambulation of John Taylor

The Pennyles Pilgrimage: Or The Money-lesse Perambulation of John Taylor

John Taylor

A man sets out on foot from London to Edinburgh with no money, refusing to beg or borrow, relying entirely on the hospitality and serendipity of the road. His journey becomes a candid, rugged record of early seventeenth-century life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Phantom Regiment

The Phantom Regiment

James Grant

A young British officer navigates the treacherous, sun-drenched landscapes of 19th-century Spain, caught between diplomatic duty, lethal local vendettas, and the haunting, supernatural echoes of the military past.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The phantoms of the foot-bridge: 1895

The phantoms of the foot-bridge: 1895

Charles Egbert Craddock

The phantoms of the foot-bridge: 1895 is a haunting, atmospheric exploration of guilt, class, and the lingering echoes of the past. It follows an haunted, fleeing stranger and his encounter with a mountain family, where ghosts are as real as the landscape itself.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Real Diary of a Real Boy

The Real Diary of a Real Boy

Henry A. (Henry Augustus) Shute

A salt-box in a dusty shed-chamber yields a long-forgotten copybook, revealing the unvarnished, daily record of a boy’s life in a late 19th-century New England town.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The red laugh: fragments of a discovered manuscript

The red laugh: fragments of a discovered manuscript

Leonid Andreyev

The experience of war is not a heroic march but a descent into a collective, inescapable hallucination. This haunting narrative maps the disintegration of human reason under the pressure of industrial-scale slaughter.

History - Warfare5 min read
Cover of The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North

The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North

James Baldwin

A legendary smith and an immortal minstrel embark on a perilous quest to reclaim a magical mill capable of grinding infinite wealth for their starving people.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Sky Pilot: A Tale of the Foothills

The Sky Pilot: A Tale of the Foothills

Ralph Connor

A young missionary arrives in a rugged Canadian wilderness, seeking to win the souls of disillusioned men through the power of friendship and faith. This story of moral transformation follows a dedicated man who finds his greatest purpose in a place that initially rejects him.

Novels7 min read
Cover of The Stillwater Tragedy

The Stillwater Tragedy

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

The quiet industrial village of Stillwater becomes the site of a grim mystery when a wealthy recluse is murdered, casting a long shadow over the lives of its inhabitants. This atmospheric work blends the slow, rhythmic life of a New England town with the mounting tensions of labor unrest and a shifting criminal…

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The tale of the the Muley Cow

The tale of the the Muley Cow

Arthur Scott Bailey

HOOK A gentle, curious cow navigates the complexities of farm life and the pressures of change, all while forming an unlikely, affectionate bond with her young owner.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of The Tiger Hunter

The Tiger Hunter

Mayne Reid

A sweeping tale of war, vengeance, and the desperate search for legendary gold, set against the backdrop of the Mexican struggle for independence.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Untilled Field

The Untilled Field

George Moore

A haunting portrait of a society in flux, this collection of stories captures the quiet desperation and inevitable departure of those caught in the fading light of rural Ireland.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The virgin of the sun

The virgin of the sun

George Chetwynd Griffith

A dramatic historical reimagining of the fall of the Inca Empire, this narrative follows the collision between a doomed, sun-worshipping civilization and the desperate, gold-hungry conquistadors who arrive to dismantle it.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune

Mahatma Gandhi

A simple wooden wheel is the engine of a nation’s liberation. By reclaiming the ancient craft of spinning, millions may find their way to self-reliance and dignity.

History - Modern (1750+)5 min read
Cover of The Wishing Horse of Oz

The Wishing Horse of Oz

Ruth Plumly Thompson

When the ruler of a neglected kingdom discovers a set of enchanted necklaces, he usurps the throne of Oz, triggering a desperate race to restore the rightful queen and save the realm from his bumbling rule.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The World English Bible (WEB): Luke

The World English Bible (WEB): Luke

Anonymous

This account chronicles the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, framed as a formal investigation into the origins of a transformative faith. It remains a foundational text of Western civilization, studied as much for its literary structure as for its theological claims.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Advertisement