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47,330 public-domain books, summarised. Page 608 of 987.

Cover of Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 103, October 18, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 103, October 18, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Various

This issue of a Victorian periodical functions as a bustling clearinghouse for historical curiosities, literary scholarship, and the obscure minutiae that fascinated the nineteenth-century intellectual amateur. It captures a specific moment when global information exchange relied on the patient, handwritten…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of On poetic interpretation of nature

On poetic interpretation of nature

John Campbell Shairp

This exploration examines how the human imagination bridges the gap between scientific fact and the emotional wonder we experience when observing the natural world.

Philosophy & Ethics7 min read
Cover of Out of a Labyrinth

Out of a Labyrinth

Lawrence L. Lynch

A seasoned operative arrives in the small town of Trafton to solve a series of baffling crimes, only to find that the heart of the conspiracy beats hidden in plain sight.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of Peter Parley's Visit to London, During the Coronation of Queen Victoria

Peter Parley's Visit to London, During the Coronation of Queen Victoria

Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich

The aging traveler Peter Parley ventures across the Atlantic to witness the 1838 coronation of Queen Victoria, bringing home tales of British pageantry and the youthful monarch’s character for his eager young American readers.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Plan of Chicago

Plan of Chicago

Commercial Club of Chicago

A grand vision for a modern metropolis, this document proposes a systematic, unified reorganization of Chicago to harmonize commerce, transportation, and public recreation for a rapidly expanding population.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Poems, &c. (1790): Wherein It Is Attempted To Describe Certain Views Of Nature And Of Rustic Manners

Poems, &c. (1790): Wherein It Is Attempted To Describe Certain Views Of Nature And Of Rustic Manners

Joanna Baillie

A keen observer of the natural world and the quiet struggles of the heart, these verses map the beauty of the English countryside and the profound, often tragic, interior lives of those who inhabit it.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Poems

Poems

George Crabbe

These verses peer into the rugged, often harsh reality of village life, stripping away romantic illusions to reveal the quiet struggles and distinct characters that define a rural community.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R. Smith

Poems: With a Sketch of the Life and Experience of Annie R. Smith

Rebekah Smith

The life of a young woman is defined by her unwavering devotion to a faith that promises deliverance from the sorrows of a fallen world. Her legacy remains preserved in these verses of hope and warning.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Pole Baker: A Novel

Pole Baker: A Novel

Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben

In small-town Georgia, a flawed but fiercely loyal mountaineer uses his sharp wit and unyielding devotion to navigate his neighbors through tangled romances, hidden family secrets, and local prejudice.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Reminiscences of the Cleveland Light Artillery

Reminiscences of the Cleveland Light Artillery

Anonymous

These pages document the evolution of a local militia into a pivotal artillery unit, capturing the transition from civic pride to the harsh, hungry realities of the American Civil War’s earliest campaigns.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Sammie and Susie Littletail

Sammie and Susie Littletail

Howard Roger Garis

The adventures of a rabbit family living in an underground burrow offer a gentle look at the small, domestic dramas of the animal world. These stories chronicle the daily lives of two young rabbits, Sammie and Susie, as they navigate the challenges of growing up in the woods near Orange Mountain.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Secret History

Secret History

Leonora Sansay

A woman chronicles her desperate flight from revolution-torn Saint-Domingue, navigating a landscape of colonial collapse, personal betrayal, and the fragile search for autonomy.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Sheilah McLeod: A Heroine of the Back Blocks

Sheilah McLeod: A Heroine of the Back Blocks

Guy Boothby

A man recounts his turbulent life in the Australian outback, centering on a woman whose unwavering loyalty saves him from disgrace and despair.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Shoulder to shoulder

Shoulder to shoulder

Gordon Stables

The life of a soldier is a tapestry of loyalties, etched in the blood and camaraderie of the battlefield. Spanning the Napoleonic era to the War of 1812, this narrative follows a young Highlander’s transition from a boy in the hills to a veteran of the British Empire.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of Sketch-Book of the North

Sketch-Book of the North

George Eyre-Todd

The spirit of Scotland is captured through a series of evocative vignettes, traversing ancient battlefields, quiet Highland glens, and bustling city streets to reveal a landscape rich in history and enduring natural beauty.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Technical School, Sioux Falls Army Air Field

Technical School, Sioux Falls Army Air Field

Northwestern Bell Telephone Company

This handbook offers an intimate, practical window into the daily infrastructure of a massive World War II military training site, serving as both a logistical guide and a cultural artifact of the American home front.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Tempest-Driven: A Romance (Vol. 1 of 3)

Tempest-Driven: A Romance (Vol. 1 of 3)

Richard Dowling

A tranquil London suburb becomes the stage for a chilling death, drawing an unsuspecting young man into a web of dark history, suspicion, and a woman’s fatal magnetism.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of That Affair at Elizabeth

That Affair at Elizabeth

Burton Egbert Stevenson

A bride vanishes on her wedding day, leaving behind a baffled groom and a mystery that spirals into a dark, unfolding tragedy. Secrets buried in a quiet town threaten to consume everyone involved in the search.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 3 (of 3)

The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, Volume 3 (of 3)

Alain René Le Sage

The final act of a picaresque life finds a weary courtier trading the hollow promises of power for the quiet, if occasionally mundane, stability of a country estate. This concluding volume traces the long, winding path from the heights of political vanity to the humble comforts of domesticity.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The avenger

The avenger

Edgar Wallace

HOOK A detective pursues a shadowy serial killer who claims victims with terrifying precision, leaving only their severed heads behind as a grim calling card.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Boy Pilot of the Lakes

The Boy Pilot of the Lakes

Frank V. Webster

A resourceful orphan battles a corrupt mate on the Great Lakes, proving his worth through perilous shipboard rescues and daring navigational challenges.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The Briary Bush: A Novel

The Briary Bush: A Novel

Floyd Dell

The briary bush of the title is a metaphor for the thorns of early adulthood and the complexities of a marriage built on high-minded ideals rather than domestic reality.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Brooklyn murders

The Brooklyn murders

G. D. H. (George Douglas Howard) Cole

An aging theatrical titan’s birthday celebration ends in carnage, pulling his niece and her resourceful partner into a labyrinthine investigation where the obvious clues are the most dangerous deceptions.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Cabala

The Cabala

Thornton Wilder

The story of an impressionable young American finding his footing among the ruins and high society of post-World War I Rome, this novel explores the fragile intersection of ancient tradition and human frailty.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Camp Fire Girls Amid the Snows

The Camp Fire Girls Amid the Snows

Margaret Vandercook

HOOK In the quiet, snow-swept hills of New Hampshire, a group of young women attempts to build a life of self-reliance, service, and sisterhood within the walls of a rustic mountain cabin.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Canadian Commonwealth

The Canadian Commonwealth

Agnes C. Laut

Canada stands at a crossroads of destiny, transitioning from a vast, rugged frontier into a modern industrial power while grappling with its identity as a young nation.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Cat's Paw

The Cat's Paw

Natalie Sumner Lincoln

A high-society murder in Washington, D.C., unravels a web of greed, hidden wills, and deadly secrets. Two lovers must outpace a cunning killer to clear their names and secure their future.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Colonists

The Colonists

Raymond F. Jones

The search for the perfect colonist leads not to the desperate or the criminal, but to those with the courage to build anew without the need to flee the old.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Count of Nideck: adapted from the French of Erckmann-Chartrian

The Count of Nideck: adapted from the French of Erckmann-Chartrian

Erckmann-Chatrian

A physician arrives at a remote, snow-bound castle only to find his patient—the formidable Count of Nideck—plagued by a haunting, bestial madness that defies medical explanation. This dark, gothic mystery pulls the reader into the heart of the Black Forest, where ancient bloodlines and spectral legends converge.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Country House (with Designs)

The Country House (with Designs)

Alexis de Châteauneuf

An architectural treatise framed as an intimate correspondence, this work explores the marriage of classical design, landscape harmony, and interior refinement in the creation of an ideal English country home.

Architecture7 min read
Cover of The Cruise of the Make-Believes

The Cruise of the Make-Believes

Tom Gallon

The wealthy Gilbert Byfield creates an elaborate, artificial fairy tale to rescue a young woman from poverty, only to find that the boundary between performance and reality is dangerous to cross.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Essentials of Logic, Being Ten Lectures on Judgment and Inference

The Essentials of Logic, Being Ten Lectures on Judgment and Inference

Bernard Bosanquet

Logic is not a dry exercise in symbols, but the living architecture of how we understand the world. By examining the bridge between our inner thoughts and external reality, this work reveals how human judgment constructs the very fabric of our knowledge.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of The Fight for Constantinople: A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula

The Fight for Constantinople: A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula

Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

A young naval officer finds himself behind enemy lines during the Gallipoli campaign, embarking on a high-stakes race to survive and disrupt the German and Turkish defenses.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Gentleman Who Vanished: A Psychological Phantasy

The Gentleman Who Vanished: A Psychological Phantasy

Fergus Hume

A man commits a murder, then vanishes into a stolen body to escape the law. But the soul he inhabits is trapped in a web of occult secrets and a treacherous valet’s blackmail.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Gnomes of the Saline Mountains: A Fantastic Narrative

The Gnomes of the Saline Mountains: A Fantastic Narrative

Anna Goldmark Gross

A collection of melancholic, atmospheric tales explores the intersection of love, class, and the crushing weight of social ambition in the early twentieth century.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Golden Amazons of Venus

The Golden Amazons of Venus

John Murray Reynolds

A stranded explorer encounters a civilization of warrior women on a cloud-veiled Venus, only to find himself embroiled in an ancient prophecy of destruction and a war against reptilian invaders.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Hawthorne: A Christmas and New Years Present

The Hawthorne: A Christmas and New Years Present

Unknown

This collection of mid-19th-century tales serves as a moral compass for the young, using the innocence of flowers and children to mirror the virtues of duty, resilience, and faith. It gathers disparate domestic dramas and historical sketches into a single, cohesive volume intended for holiday gifting.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The history of the London Burkers: Containing a faithful and authentic account of the horrid acts of the noted Resurrectionists, Bishop, Williams, May, etc., etc., and their trial and condemnation at the Old Bailey for the wilful murder of Carlo Ferrari, with the criminals' confessions after trial. Including also the life, character, and behaviour of the atrocious Eliza Ross, the murderer of Mrs. Walsh, etc., etc

The history of the London Burkers: Containing a faithful and authentic account of the horrid acts of the noted Resurrectionists, Bishop, Williams, May, etc., etc., and their trial and condemnation at the Old Bailey for the wilful murder of Carlo Ferrari, with the criminals' confessions after trial. Including also the life, character, and behaviour of the atrocious Eliza Ross, the murderer of Mrs. Walsh, etc., etc

Anonymous

The gallows-tree and the dissecting table collide in this grim chronicle of London’s illicit trade in human remains. It documents the desperate, bloody era when the demand for anatomical subjects fueled a series of cold-blooded murders.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The Laird of Norlaw

The Laird of Norlaw

Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

The house of Norlaw stands beneath the ancient Eildon hills, a modest dwelling burdened by the shadow of a ruined, silent castle and the weight of a family’s vanished prosperity. It is a story of endurance, where brothers strive to restore a fallen name and mothers hold fast to their own through the long, quiet…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The last spike, and other railroad stories

The last spike, and other railroad stories

Cy Warman

The iron horse barrels across the American frontier, carrying the hopes of a nation and the grit of the men who built its path. These stories capture the dust, the steam, and the relentless drive of a mechanical age.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Missionary: An Indian Tale

The Missionary: An Indian Tale

Morgan, Sydney, Lady

A story of clashing faiths and irrepressible human longing, this narrative follows a Portuguese missionary and an Indian priestess whose forbidden connection threatens to dismantle both their worlds. It is a work that captures the precarious threshold between absolute conviction and the vulnerabilities of the heart.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Morality of Woman, and Other Essays

The Morality of Woman, and Other Essays

Ellen Key

A collection of essays on the evolution of woman’s role, this work argues that true morality in relationships must stem from love rather than legal or social dogma. It challenges the conventional structures of the early twentieth century, insisting that an individual’s integrity is the only foundation for a…

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Motor Boat Club off Long Island

The Motor Boat Club off Long Island

H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

The Rocket, a sixty-foot motor cruiser, serves as the nerve center for a high-stakes battle between cunning financiers and the young, resourceful mariners who pilot them through dangerous coastal waters.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Mystery of the Fires

The Mystery of the Fires

Edith Lavell

HOOK A young girl detective spends her summer vacation untangling a series of suspicious blazes, only to find herself trapped in a nightmare of mistaken identity that threatens to silence her investigation forever.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The old English dramatists

The old English dramatists

James Russell Lowell

This collection of lectures explores the immense, untamed genius of the Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights, inviting readers to rediscover a foundational era of English literature through a lens of deep, personal appreciation.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Other Side of the Door

The Other Side of the Door

Lucia Chamberlain

The city of San Francisco is a place of fog, shifting sand, and restless tides, where a young woman’s testimony in a sensational murder trial upends her quiet life. This atmospheric mystery blurs the line between public reputation and private truth.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Princess of Bagdad: A Play In Three Acts

The Princess of Bagdad: A Play In Three Acts

Alexandre Dumas

A woman’s reckless spending and a millionaire’s calculated obsession collide in a high-stakes drama of debt, reputation, and the fragile bonds of marriage. This play traces the unraveling of a household as its inhabitants face the consequences of a life built on illusion.

Plays/Films/Dramas6 min read
Cover of The Rebel Chief: A Tale of Guerilla Life

The Rebel Chief: A Tale of Guerilla Life

Gustave Aimard

The wild mountains of Mexico serve as the stage for a sprawling, high-stakes game of political intrigue and personal vengeance. A desperate struggle for legacy and survival unfolds against a backdrop of shifting loyalties and revolutionary upheaval.

Adventure6 min read