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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 70 of 988.

Cover of Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: The New York Idea

Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: The New York Idea

Langdon Elwyn Mitchell

A whirlwind of broken marriages and impulsive reunions, this sharp-witted comedy explores the dizzying contradictions of love in early twentieth-century New York.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Scarlet Feather

The Scarlet Feather

Houghton Townley

The secret of an old man’s wealth and his daughter’s desperate deception threatens to shatter a family’s standing in the high society of New York.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Love's Meinie: Three Lectures on Greek and English Birds

Love's Meinie: Three Lectures on Greek and English Birds

John Ruskin

This collection of lectures invites readers to look beyond dry scientific classification and rediscover the wonder of birds through the lenses of art, mythology, and direct observation. It serves as a gentle, idiosyncratic guide for those who seek a more intimate connection with the natural world.

Art6 min read
Cover of Roy Blakeley's Bee-line Hike

Roy Blakeley's Bee-line Hike

Percy Keese Fitzhugh

A group of irrepressible Boy Scouts attempts to hike in a perfectly straight line toward a distant ridge, meeting every obstacle with humor, accidental heroism, and a relentless commitment to their self-imposed vow.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Leslie Ross

Leslie Ross

Charles Bruce

A spirited boy learns that his love for practical jokes often masks a deeper, more dangerous lack of foresight. This narrative traces his journey from a sheltered seaside home to the testing ground of boarding school and a life-altering crisis.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Chinese Classics

The Chinese Classics

James Legge

This foundational collection of ancient Chinese philosophy offers a timeless blueprint for personal integrity, social harmony, and the responsibilities of leadership through the distilled wisdom of a revered teacher and his devoted disciples.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer

The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer

The world is a place of suffering and profound irrationality, yet within it, the individual may find clarity through detached observation and the honest pursuit of truth. These reflections offer a bracing, unsentimental look at human existence.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390

The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled, about A.D. 1390

Samuel Pegge

This collection of medieval recipes offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the culinary world of the late fourteenth-century royal court. It serves as both a practical manual for antiquity and a scholarly bridge to the tastes of a long-vanished era.

Cooking & Drinking6 min read
Cover of She

She

H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

A journey into the heart of Africa leads two Englishmen to a hidden kingdom where time has stopped and an immortal queen waits for a lover she killed two millennia ago.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay

Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay

G. Harvey (George Harvey) Ralphson

Five determined young scouts venture into the frozen Canadian wilderness, where they must outwit a ring of ruthless miners to solve the mystery of a ghost fleet haunting Hudson Bay.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Library of William Congreve

The Library of William Congreve

William Congreve

A meticulous inventory of a classic playwright’s private collection, this record offers a rare, tangible window into the intellectual life and reading habits of a titan of the Restoration stage.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great

Katharine Susan Anthony

A resilient German princess transforms herself into the absolute autocrat of Russia, navigating a treacherous court through sheer force of will and intellect. This portrait captures the ascent of a woman who claimed power for herself.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Peeps at Many Lands: Ancient Egypt

Peeps at Many Lands: Ancient Egypt

James Baikie

Egypt is a land of enduring mystery, where the ghosts of ancient kings and commoners still whisper from the silt of the Nile and the depths of silent, sun-baked tombs.

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of The Olden Time Series, Vol. 4: Quaint and Curious Advertisements: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts

The Olden Time Series, Vol. 4: Quaint and Curious Advertisements: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts

Henry M. (Henry Mason) Brooks

Gleanings from the yellowed pages of early American newspapers reveal the daily heartbeat, peculiar humors, and unvarnished social customs of Boston and Salem. This collection serves as a time capsule, preserving the voice of the past.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

Beatrix Potter

A naive farm duck seeks independence from the routine of the yard, only to find herself the intended centerpiece of a dangerous dinner party.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Emil and the detectives

Emil and the detectives

Erich Kästner

A young boy’s trip to Berlin becomes a high-stakes adventure when his money is stolen by a mysterious man in a stiff hat, forcing him to assemble a ragtag army of city children to reclaim his honor.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The Girl Scouts in Beechwood Forest

The Girl Scouts in Beechwood Forest

Margaret Vandercook

A summer of youth and discovery in the deep woods turns into a test of character when a tragic accident forces a group of friends to redefine what it means to be a Girl Scout.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Wife, and Other Stories

The Wife, and Other Stories

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

HOOK These stories observe the quiet desperation of ordinary lives, revealing how easily human connection dissolves into petty grievances, mismatched expectations, and the suffocating weight of domestic habit.

Russian Literature6 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845

Various

This Victorian compendium captures the intellectual pulse of 1845, blending political commentary, travelogues, and literary fiction into a singular, sprawling mosaic of mid-nineteenth-century British thought.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The Little Gold Miners of the Sierras and Other Stories

The Little Gold Miners of the Sierras and Other Stories

Joaquin Miller

These tales capture the grit and whimsy of late nineteenth-century American youth, where gold-mining, railroading, and small-town mischief define the path toward growing up.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1810

The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1810

Unknown

This collection serves as a historical window into the theater of the early nineteenth century, blending scholarly critique of the ancient stage with the vibrant, dramatic language of classic English comedy.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of Othello

Othello

William Shakespeare

A celebrated general is driven to destroy his own happiness when a duplicitous subordinate manipulates his insecurities into a lethal, blind rage. This harrowing tragedy explores the fragility of trust and the devastating power of malicious suggestion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Kirk on Rutgers Farm

The Kirk on Rutgers Farm

Frederick Brückbauer

This chronicle traces the century-long struggle of a historic Manhattan church to survive as its affluent congregants moved uptown, leaving behind a neighborhood of poverty and changing demographics.

History - American6 min read
Cover of A Treatise on Painting

A Treatise on Painting

da Vinci Leonardo

This rigorous collection of observations acts as a laboratory for the eye, transforming the act of painting from mere craft into a deep, scientific understanding of the natural world.

Art6 min read
Cover of Arms and the Man

Arms and the Man

Bernard Shaw

A weary, practical soldier stumbles into a young woman’s bedroom, shattering her romantic illusions about war and heroism. This sharp comedy exposes the absurdity of human vanity through the lens of a Balkan conflict.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Christmas Every Day and Other Stories

Christmas Every Day and Other Stories

William Dean Howells

A father’s impromptu tales for his children spiral into absurdity, blending domestic warmth with the chaotic, surreal logic of the nursery. These stories explore the thin line between a child’s imaginative play and the weary, playful exhaustion of the parent spinning the yarn.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Desert Dust

Desert Dust

Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) Sabin

The high-plains West of the late 1860s serves as a backdrop for a journey of self-discovery and survival. A young Easterner, seeking health and adventure, finds his life irrevocably altered by a chance encounter with a mysterious woman and the violence of the frontier.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Drolls From Shadowland

Drolls From Shadowland

J. H. (Joseph Henry) Pearce

These haunting, fable-like narratives explore the thin, permeable veil between the mundane struggles of Cornish life and the dark, capricious whims of the supernatural. They are portraits of human desire and the often-grim cost of attaining it.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy7 min read
Cover of In The Yule-Log Glow, Book IV

In The Yule-Log Glow, Book IV

Harrison S. (Harrison Smith) Morris

A collection of classic verse and prose, this volume gathers the voices of centuries to celebrate the depth and tradition of the Christmas season. It serves as a literary hearth, warming the reader with both the solemnity of the Nativity and the rugged joy of midwinter festivities.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Ennui

Ennui

Stephen Marlowe

The ability to command reality is the ultimate power, but for one man, the absolute freedom to erase anything that displeases him leads only to an inescapable, infinite vacuum.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of The Barbadoes Girl: A Tale for Young People

The Barbadoes Girl: A Tale for Young People

Mrs. (Barbara) Hofland

A spoiled young woman finds her arrogance dismantled by a disciplined English household, ultimately trading her volatile passions for a life of purpose and emotional restraint.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Law and the Woman

The Law and the Woman

Parry, Edward Abbott, Sir

HOOK This work navigates the historical evolution of English law as it pertains to the status, rights, and systemic subjection of women. It argues for a transition from ancient, patriarchal control toward a standard of true legal equality.

General6 min read
Cover of Pinocchio: The Tale of a Puppet

Pinocchio: The Tale of a Puppet

Carlo Collodi

This is a story of a restless, wooden creation who must stumble through a series of harrowing trials to learn that maturity is earned through responsibility and love. It is a stark, imaginative, and deeply moral fable that balances whimsical invention with a surprisingly gritty view of the world.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1

Kisari Mohan Ganguli

The Mahabharata is one of the world’s most foundational epics, a vast and intricate tapestry of morality, duty, and divine intervention. This initial portion of the Vana Parva, or "Book of the Forest," follows the exiled Pandava brothers as they navigate a life of displacement, spiritual trial, and preparation for…

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The Evolution of Love

The Evolution of Love

Emil Lucka

A provocative exploration of human intimacy, this work asserts that love is not a biological constant but a historical invention that has evolved through distinct cultural stages. It challenges modern assumptions about the sexual impulse with a bold, philosophical re-examination of the soul’s deepest longings.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 11: Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 11: Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen

Elbert Hubbard

These biographical portraits celebrate the grit and vision of twelve titans who forged the modern industrial world. They explore the intersection of personal character, domestic partnership, and the relentless pursuit of commercial success.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Play the Game!

Play the Game!

Ruth Comfort Mitchell

The struggle between a girl’s loyal heart and the manipulative shadow cast by a charismatic rival tests the strength of a childhood bond. Two young people must learn that true devotion is not a game to be won, but a commitment to be kept.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Description of Millenium Hall: And the Country Adjacent Together with the Characters of the Inhabitants and Such Historical Anecdotes and Reflections As May Excite in the Reader Proper Sentiments of Humanity, and Lead the Mind to the Love of Virtue

A Description of Millenium Hall: And the Country Adjacent Together with the Characters of the Inhabitants and Such Historical Anecdotes and Reflections As May Excite in the Reader Proper Sentiments of Humanity, and Lead the Mind to the Love of Virtue

Sarah Scott

A traveler discovers a secluded estate where a group of remarkable women have built an alternative society dedicated to virtue, charity, and independence. This narrative captures their collective experiment in crafting a meaningful life outside traditional domestic constraints.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater

Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater

G. E. (Geraldine Edith) Mitton

A meticulous guide to the ghosts and grand facades of London’s most aristocratic quarters, where the echoes of duels, scandals, and high politics linger behind every door.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of The Return of Tarzan

The Return of Tarzan

Edgar Rice Burroughs

A man of the jungle finds himself caught in the intricate, treacherous webs of high society and ancient, forgotten civilizations while seeking the woman who haunts his heart.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of 1900

1900

Ingersoll Lockwood

A nation shatters as the turn of the century brings the collapse of democratic norms, leading to the dramatic dissolution of a Republic under the weight of populist fervor and political extremism.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws: Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Fourth Series

Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws: Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Fourth Series

Frank Sidgwick

This collection brings together the rugged, enduring songs of English outlaws, centered on the legendary figure of Robin Hood and his merry men. It serves as a scholarly yet accessible treasury of folk history, capturing the spirit of medieval life through the lens of those who lived outside the law.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Modern Spiritualism

Modern Spiritualism

Uriah Smith

This examination of nineteenth-century Spiritualism positions the movement not as a series of parlor tricks, but as a perilous, prophesied deception threatening the foundations of Christian faith.

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of The International Monthly Magazine - Volume V - No II

The International Monthly Magazine - Volume V - No II

Various

This collection serves as a mid-nineteenth-century cultural snapshot, gathering historical reflections, literary fiction, and scientific reportage into a single, cohesive volume of an influential periodical. It offers a portal into the intellectual preoccupations of 1852.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of A Little Country Girl

A Little Country Girl

Susan Coolidge

Candace Arden, a shy girl from a rural farm, arrives in Newport to live with her sophisticated cousin, Mrs. Gray. Through trials of etiquette and secret blackmail, she discovers her own place in a bustling, elite family.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXXII, June, 1911: Water Purification Plant, Washington, D. C. Results of Operation

Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXXII, June, 1911: Water Purification Plant, Washington, D. C. Results of Operation

American Society of Civil Engineers

HOOK This technical report offers a meticulous, five-year performance review of the Washington, D.C. water filtration plant, documenting the intersection of early twentieth-century public health engineering and rigorous industrial management.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Chapters from My Autobiography

Chapters from My Autobiography

Mark Twain

A master storyteller constructs a fragmented, nonlinear portrait of a life, proving that the most vital truths are often found in the mundane and the unheroic.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Agnes Grey

Agnes Grey

Anne Brontë

The quiet, steady resilience of a young woman finding her own path in a world designed for the comfort of others.

British Literature6 min read