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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 538 of 988.

Cover of Sister Gertrude: A Tale of the West Riding

Sister Gertrude: A Tale of the West Riding

D. F. E. Sykes

This is a candid, semi-autobiographical chronicle of a fall and eventual redemption, rooted in the rugged industrial landscapes and social hierarchies of late 19th-century Yorkshire.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Squinty the Comical Pig: His Many Adventures

Squinty the Comical Pig: His Many Adventures

Richard Barnum

Squinty is a pig with a distinctive, permanently squinting eye and a penchant for exploration. He discovers that the world outside his pen is full of wonder, danger, and unexpected aerial transport.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Starvecrow Farm

Starvecrow Farm

Stanley John Weyman

In the wake of Waterloo, a young woman’s impulsive elopement descends into a desperate nightmare of crime and kidnapping. She finds herself trapped in a remote farmhouse, fighting for survival against those who would use her as a pawn.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of State of the Union Addresses

State of the Union Addresses

William McKinley

These annual reports document a pivotal transformation in American life, tracing the nation’s rapid transition from an inward-looking republic to a global power at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Stories of Romance

Stories of Romance

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

This collection gathers five distinct narratives that explore the intensity of human desire, the pull of the mysterious, and the fragility of romantic bonds. It captures the atmosphere of nineteenth-century storytelling, where the stakes of the heart are often measured against life-or-death circumstances.

Romance6 min read
Cover of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea

Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea

George Manville Fenn

A young boy resists his family’s naval legacy, only to discover that his true calling—and his survival—depends on the very skills he once sought to avoid.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Adventurers of England on Hudson Bay: A Chronicle of the Fur Trade in the North

The Adventurers of England on Hudson Bay: A Chronicle of the Fur Trade in the North

Agnes C. Laut

The quest for the North-West Passage inadvertently birthed a vast, rugged empire defined by the relentless pursuit of beaver pelts. This chronicle traces the rise of the Hudson’s Bay Company as it transformed from a speculative venture into a dominant, often ruthless, feudal power in the North.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The art of glass-blowing

The art of glass-blowing

T.-P. Danger

Mastering the art of shaped glass requires only patience, a steady flame, and an understanding of physical principles.

Engineering & Technology5 min read
Cover of The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

Various

This volume captures the intellectual and political pulse of 1863, blending immediate commentary on the American Civil War with literary essays, travel sketches, and historical inquiries. It serves as a vivid time capsule of mid-nineteenth-century thought.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919

The Bellman Book of Fiction, 1906-1919

Unknown

This collection serves as a preserved window into the sensibilities of an era, gathering diverse voices from the pages of a defunct but once-beloved literary magazine. It offers a mosaic of human experience, ranging from the domestic struggles of the impoverished to the stark realities of maritime life and the…

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of The book of topiary

The book of topiary

Charles H. Curtis

The art of topiary is a testament to the human desire to impose order and imagination upon the natural world, transforming living foliage into enduring, sculptural forms.

Art6 min read
Cover of The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

The Boy Fortune Hunters in China

L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum

A group of young adventurers travels into the heart of a remote Chinese province to fulfill a dying prince's final wish, only to become entangled in a lethal struggle for ancient, hidden wealth.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Chautauquan, Vol. 03, January 1883: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Promotion of True Culture

The Chautauquan, Vol. 03, January 1883: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Promotion of True Culture

Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle

This document serves as a window into the late 19th-century American commitment to self-improvement, offering a structured curriculum of history, literature, theology, and science designed to cultivate the mind and elevate the spirit.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Child Wife

The Child Wife

Mayne Reid

This romantic adventure follows an American soldier’s pursuit of love and political freedom across two continents, ending in the quiet sanctuary of a hard-won marriage.

Novels5 min read
Cover of The Common Objects of the Country

The Common Objects of the Country

J. G. (John George) Wood

The natural world is not a distant spectacle but a vibrant, living neighbor, waiting to be understood by anyone who takes the time to truly look.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of The fate of Fenella

The fate of Fenella

Unknown

An estranged couple’s volatile past ignites a trail of jealousy, suspicion, and near-fatal misadventures spanning the Atlantic, leaving their fragile reconciliation dangling by a thread.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Five Nations, Volume I

The Five Nations, Volume I

Rudyard Kipling

The world is a vast, dangerous, and exhilarating stage where the strength of human character is measured against the indifference of nature and the heavy weight of duty. This collection of verse captures the pulse of an expanding global empire at the turn of the twentieth century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Geological History of Fossil Butte National Monument and Fossil Basin

The Geological History of Fossil Butte National Monument and Fossil Basin

Paul O. (Paul Orman) McGrew

Fifty million years ago, a subtropical lake system covered southwestern Wyoming, creating a fossil-rich landscape that reveals the dramatic transformation of the American West.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of The Golden Rock

The Golden Rock

Ernest Glanville

The legacy of an old hunter leads two companions into the heart of Africa, where they confront shifting loyalties, tribal warfare, and the heavy toll of obsession.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Guns of Europe

The Guns of Europe

Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler

The outbreak of the First World War signals the end of an era, forcing a young man into a sudden, perilous transition from a spectator of history to a participant in its most violent chapter.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Jumble Book of Rhymes: Recited by the Jumbler

The Jumble Book of Rhymes: Recited by the Jumbler

Frank R. Heine

This collection of lighthearted, occasional verse captures the spirit of a man navigating the joys and absurdities of early 20th-century American life. It is an unpretentious, conversational work that treats its own lack of high-mindedness as its primary virtue.

Humour6 min read
Cover of The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, February 1844: Volume 23, Number 2

The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, February 1844: Volume 23, Number 2

Various

This volume is a vibrant, eclectic mosaic of 1840s American intellectual life, capturing the era’s restless curiosity through travelogues, literary criticism, and sharp social commentary. It offers a rare, immersive window into the preoccupations of the antebellum public.

Journals6 min read
Cover of The Lake

The Lake

George Moore

A restless Irish priest grapples with the suffocating silence of his vocation, eventually finding that the only way to save his soul is to abandon the life he spent decades building.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV: Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns

The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV: Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns

Pöllnitz, Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von

A restless nobleman wanders across early eighteenth-century Europe, documenting the shifting alliances of kings and the hidden lives of cities in a series of candid, observant letters.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 579, December 8, 1832

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 579, December 8, 1832

Various

This collection offers a vibrant, eclectic window into the nineteenth-century world, blending historical reflection, travel discovery, and high-seas adventure into a singular, kaleidoscopic portrait of a vanished era.

Art7 min read
Cover of The Motor Boys in the Clouds

The Motor Boys in the Clouds

Clarence Young

Three inseparable friends trade their motorcars and boats for a daring flight into the clouds, encountering mechanical peril, hostile rivals, and the unpredictable mysteries of the early age of aviation.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Pansy Magazine, April 1886

The Pansy Magazine, April 1886

Various

This collection of short stories, educational sketches, and correspondence captures the moral instruction and domestic life of Victorian-era American youth. It functions as both a literary miscellany and a cultural mirror of 1880s Sunday school pedagogy.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Servant Problem

The Servant Problem

Robert F. Young

A small-town real estate appraiser discovers that a quiet, abandoned village has become a literal gateway to a distant alien utopia.

Novels5 min read
Cover of The Sherrods

The Sherrods

George Barr McCutcheon

A gifted country boy leaves his childhood sweetheart for the city, only to find himself trapped in a web of deceit, bigamy, and the crushing weight of two competing lives.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America

The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America

Nathaniel Ward

A self-appointed cobbler from the American wilderness attempts to mend his fractured native country, offering sharp, stinging advice on religious purity, political stability, and the vanity of fashion.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Story of Joan of Arc the Witch-Saint

The Story of Joan of Arc the Witch-Saint

M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch) Mangasarian

A martyr to dogma, a girl of nineteen, and the shifting tides of historical memory form the center of this piercing examination of institutional power.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Sun of Quebec: A Story of a Great Crisis

The Sun of Quebec: A Story of a Great Crisis

Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler

A young man of mysterious origins navigates the final, decisive struggle for North America, caught between colonial loyalties and the shifting tides of the French and Indian War.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American Revolution

The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American Revolution

Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair) Abrams

This somber narrative serves as a moral plea from the heart of the Confederacy, illustrating the tragic plight of those left behind when the machinery of war strips away all security and support.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Verse-Book of a Homely Woman

The Verse-Book of a Homely Woman

Fay Inchfawn

This collection of verses serves as a quiet, rhythmic companion for anyone navigating the relentless, repetitive labor of domestic life. It offers a gentle mirror to the housewife, validating the sanctity found within the smallest, most taxing chores.

Poetry7 min read
Cover of The Voice of the Machines: An Introduction to the Twentieth Century

The Voice of the Machines: An Introduction to the Twentieth Century

Gerald Stanley Lee

Can a machine age possess a soul? This inquiry serves as the heartbeat of a meditation on the twentieth century, bridging the gap between cold steel and the human spirit.

Engineering & Technology7 min read
Cover of The Voodoo Gold Trail

The Voodoo Gold Trail

Walter Walden

The search for a lost gold mine leads a group of young men into the heart of a perilous island, where they must outwit a ruthless criminal and his voodoo-practicing allies. It is a tale of calculated risks and narrow escapes that tests the bonds of brotherhood against the allure of wealth.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale

William Shakespeare

A king’s groundless jealousy shatters his family, leading to a long, redemptive journey through loss and winter before grace can be restored.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Young Castellan: A Tale of the English Civil War

The Young Castellan: A Tale of the English Civil War

George Manville Fenn

The fate of a historic castle rests in the hands of a boy, whose desperate preparations to defend his home against an encroaching civil war reveal the true cost of loyalty.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Young Cavalier: A Story of the Civil Wars

The Young Cavalier: A Story of the Civil Wars

Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

A young Royalist escapes the wreckage of his family’s ancestral home, joining a desperate band of loyalists to navigate the perilous, shifting tides of the English Civil War.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Theodor Leschetizky

Theodor Leschetizky

Annette Hullah

The keyboard becomes a gateway to the soul under the exacting, spirited guidance of a master who demands nothing less than total concentration from those who seek his tutelage.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Tommy Tregennis

Tommy Tregennis

Mary Elizabeth Phillips

The golden sands of a Cornish seaside town hold a world that is at once vast and fragile for a young boy discovering the limits of his own small life.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Vacation Camping for Girls

Vacation Camping for Girls

Jeannette Augustus Marks

This guide provides practical instruction for young women venturing into the wilderness, emphasizing self-reliance, physical health, and the mastery of outdoor living. It demystifies the complications of camp life through a blend of technical advice and character-building philosophy.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Why crime does not pay

Why crime does not pay

Sophie Lyons

A seasoned underworld veteran recounts a lifetime of high-stakes larceny, offering a gritty, unvarnished look at the inevitable failure of a criminal life.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of With the Indians in the Rockies

With the Indians in the Rockies

James Willard Schultz

A young boy’s journey into the wild becomes a profound test of endurance, friendship, and survival alongside a resilient Blackfeet companion. This memoir of the American frontier captures the raw, unforgiving beauty of the Rockies through the eyes of two youths forced to mature in the face of mortal danger.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Yule-Tide Yarns

Yule-Tide Yarns

Unknown

This anthology gathers high-stakes tales of duty, survival, and colonial adventure, offering a window into the late-Victorian appetite for grit and heroism in the face of the unknown.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of A Busy Year at the Old Squire's

A Busy Year at the Old Squire's

C. A. (Charles Asbury) Stephens

A chronicle of rural Maine life, this narrative captures the ingenuity, resilience, and quiet adventures of a nineteenth-century farming family through the changing seasons.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of A Century of Roundels

A Century of Roundels

Algernon Charles Swinburne

This collection of one hundred roundels serves as a delicate, rhythmic meditation on the cycles of life, the inevitability of death, and the persistent, healing power of music and memory. It is a work of formal precision, using the constraints of the roundel—a repeating, circular structure—to mirror the repetitive,…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Part 1

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Part 1

Mark Twain

A modern factory superintendent, knocked unconscious by a brutal blow, awakens to find himself transported back to the legendary, sword-swinging world of King Arthur’s sixth-century Camelot.

American Literature6 min read