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All free summaries — page 64
3,125 public-domain books, summarised. Page 64 of 66.
1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
Francis Grose
A sharp, unapologetic lexicon of eighteenth-century British street speech, this dictionary maps the vibrant, shadowy underworld of thieves, sailors, fashionable rogues, and taproom idlers.
John Lackland
Kate Norgate
A restless prince turns into a hated monarch, losing an empire, defying the Pope, and fighting his own barons to the bitter end. This scholarly portrait strips away centuries of myth to expose the real figure behind the fall.
Lamia
John Keats
When a shape-shifting serpent bargains for human form to claim the young scholar she adores, their secret palace of bliss becomes a tragic battleground between romantic illusion and cold, unsparing reason.
Science and the Infinite
Sydney T. (Sydney Turner) Klein
What if the boundaries of space, time, and physical matter are merely illusions created by human sensory limitations?
An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 2: MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 3 and 4
John Locke
How do human minds bridge the silent gap between private thoughts and the solid world outside? The journey to answer that question reshaped Western thought forever.
The Oldest Code of Laws in the World: The code of laws promulgated by Hammurabi, King of Babylon, B.C. 2285-2242
King of Babylonia Hammurabi
Long before modern legal systems took shape, an ancient king carved an exhaustive blueprint of justice into stone, regulating everything from property and debt to marriage and daily commerce.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
Samuel Richardson
Trapped in a remote country house by her wealthy employer, a dutiful young servant relies on her sharp wit, steadfast moral courage, and detailed daily letters to defend her honor against a relentless campaign of seduction and deceit.
Pan Tadeusz
Adam Mickiewicz
An ancient family grudge flares into open conflict just as Napoleon's army marches eastward, sweeping a quiet Lithuanian estate into the currents of European history.
Researches on Cellulose, 1895-1900
C. F. (Charles Frederick) Cross
Underneath the visible growth of leaves, stalks, and stems lies a silent, intricate world of plant chemistry waiting to be decoded.
The Duchess of Malfi
John Webster
A secret marriage, a court poisoned by murderous arrogance, and a corrupt family that destroys itself trying to control a sister's blood and estate.
Introductory lectures on psycho-analysis
Sigmund Freud
An ambitious, structured attempt to map the uncharted territory of the human mind, this foundational text bridges the gap between everyday mental blunders, the hidden architecture of dreams, and the agonizing mechanics of neurotic suffering.
Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca: Adapted from the Third Book of the Primary Schools of Athens, Greece
Homer
A hero spent twenty years trying to get home, only to find that his hardest battle waited on his own doorstep.
The Little White Bird
J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
A lonely, middle-aged bachelor schemes his way into the life of a young family, creating a sprawling mythology of fairies and stolen childhoods to mask his own heartbreak.
The book of Enoch the Prophet
Richard Laurence
A ancient patriarch scales the heavens, uncovers secrets of cosmic order, and witnesses the terrible ruin of rebellious angels and the coming of eternal divine judgment.
McClure's Magazine, Vol 31, No 2, June 1908
Various
A theatrical legend reflects on her visits to a foreign nation, while small-town residents and high-level politicians navigate the quiet, agonizing fractures of modern life.
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
A boundless ocean of Eastern folklore weaves magic, mortal ambition, and high drama into a single sprawling canvas of human imagination.
The place called Dagon
Herbert Sherman Gorman
A shadowy, isolated valley in Massachusetts hides a surviving centuries-old cult, pulling a skeptical young country doctor into a terrifying web of hypnosis, diabolical rituals, and forgotten Puritan witch-trials.
The Boarding School: Familiar conversations between a governess and her pupils.: Written for the amusement and instruction of young ladies
Unknown
A gentle governess and her daughters open their home to a lively group of schoolgirls, navigating trials of character, social prejudice, and loss. Through shared discipline and quiet moral conviction, early habits shape lifelong virtues.
Early Greek Philosophy & Other Essays: Collected Works, Volume Two
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
A fiercely iconoclastic mind tears back the polished façade of classical civilization to expose the blood, violence, and glorious instincts that truly drive human culture.
The Angel in the House
Coventry Patmore
A devotion to domestic purity transforms a gentle courtship into a sacred philosophy of married life.
The Kensington District
G. E. (Geraldine Edith) Mitton
Wandering through London's grandest western borough reveals an intricate tapestry of vanished manors, aristocratic feuds, literary sanctuaries, and hidden plague pits.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Book of the Spiritual Man
Patañjali
A quiet mind reveals the immortal self hidden behind everyday thoughts and desires.
Monday or Tuesday
Virginia Woolf
A stray mark on a wall, a melody in a concert hall, or a ghost gliding through a quiet house can unlock the entire inner landscape of human experience.
Amiel's Journal: The Journal Intime of Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Henri Frédéric Amiel
An intimate, unvarnished portrait of a brilliant mind held captive by its own perfectionism, this private diary turns a life of quiet self-doubt into a profound masterpiece of philosophical self-examination and spiritual honesty.
The 1990 CIA World Factbook
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
A cold-war compendium offers a meticulous, standardized snapshot of every political entity on Earth. Driven by intelligence requirements, it cataloged land, populations, economies, and military assets at a pivotal moment in twentieth-century history.
Early English Meals and Manners
Unknown
Before formal education begins at the desk, the art of medieval living demands mastery over the banquet table, the carver’s knife, and the intricate etiquette of domestic service.
Troilus and Criseyde
Geoffrey Chaucer
A prince falls into agonizing desire under siege, wins his lady through elaborate deception, and loses her to a enemy knight when war tears them apart.
Amusement: A Force in Christian Training
Marvin R. Vincent
A rigid church risks driving young people into the arms of vice when it bans all leisure instead of transforming it. True spiritual vitality demands engaging culture rather than retreating behind dogmatic prohibition.
The Joyful Wisdom ("La Gaya Scienza"): Complete Works, Volume Ten
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
A bold rejection of stagnant dogma turns philosophy into a high-altitude dance, replacing heavy moral certainty with intellectual courage, radical questioning, and a deep, irrepressible devotion to life.
The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic, 1910-1913
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Driven by scientific curiosity and an unyielding sense of duty, a team of British explorers journeys into the frozen heart of Antarctica, where stunning natural wonder collides with unimaginable physical suffering and ultimate, quiet tragedy.
Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant: His Many Adventures
Richard Barnum
A young wild elephant is captured in the Indian jungle, shipped across the sea, and taught to perform under the big top.
Ghosts
Henrik Ibsen
A mother builds a sanctuary of lies to protect her son from his father’s dark legacy, only to watch inherited tragedy claim his mind.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 14, December 1858: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
Delicate classical mythology gives way to blunt sea stories, political biography, sharp cultural criticism, and quiet rural domesticity in this vivid nineteenth-century literary miscellany.
Beasts and Super-Beasts
Saki
Beneath the refined polish of Edwardian drawing rooms lies a wild, cruel world of impudent youths, vengeful beasts, and hopelessly outmaneuvered adults.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348
Various
A nineteenth-century literary miscellany captures a changing world through political debate, romantic poetry, existential drama, and historical analysis.
Gabriel and the Hour Book
Evaleen Stein
A young peasant boy’s quiet courage and an artist monk’s passion intertwine in a medieval abbey, where illuminated manuscripts become a bridge between hardship and hope.
Thoughts Out of Season, Part II
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
In a culture numbed by historical data and superficial progress, genuine existence requires a radical shift away from mere knowledge toward the cultivation of genius.
The Story of the White-Rock Cove
Anonymous
A lonely boy on the English coast receives the companion he has always wanted, only to find that jealousy, hidden deceit, and a near-fatal accident threaten to destroy their bond.
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
David Hume
Three men gather in a quiet room to debate whether human reason can uncover the true nature of God, each defending a worldview that unravels the others.
A Stable for Nightmares
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
A array of uncanny encounters and dark secrets unfolds across a landscape of haunted manor houses, treacherous roads, and unseen forces.
Lilith: A Romance
George MacDonald
Between the dusty stacks of an Oxford library and the edge of a strange horizon lies a hidden threshold to another reality.
The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers
Unknown
Knowledge belongs to anyone willing to ask a question, provided the facts are stripped of technical jargon and arranged with order, clarity, and visual logic.
The uncalled
Paul Laurence Dunbar
A motherless boy in a pious Ohio town is forced toward the pulpit by a community that mistakes rigid duty for devotion.
The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb
Charles Lamb
Wandering through memories of boyhood, deserted mansions, quiet quaker meetings, and the electric magic of old theater stages, a solitary essayist reflects on the fleeting beauty and sudden sharp losses of everyday human existence.
Daisy Miller: A Study
Henry James
A spirited young American girl clashes with rigid European social conventions, leaving a charming, baffled suitor to decipher her tragic innocence.
The Boston cooking-school cook book
Fannie Merritt Farmer
A system of domestic science disguised as a collection of recipes, this landmark manual transforms home cooking from vague guesswork into a precise, systematic discipline driven by chemical principles and exact measurement.
Miscellanies
Oscar Wilde
An eclectic collection reveals how a brilliant intellect moves from academic historical analysis and fierce press feuds to visionary manifestos on art, fashion, and craftsmanship.
Poems & Ballads (Second Series): Swinburne's Poems Volume III
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Against a cold tide of grief and political strife, a passionate voice summons the immortal ghosts of dead poets to light the dark hours of a changing world.