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All free summaries — page 698
34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 698 of 714.
A Pacific Coast Vacation
Morris, James Edwin, Mrs.
A turn-of-the-century travelogue, this account captures the grandeur of the American Pacific Coast, from the icy, gold-flecked fjords of Alaska to the sun-drenched vineyards and volcanic peaks of California.
A Pair of Clogs
Amy Walton
A young girl’s identity is unraveled when her past as a stolen child surfaces, testing the boundaries of family, class, and the resilience of the human heart.
A Search For A Secret: A Novel. Vol. 1
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
A family legacy of religious nonconformity and a massive, contested inheritance drive this Victorian drama toward a collision between rigid social expectations and the impulsive, often ruinous, choices of the young.
A voyage to Senegal
Jean Baptiste Léonard Durand
A former French administrator provides an expansive, empirical tour of Western Africa, measuring its navigable waters, commercial networks, and varied coastal societies with cool administrative clarity.
An account of the plague which raged at Moscow, in 1771
Charles de Mertens
HOOK This clinical record captures the harrowing reality of the 1771 Moscow plague, serving as a chilling, firsthand account of how a city battles an invisible, rapidly spreading contagion.
An Impromptu Ascent of Mont Blanc
W. H. Le Mesurier
A mountaineer captures the visceral reality of scaling the "Monarch of the Mountains," stripping away the romantic myths to reveal the freezing, exhausting, and awe-inspiring truth of a high-altitude climb.
Angel Agnes: The Heroine of the Yellow Fever Plague in Shreveport
Charles Wesley Alexander
This brief, earnest narrative captures the spirit of self-sacrifice during the devastating 1873 yellow fever epidemic in Shreveport, Louisiana, chronicling the final mission of a young woman who gives everything to aid the suffering.
Beautiful Ferns
Daniel Cady Eaton
This definitive botanical study serves as a meticulously detailed guide to the ferns of the United States, blending scientific rigor with an appreciative eye for their unique forms. It functions as a comprehensive reference, documenting the physical characteristics, nomenclature, and habitats of various species…
Betty Leicester's Christmas
Sarah Orne Jewett
A young girl finds that the secret to a lonely holiday is not in receiving gifts, but in the quiet, intentional work of making others feel at home.
Bob Strong's Holidays: Adrift in the Channel
John C. (John Conroy) Hutcheson
This Victorian-era adventure captures the sun-drenched, occasionally perilous freedom of a seaside summer. It follows two siblings and their new friend as they navigate the small dramas and genuine dangers of the English Channel.
By order of the company
Mary Johnston
HOOK A soldier finds himself a fugitive and an unlikely husband in the untamed wilderness of 1621 Virginia, caught between a treacherous courtier and the looming shadow of an Indian uprising.
Carols of Cockayne: The Third Edition, 1874
Henry S. (Henry Sambrooke) Leigh
This collection of verse captures the wry, observational spirit of mid-Victorian London, offering a witty look at the daily absurdities of urban life. It is a portrait of a society balancing its romantic sensibilities against the encroaching realities of trains, bills, and the inevitable passage of time.
Caste
William Alexander Fraser
The stability of the British Raj in India is precariously balanced against the hidden machinations of local rulers and the fanatical devotion of ancient, ritual-bound sects. This historical fiction weaves a tale of duty, betrayal, and a doomed romance that plays out against the backdrop of an empire on the brink of…
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 306: New Series, Saturday, November 10, 1849
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century periodical offers a fascinating, kaleidoscopic view of Victorian intellectual life, blending serious moral philosophy with practical advice, travelogues, and cautionary tales. It captures a world in the midst of rapid transformation.
Christmas at Thompson Hall
Anthony Trollope
A harried woman, a misplaced mustard plaster, and a series of frantic, snowy misadventures form the heart of this enduring comedy of errors.
Clue of the Silken Ladder
Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
HOOK When a young woman stumbles upon a mysterious silk ladder, her relentless curiosity pulls her into a web of spiritualist charlatans, apartment burglaries, and a high-stakes search for justice.
Common-Sense Papers on Cookery
A. G. (Arthur Gay) Payne
The kitchen is an extension of the parlor, and a well-managed household begins not with the servants, but with the mistress’s own understanding of the art of food.
Constructive Imperialism
Milner, Alfred Milner, Viscount
The survival of a nation, in the eyes of an imperial statesman, depends not on the abstraction of free trade, but on the concrete reality of a unified, productive, and protected Empire.
Cry Chaos!
Dwight V. Swain
The fate of the solar system hangs on a desperate, high-stakes game of shadows and survival played out in the farthest reaches of the void. A legendary wanderer must navigate a web of intergalactic slavery and political betrayal to reclaim his honor and secure the future of his people.
Daireen. Volume 2 of 2
Frank Frankfort Moore
A man haunted by a secret past finds himself entangled in the social machinations of colonial society, where his struggle to maintain a facade of normalcy ultimately leads to a tragic and inevitable end.
Devil tales
Virginia Frazer Boyle
Bound together by dark conjure, restless spirits, and the heavy air of the plantation Quarters, these ten eerie tales chart the eternal, desperate battle between human souls and the devil's subtle, terrifying guile.
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
A candid, unvarnished portrait of seventeenth-century life, this record captures the inner workings of a man’s mind amidst the rise and fall of political giants and the rhythms of a changing city.
Doctor Papa
Sophie May
A spirited, inquisitive young girl navigates the small joys and profound heartbreaks of childhood, learning that even the most impulsive actions carry weight in a world of love and loss.
Dorothy's Double. Volume 1 (of 3)
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
A web of malicious impersonation threatens a woman’s reputation, forcing her to untangle a conspiracy that strikes at the heart of her social standing and her sense of self.
Fairy Tales for Workers' Children
Hermynia Zur Mühlen
This collection of stories serves as a moral primer for young readers, framing the struggles of the working class through the lens of traditional folklore. It reimagines the fairy tale as a tool for social awakening rather than escapism.
Felix Lanzberg's Expiation
Ossip Schubin
The shadow of a tarnished reputation haunts a man seeking redemption in a society that never truly forgets. This is a story of how a single, irrevocable past can define a life, no matter how much one struggles to outrun it.
For Treasure Bound
Harry Collingwood
A young man sets sail on a custom-built cutter to solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance, finding adventure, romance, and a fortune hidden in the Pacific.
Forsyte's Retreat
Winston K. (Winston Kinney) Marks
The Mahoney-Plaza is a hotel that defies geometry, time, and sanity. When a beleaguered manager tries to escape his own life, he finds himself trapped in a temporal labyrinth where history and the present collide.
Fra Angelico: A Sketch
Jennie Ellis Keysor
The "Angelical Painter" of the Italian Renaissance, Fra Angelico, remains a singular figure of devotion, crafting ethereal visions of heaven while living a life of humble monastic service.
Freedom
Mack Reynolds
A chilling, taut examination of political fervor, this story depicts a high-ranking state security agent who finds himself infected by the very ideology he is tasked to suppress. It remains a stark, unsentimental portrait of how easily a monolithic power structure can lose its grip when its citizens begin to dream…
From flag to flag
Eliza Ripley
Driven from their Louisiana plantation by Civil War gunboats, a family flees across Texas into revolutionary Mexico, eventually attempting to rebuild their lives on a Cuban sugar estate.
Froude's History of England
Charles Kingsley
This work challenges the modern tendency to dismiss past generations as fools, arguing instead that our ancestors possessed a profound sense of duty and a fierce, capable spirit that shaped the course of the Reformation.
Godliness
Catherine Mumford Booth
The path to spiritual transformation is not paved with good intentions or intellectual debate, but with the painful, deliberate surrender of the self to an uncompromising divine standard.
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXIV, No. 5, May 1849
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant time capsule of American literary life in the spring of 1849, blending social satire, adventure, and philosophical inquiry. It offers a multifaceted view of the nineteenth-century intellectual landscape through the lens of a popular monthly magazine.
Great Uncle Hoot-Toot
Mrs. Molesworth
A headstrong, discontented boy learns that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence when he runs away to "find himself" in the country. This narrative serves as a gentle, moralizing lesson on gratitude, the value of home, and the tempering of youthful pride.
Greek primer, colloquial and constructive
John Stuart Blackie
This primer offers a vigorous, conversational approach to learning classical Greek, challenging the dry, rule-bound methods of the Victorian era. It serves as an essential manual for those who wish to speak, hear, and engage with the language as a living, breathing instrument of thought.
Gunman's bluff
Edgar Wallace
A wealthy London banker vanishes into the underworld, leaving his bride, a relentless detective, and a suave jewel thief to untangle a web of forgery and betrayal.
Hanging by a Thread
Randall Garrett
HOOK A simple, overlooked mechanical flaw leaves a cargo ship drifting in the void. Five survivors face a desperate race against physics to fix their only beacon before their air runs out.
Hannibal Crosses the Alps
Cecil Torr
The mystery of Hannibal’s exact path across the Alps has haunted historians for centuries. This investigation bypasses modern conjecture to evaluate the primary accounts with rigorous, scholarly skepticism.
Harper's Young People, March 30, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This issue of a late-nineteenth-century weekly captures the vibrant, inquisitive, and occasionally mischievous spirit of American childhood through a blend of fiction, scientific curiosity, and intimate reader correspondence. It serves as a time capsule for a generation navigating a rapidly expanding world.
Harry's Island
Ralph Henry Barbour
The boys of Ferry Hill School trade the classroom for the freedom of the Hudson River, spending a transformative summer camping on an island that feels like the center of the world. Through shared meals, boat repairs, and the quiet rhythm of the river, they discover that true adventure lies not in grand heroics,…
Heretics And Heresies: From 'The Gods and Other Lectures'
Robert Green Ingersoll
Thinking for oneself is often the greatest risk a person can take; it is the path that transforms a free mind into a target for institutional rage. This work serves as an impassioned, historical indictment of how religious authorities have historically used the label of heresy to silence intellectual progress and…
Hunting the Lions
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
HOOK Driven by a lifelong yearning for adventure, a young man leaves his quiet London life to test his mettle against the formidable wildlife of the African bush.
In Strange Company: A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas
Guy Boothby
This tale of global intrigue and personal redemption follows a disgraced man’s flight from exile, pulling the reader through a web of international criminal conspiracies and desperate sea voyages. It is a classic example of the nineteenth-century adventure genre, blending high-stakes pursuit with the weary…
In the Garden
R. A. Lafferty
The crew of a small starship stumbles upon a world that seems to be a perfect, living echo of the Garden of Eden, only to discover that the most heavenly sights are often the most predatory traps.
In the Name of a Woman: A Romance
Arthur W. Marchmont
A lone Englishman finds himself thrust into the heart of a lethal Bulgarian political conspiracy, where the only path to survival is to fight for a woman’s crown.
In the Name of the People
Arthur W. Marchmont
A daring Englishman finds himself entangled in a dangerous web of political revolution and forbidden romance while navigating the treacherous streets of Lisbon.
Indian Stories Retold From St. Nicholas
Various
These retold tales offer a window into the customs, legends, and daily lives of North American Indigenous peoples, presented through a collection of short, vivid sketches originally curated for young readers at the turn of the twentieth century.