The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 648
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 648 of 988.
Danny the detective
Vera C. (Vera Charlesworth) Barclay
The quiet English countryside is a hotbed of international intrigue, and only a vigilant young scout possesses the sharp eyes required to uncover the enemy lurking within the ancient ruins.
Does civilization need religion?
Reinhold Niebuhr
Does modern society have any use for faith? This inquiry examines the fragile, essential tension between the moral demands of religion and the mechanical, often brutal requirements of an industrial civilization.
Don, a Runaway Dog: His Many Adventures
Richard Barnum
A curious puppy decides that home is too small and the world too big, only to discover that the freedom he craves is far more difficult and dangerous than he imagined.
Don Sebastian
Anna Maria Porter
A young king, molded by dreams of conquest, loses his crown and his army to the desert, only to find his true self in the quiet, humbled service of a slave.
Dorothy's House Party
Evelyn Raymond
A young girl finds a new home and decides to share her joy by hosting a house party that turns into an unexpected adventure for everyone involved.
Dotty Dimple at Her Grandmother's
Sophie May
A spirited, prideful young girl navigates small-town temptations, family expectations, and big moral lessons during a summer stay with her grandmother.
Fifth Report of the Vestry of the Parish of Chelsea in the County of Middlesex, Appointed Under the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855: 1860-1
Charles Lahee
The rapid urbanization of mid-Victorian London demands a new, rigorous system of local administration, forcing parish officials to balance the mounting pressures of public health, taxation, and infrastructure against the weight of tradition.
Five nights at the Five Pines
Harriet A. (Harriet Avery) Gaul
HOOK A crumbling, isolated Cape Cod cottage holds a secret history that begins to unravel the moment a young, impressionable writer and her playwright husband move in.
Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Part 4
Mark Twain
This wide-ranging travelogue captures the sharp-eyed observations of a seasoned humorist as he circles the globe, finding absurdity and beauty in equal measure. Through his wandering gaze, distant colonial outposts and vibrant Eastern cities come to life with both wit and profound social insight.
French without a master
Tristan Bernard
A frantic, farcical comedy of errors centers on a desperate young couple hiding in a London hotel and an incompetent, monolingual interpreter caught in their web of lies. This brief, punchy play captures the hilarious absurdity that ensues when language barriers and secret elopements collide.
Freston Tower
Richard Cobbold
Perched on the banks of the river Orwell, a mysterious medieval tower becomes the silent witness to the rise of Cardinal Wolsey and the quiet endurance of a steadfast couple.
Gleams of Sunshine: Optimistic Poems
Joseph Horatio Chant
The poet finds beauty in the ordinary, turning his gaze toward the divine order of nature and the quiet triumphs of faith.
Going Some
Rex Beach
HOOK A collegiate socialite becomes trapped in a high-stakes footrace against a hardened ranch hand, where the only thing more dangerous than losing is the romantic entanglement he finds himself unable to escape.
Going to Maynooth: Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, The Works of William Carleton, Volume Three
William Carleton
The pride of a village family rests on a young man’s aspiration to the priesthood, but his path to the altar is obstructed by his own pomposity and a secret, human love.
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXV, No. 3, September 1849
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century literary miscellany captures the restless, romantic, and didactic spirit of the American antebellum era through a vibrant tapestry of fiction, poetry, and cultural observation.
Harper's Round Table, May 12, 1896
Various
A Victorian-era periodical for young readers, this collection gathers athletic fiction, historical sketches, and practical advice, reflecting the earnest, adventurous, and occasionally instructional spirit of youth literature in the late nineteenth century.
Hearings of the International Joint Commission in re remedies for the pollution of boundary waters between the United States and Canada
International Joint Commission
This document records a pivotal moment in early 20th-century environmental governance, where the United States and Canada confronted the shared, mounting crisis of transboundary water pollution. It captures the tension between industrial necessity, municipal financial limits, and the urgent requirements of public…
Henry of Guise
G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
The court of 16th-century France is a labyrinth of shifting alliances, where the charismatic Duke of Guise commands the hearts of the people while the King pulls desperate, invisible strings. In this storm of political intrigue, a young nobleman finds his loyalties tested by the woman he loves and the treachery of…
Hermann: A Novel
E. Werner
A tale of long-buried secrets and the crushing weight of ancestral shame, this narrative explores the collision between rigid aristocratic pride and the quiet, enduring power of personal integrity.
Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard the Third
Horace Walpole
Unfairly branded by Tudor chroniclers as a monstrous villain, a medieval king receives a rigorous historical defense that exposes how deeply political bias corrupts standard national histories.
Holiday Frolics
Anonymous
This collection of Victorian parlor amusements offers a window into a world where science, sleight-of-hand, and clever riddles served as the primary currency for social entertainment during the long winter evenings.
Holidays at Roselands: A Sequel to Elsie Dinsmore
Martha Finley
A young girl navigates the rigid expectations of nineteenth-century Southern gentility, seeking her father’s affection while balancing her personal conscience against his strict demands. This domestic narrative explores the intense emotional labor of a child striving to be both obedient and true to her own values.
Islâm
Syed Ameer Ali
This work provides a concise, scholarly introduction to the origins, ethical foundations, and historical evolution of Islâm. It serves as an earnest attempt to bridge cultural divides by presenting the faith’s core tenets and its prophet’s life through a lens of intellectual and moral appreciation.
Lectures on ancient ethnography and geography, volume 2 (of 2)
Barthold Georg Niebuhr
This rigorous exploration reconstructs the physical and human landscape of the ancient world, meticulously tracing the origins of tribes and the strategic geography that shaped the rise and fall of great civilizations.
Lewie
Sarah H. (Sarah Hopkins) Bradford
A spoiled child’s unchecked temper spirals from childhood cruelty to an act of fatal violence, forcing his family to confront the bitter consequences of maternal indulgence.
Linda Carlton's Ocean Flight
Edith Lavell
A determined young pilot battles hazardous weather, dishonest rivals, and societal doubt to pursue her dream of a solo transatlantic flight.
Meridiana: The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians: In South Africa
Jules Verne
A team of scientists journeys through the South African wilderness to measure an arc of the meridian, only to find their shared mission threatened by the outbreak of war between their home nations.
Millennium
Everett B. Cole
High-tech protectors from an advanced civilization sweep a feudal world to reclaim forgotten military artifacts before primitive tyrants accidentally destroy their own society.
Mop Fair
Arthur M. (Arthur Morris) Binstead
This collection of epistolary sketches captures the frantic, fashionable, and fundamentally absurd lives of London’s high-society denizens at the dawn of the twentieth century. It is a cynical, witty, and deeply gossipy chronicle of a world obsessed with appearances and prone to impulsive, ruinous romantic…
New Lamps
Robert Moore Williams
HOOK A scientist travels to the dusty, dangerous cliffs of Mars seeking a legendary figure who trades “new lamps for old”—a mysterious process promising to heal the ailments of the body and the soul.
Nick Carter Stories No. 122, January 9, 1915: The suicide
Nicholas (House name) Carter
A master detective investigates a suspicious suicide, only to uncover a complex criminal conspiracy involving a beautiful woman, a faked death, and a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Notes on the Kiowa Sun Dance
Leslie Spier
This anthropological record offers a precise, structured look at a central ritual of the Kiowa people. It reconstructs the sacred traditions that defined tribal life before the practice ended in 1887.
Nurse Heatherdale's Story
Mrs. Molesworth
A seasoned nurse reflects on her life, recounting the trials and secret treasures of a family she served long ago. It is a quiet, steady look at the bonds formed in a drafty, ancestral home.
Odds and ends
B. M. (Bithia Mary) Croker
These stories capture the fleeting, often startling intersections of colonial life, where a chance encounter on a ship or a quiet moment in a bungalow can irrevocably alter a person's fortune.
'Oh, Well, You Know How Women Are!'
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Two affectionate, lighthearted essays trade gentle barbs to expose how men and women navigate daily life, fashion, and each other.
Old Clinkers: A Story of the New York Fire Department
Harvey Jerrold O'Higgins
A veteran fireboat captain navigates the internal politics and physical perils of the New York Fire Department, where professional duty remains the only reliable antidote to sabotage and personal vendettas.
Old English Mansions
Alfred Yockney
Old English Mansions examines the history, architectural evolution, and precarious survival of the grand domestic structures built during the Tudor and Jacobean eras. It serves as a visual and historical record of a vanishing heritage.
On the theory of the infinite in modern thought
Eleanor F. (Eleanor Frances) Jourdain
Mathematics and philosophy do not walk separate paths; they intersect at the horizon of human understanding, where the finite meets the absolute. This work examines how the rigorous language of numbers provides a new, logical foundation for metaphysical inquiry.
Patty's Butterfly Days
Carolyn Wells
The butterfly days of youth are fleeting, but for those who embrace them with spirit and grace, the memory of summer’s warmth lingers long after the blossoms have fallen.
Peacemakers—Blessed and Otherwise: Observations, Reflections and Irritations at an International Conference
Ida M. (Ida Minerva) Tarbell
The Washington Conference of 1921 serves as a high-stakes arena where the quest for global disarmament meets the stubborn, entrenched realities of human suspicion and international greed.
Pearl of Pearl Island
John Oxenham
A sun-drenched coastal escape breaks an old sorrow and blossoms into a second chance at love.
Personal Reminiscences in Book Making, and Some Short Stories
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
A writer who dives into cold seas to test a plot point will stop at nothing to capture the truth.
Philip Rollo
James Grant
The drum of war beats loud in the ears of a young Scot, whose thirst for glory leads him from the quiet hills of home into the cold, chaotic maw of the Thirty Years’ War.
Planet of Dread
Dwight V. Swain
A lone operative from the Federation travels to a hostile alien world to stop a cruel despot from unleashing a plague of living, devouring slime upon the galaxy.
Poems by Jean Ingelow, In Two Volumes, Volume II
Jean Ingelow
A quiet, luminous collection of Victorian verse, exploring faith, domestic intimacy, and the lingering shadow of loss.
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 3, Volume 4 (Zoology)
Various
A meticulous catalog of the reptiles and amphibians inhabiting the Pacific islands, this work documents the biodiversity of the West Coast through the rigorous lens of 1905 natural history.
Quest on Phoebe
James R. Adams
An ambitious, ruthless man seeks immortality on a remote moon, only to discover that the most dangerous obstacles are not the ones he can see or shoot.
Radio Boys Cronies
Wayne Whipple
Two inseparable friends prove that ingenuity and persistence can overcome both physical limitations and local skepticism. Through a shared passion for invention and radio technology, they transform their modest circumstances into a path toward personal and communal success.