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All free summaries — page 730
44,127 public-domain books, summarised. Page 730 of 920.
The Curtezan unmasked
Anonymous
This seventeenth-century moral tract serves as a stern, unyielding warning against the perils of lust, framing the pursuit of illicit pleasure as a path toward physical ruin and spiritual damnation. It offers a window into the intense religious anxieties and rigid social attitudes of its time, providing a stark,…
The Deep Sea Hunters: Adventures on a Whaler
A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt) Verrill
Two boys join the crew of a derelict whaling bark, trading the quiet streets of home for a perilous voyage into the Antarctic that turns into a quest for fortune.
The dinky ducklings
Lang Campbell
Two young ducklings set out on a journey to visit their aunt and uncle, only to find themselves led astray by a cunning fox. Their adventurous trek through the countryside tests their courage and introduces them to a series of helpful friends.
The Discovery of America by the Northmen, 985-1015
Edmund F. (Edmund Farwell) Slafter
Centuries before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, adventurous Scandinavian navigators accidentally stumbled upon the rugged shores of North America, leaving behind an enduring maritime legacy preserved in ancient Icelandic sagas.
The doctor, &c., vol. 3 (of 7)
Robert Southey
This third volume of an idiosyncratic, multi-part work functions as a vast literary cabinet of curiosities, blending erudite commentary, whimsical digressions, and quiet domestic portraiture into a singular, conversational whole. It defies the constraints of traditional narrative, inviting the reader to wander…
The Doll and Her Friends: or Memoirs of the Lady Seraphina
Julia Charlotte Maitland
Told from the perspective of an extraordinarily observant wooden plaything, this Victorian juvenile tale explores how kindness, quiet usefulness, and proper care build character across every rank of society.
The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 07 (of 11)
Thomas Hobbes
This collection showcases a polymath’s late-life commitment to physical and geometric inquiry, revealing an intellect that refuses to concede ground to his rivals or the shifting tides of scientific consensus. It is a rigorous, often combative survey of seventeenth-century natural philosophy.
The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of Germany
Mary Platt Parmele
The history of a nation is often written in blood and iron, yet its true spirit resides in the slow, persistent emergence of its people from the mists of antiquity toward a modern, unified destiny.
The first essay on the political rights of women
Condorcet, Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de
The fundamental right to self-governance belongs to every rational human being, and the exclusion of women from citizenship is a violation of natural law that defies logical defense.
The flowering plants of South Africa
I. B. (Illtyd Buller) Pole Evans
The vibrant, untamed world of South African flora is captured here with scientific rigor, offering a detailed catalog of the region’s botanical diversity through precise descriptions and dedicated observation.
The Fun of Getting Thin: How to Be Happy and Reduce the Waist Line
Samuel G. (Samuel George) Blythe
A forty-three-year-old newspaperman faces down his forty-seven-pound excess, dumping complicated medical fads to test a brutal truth: the only way to lose fat is to stop putting so much in your mouth.
The Galactic Ghost
Mack Reynolds
A massive, unbidden spacecraft arrives on Earth, delivering a terrifying ultimatum: the planet faces total destruction, and only one thousand humans can be saved. Humanity must now choose who is worthy to survive.
The Geology of Mt. Mansfield State Forest
Robert A. (Robert Adam) Christman
This guide reveals the hidden geologic history of Vermont’s most iconic peaks, transforming familiar mountain trails into a window onto millions of years of shifting seas, crushing ice, and deep-earth metamorphosis.
The Great Conspiracy, Volume 3
John Alexander Logan
This historical account examines the deep-seated political divisions and constitutional crises that culminated in the American Civil War. It argues that the conflict was a premeditated conspiracy against the integrity of the United States.
The heathery
Andrews, Henry Cranke, active 1799-1828
The world of the Erica—the heath—reveals itself here as a meticulous, silent parade of natural architecture, where color, form, and minute structural variation define the character of every stem. This is a scientific catalogue of the botanical treasures imported from the Cape of Good Hope, capturing a vanished era…
The Immortal Moment: The Story of Kitty Tailleur
May Sinclair
This is a stark, psychological portrait of a woman defined by her past, caught in the crossfire between her desperate hope for redemption and the unforgiving morality of her social circle.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 09, August 29, 1840
Various
This collection of essays offers a vivid, multifaceted portrait of early nineteenth-century Irish life, balancing historical curiosity with sharp, cynical social commentary.
The Land of Joy
Ralph Henry Barbour
The transition from Southern youth to Harvard student is rarely smooth, yet a collision of pride, secret debts, and a burgeoning romance in the Virginia countryside forces a rapid coming-of-age.
The land of the Bey
T. Wemyss (Thomas Wemyss) Reid
A restless traveler wanders into the volatile heart of North Africa, finding himself caught between the fading grandeur of the Bey of Tunis and the encroaching shadow of French colonial expansion.
The Lily's Quest (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Two young lovers seek a perfect place to build a sanctuary for their future joy, only to discover that the only ground available for such a dream is already consecrated to the dead.
The luckless trapper
William R. (William Reynolds) Eyster
A desperate chase through the lawless Northwestern frontier, where a woman’s life hangs in the balance as rival men and hunters collide in a fevered, moonlit struggle for possession and power.
The Miraculous Revenge
Bernard Shaw
The narrator is a man of erratic, impulsive temperament who believes his own refined sensibilities set him apart from a world he finds dull and incomprehensible. Driven by a restless, wandering spirit—which he equates to the biblical mark of Cain—he seeks meaning through music, poetry, and, eventually, a "miracle"…
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 334, October 4, 1828
Various
A lively mosaic of nineteenth-century curiosity, this single octavo issue captures a culture in motion—where architectural critiques of London’s elite clubs sit alongside practical instructions for printing spiderwebs and dark tales of provincial murder.
The mission-box
Lucy Ellen Guernsey
The generosity of a well-intentioned mission project is tested when class divisions and local gossip threaten to tear a group of young women apart. Through the lens of a shared sewing project, the narrative explores the difference between performative charity and the cultivation of an enduring, principle-based love.
The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., No. 4, October, 1889
Various
This collection of reports documents the late nineteenth-century push to master the natural landscape, from California’s arid basins to the dense, formidable jungles of Central America.
The Old Oak Tree
Miss Moncrieff
A venerable, ivy-clad oak serves as a sanctuary for a diverse community of animals until a pair of disruptive newcomers threatens their peaceful existence. This moralizing fable, rooted in the values of Victorian-era children’s literature, explores the consequences of discord and the virtue of contentment.
The Phantom Friend: A Judy Bolton Mystery
Margaret Sutton
A fleeting encounter on a freezing Manhattan ice rink plunges a young woman and her close circle into a bewildering web of missing identities, media illusions, and international crime.
The Pony Rider Boys in Montana
Frank Gee Patchin
HOOK Four young boys trade the classroom for the rugged Montana frontier, encountering desperate outlaws, territorial feuds, and the raw dangers of the open range during a transformative summer vacation.
The principal girl
J. C. (John Collis) Snaith
A young nobleman rejects his high-born betrothed for a charming, quick-witted actress, sparking a humorous collision between the rigid British aristocracy and the vibrant, democratic energy of the Edwardian stage.
The Queer Folk of Fife: Tales from the Kingdom
David Pryde
These gentle, observant stories capture a bygone era in the Scottish Kingdom of Fife, where rural traditions, rigid morality, and quiet human eccentricities shaped the lives of townspeople and farmers alike.
The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers
Allen Chapman
The Radio Boys with the Forest Rangers is a quintessential relic of early 20th-century juvenile fiction, blending the burgeoning wonder of wireless technology with the rugged, adventurous spirit of the American wilderness.
The Rangeland Avenger
Max Brand
A relentless pursuit of justice across the mountain desert tests the limits of courage and the strength of improbable loyalties. This atmospheric Western follows a lone gunman’s quest to settle a score and the way he inadvertently reshapes the lives of the outlaws and outcasts he encounters.
The Rover Boys in the Air
Edward Stratemeyer
Three brothers take to the skies in a new biplane, only to find that their old enemies have migrated from the college campus to a treacherous web of kidnapping and criminal pursuit.
The Rover Boys on the Ocean
Edward Stratemeyer
The Rover brothers embark on a spirited maritime pursuit to rescue a friend from a web of kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. This high-stakes chase tests their ingenuity and resolve, blending the camaraderie of school life with the dangers of the open sea.
The Shadow-Gods
Bill Garson
HOOK Humanity faces an existential crisis when a mysterious, reality-warping force field manifests on Earth, coinciding with an invasion by the Mercurian fleet.
The Silver Fox
E. Oe. (Edith Oenone) Somerville
In the damp, rugged landscape of turn-of-the-century Ireland, a reckless English socialite’s flirtations collide with ancient local superstitions and a tragic, fated hunt.
The Spring of a Lion
H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard
This short narrative captures the chilling intensity of a life spent in the wild, recounting a harrowing encounter with a pride of lions in the African bush. It serves as a gritty, suspenseful memoir of a legendary hunter’s brush with mortality.
The star jewels, and other wonders
Abbie Farwell Brown
This collection of whimsical tales captures the fleeting boundary between the modern world and the ancient, magical realms that lie just beneath the surface of everyday life. It invites readers to look beyond the mundane and find wonder in the quiet corners of the earth.
The Teacup Club
Elisa Armstrong Bengough
A circle of young women forms a club to discuss the advancement of their sex, only to find their intellectual ambitions constantly derailed by their preoccupation with men and marriage.
The Three Trappers
Edward Sylvester Ellis
A young hunter and a bumbling Yankee team up with expert trackers to rescue an abducted woman from a band of ruthless desert raiders.
The Time Mirror
Clark South
This is a brisk, high-stakes science fiction adventure centered on the struggle to reclaim a stolen life from the clutches of time. It explores the intersection of obsession, scientific ingenuity, and the weight of history.
The Vanishing Comrade: A Mystery Story for Girls
Ethel Cook Eliot
A girl’s summer vacation takes a sudden, bewildering turn when she discovers that her mysterious cousin is harboring a secret guest in a forgotten house hidden within an apple orchard.
The Victim and The Worm
Phyllis Bottome
In two linked stories of domestic power struggles, the author explores how the vanity of the strong attempts to crush the spirit of the vulnerable, and how the victims eventually find their own quiet paths to autonomy.
The virgin of the sun
August von Kotzebue
A forbidden romance threatens to tear apart the ancient rituals of an empire, challenging the rigid laws that demand blood in the name of the sun. This tale of duty and sacrifice explores the friction between divine decree and the human heart.
The Winning Clue
James Hay
A sharp, desperate cry shatters a quiet morning, pulling a disabled man into a murder investigation that evolves into a lethal game of intellect between two competing investigators.
Three Years on the Plains: Observations of Indians, 1867-1870
Edmund B. (Edmund Bostwick) Tuttle
Amidst the clash of cultures on the 19th-century frontier, a military chaplain documents the fading traditions of the Great Plains tribes and the violent collision between an expanding nation and its original inhabitants.
Time Trap
Frank Belknap Long
Charley Grimes, a seasoned explorer of the Solar System, recounts a harrowing encounter on the dark side of the moon where time itself becomes a weapon. This tale blurs the boundaries between memory, reality, and the future.
Two fares east
W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle
The lawless Tumbling River range holds more secrets than its dusty trails suggest, and two drifters arrive just in time to untangle a web of greed and false accusations.