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42,801 public-domain books, summarised. Page 731 of 892.

Cover of The Half-Century Magazine (Vol. I, No. 1, August, 1916)

The Half-Century Magazine (Vol. I, No. 1, August, 1916)

Various

This inaugural issue serves as a vibrant, multifaceted time capsule of African American life, ambition, and social organization in the urban North during the summer of 1916.

Journals6 min read
Cover of The Happy Unfortunate

The Happy Unfortunate

Robert Silverberg

The allure of a life one cannot have often masks the beauty of the life one is already living. This short story explores the painful disconnect between two genetically distinct classes of humanity and the bitter cost of trying to cross the divide.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of The High School Pitcher

The High School Pitcher

H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

A group of resourceful sophomores battles an unjust principal and a rival classmate to dominate the baseball diamond. Loyalty and hard work define their path to local glory.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The History and Romance of Air Mail Stamps

The History and Romance of Air Mail Stamps

Emil Bruechig

The history of human flight is mirrored in the delicate, intricate art of postal stamps, capturing the daring and the dreams of those who conquered the air. This work serves as both a historical record and a guide for the dedicated collector.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Laurel Bush: An Old-Fashioned Love Story

The Laurel Bush: An Old-Fashioned Love Story

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

A quiet, enduring devotion survives the separation of decades and the weight of lost time. This story follows two lives that remain tethered to one another across the vast, silent distance of the sea.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Little Washingtons' Travels

The Little Washingtons' Travels

Lillian Elizabeth Roy

A rambunctious group of children transform their family vacation into an elaborate, historical crusade, treating every city landmark as a battlefield and every passerby as a potential opponent in a lifelong game of make-believe.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Lonesome Trail and Other Stories

The Lonesome Trail and Other Stories

B. M. Bower

An affection-tested cowboy's misadventures in love and loyalty reveal how high-spirited range hands navigate the quiet terrors of their own tender hearts.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Man with the Iron Hand

The Man with the Iron Hand

John Carl Parish

A legendary explorer and his iron-handed lieutenant navigate the vast, untamed wilderness of the Mississippi River valley, caught between shifting tribal loyalties and the relentless, often fatal, pursuit of imperial discovery.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Military Sketch-Book, Vol. 2 (of 2): Reminiscences of seventeen years in the service abroad and at home

The Military Sketch-Book, Vol. 2 (of 2): Reminiscences of seventeen years in the service abroad and at home

William Maginn

These collected reminiscences offer a gritty, unvarnished window into the life of a soldier in the early nineteenth century, moving from the bloody fields of the Peninsular War to the lawless frontiers of Van Diemen’s Land.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Mintage: Being Ten Stories & One More

The Mintage: Being Ten Stories & One More

Elbert Hubbard

HOOK History is a mirror reflecting our own vanities, successes, and failures, captured here through brief, vivid portraits of the famous and the forgotten.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The non-stop stowaway

The non-stop stowaway

Clayton Knight

A young boy stows away on a daring transatlantic flight, only to cross the threshold into a mysterious, ethereal realm where lost aviators find their final, eternal landing.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Northern Light

The Northern Light

E. Werner

The Northern Light follows a young man’s desperate quest to reclaim a sense of honor after a childhood betrayal severed him from his father. It is a story of heavy shadows and the hard-won redemption found in the heat of battle.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Nursery, February 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 2: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

The Nursery, February 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 2: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

Various

This vibrant monthly magazine from 1877 captures the Victorian childhood ideal through charming tales of industrious children, clever animals, and the gentle wonders of the natural world.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Office of Bailiff of a Liberty

The Office of Bailiff of a Liberty

Joseph Ritson

The intricate world of English legal history relies on the obscure, yet essential, mechanics of local authority. This manual illuminates the specific, often contentious, role of the bailiff of a liberty.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Only True Mother Goose Melodies

The Only True Mother Goose Melodies

Anonymous

Whimsical, rhythmic, and steeped in early American print history, this collection gathers timeless nursery rhymes alongside historical commentary to capture the lively spirit of childhood verse.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Pinafore Picture Book: the Story of H.M.S. Pinafore

The Pinafore Picture Book: the Story of H.M.S. Pinafore

W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert

The high-seas romance of a common sailor and a captain’s daughter finds a whimsical resolution when a long-kept secret flips the social order of a British man-of-war.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Place Where Chicago Was

The Place Where Chicago Was

Jim Harmon

A man wanders a desolate, famine-stricken landscape where the mere thought of violence is suppressed by global broadcasts, searching for a way to break the stalemate of a world that has traded war for a slow, quiet death. He is an outcast, a "Jonah" marked by the stigma of having once been a combatant, and his…

Novels7 min read
Cover of The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child

The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child

Matilda Coxe Stevenson

The life of a Zuñi child is a carefully woven tapestry of domestic affection and rigorous, myth-bound initiation into secret religious orders. This study offers a rare, detailed look at the spiritual framework that shapes a young life from birth to maturity.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of The Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution

The Scientific Evidences of Organic Evolution

George John Romanes

A clear, rigorous overview of evolutionary theory demonstrates how disparate biological facts converge on a single natural law.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of The Æsculapian Labyrinth Explored

The Æsculapian Labyrinth Explored

William Taplin

This biting satire exposes the performative greed and calculated deception defining the eighteenth-century medical profession, stripping away the professional mask of the era’s physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Second Generation

The Second Generation

David Graham Phillips

A self-made titan disinherits his children to save their souls, forcing a generation raised for idle luxury into the furnace of real work.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Seventh Order

The Seventh Order

Jerry Sohl

This story of first contact is a brisk, unsettling exploration of how a superior, emotionless intellect might perceive—and eventually fail to comprehend—the unpredictable nature of the human psyche.

Novels5 min read
Cover of The shadow shooter

The shadow shooter

W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle

Out on the open range of Silver River Valley, a botched mail-order suit and a corpse hauled across a saddle set off a tangle of cattle rustling, framed murder, and hidden identities.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Story of Frithiof the Bold: 1875

The Story of Frithiof the Bold: 1875

Anonymous

A man of peerless strength and unshakable devotion, Frithiof the Bold navigates the treacherous currents of Norse duty, love, and vengeance to reclaim his destiny.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The tale of the the Muley Cow

The tale of the the Muley Cow

Arthur Scott Bailey

HOOK A gentle, curious cow navigates the complexities of farm life and the pressures of change, all while forming an unlikely, affectionate bond with her young owner.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of The Trail of Black Hawk

The Trail of Black Hawk

Paul G. (Paul Greene) Tomlinson

Two brothers navigate the brutal reality of the 1832 frontier, finding an unlikely guide as they pursue the Sauk leader Black Hawk through the harrowing, final days of the Black Hawk War.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Van Dwellers: A Strenuous Quest for a Home

The Van Dwellers: A Strenuous Quest for a Home

Albert Bigelow Paine

Seeking a place to call home in a turn-of-the-century metropolis, a family discovers that the search for the perfect apartment is a relentless, exhausting, and often absurd marathon.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Wandering Jew

The Wandering Jew

Eugène Sue

An inheritance of immense, mysterious wealth draws together a disparate group of relatives, only to trigger a ruthless, far-reaching conspiracy by those desperate to claim the fortune for themselves.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of The White Mail

The White Mail

Cy Warman

The son of a section boss rises from a lowly, mule-tending bridge guard to become the visionary president of a major railroad, navigating personal loss, corporate intrigue, and the relentless evolution of American travel.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The wiser folly

The wiser folly

LM (Leslie Moore)

The quiet beauty of an ancient English estate becomes the setting for a conflict between tradition and identity, where a stranger’s claim to a legacy forces everyone involved to confront their own sense of belonging.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Their Mariposa Legend: A Romance of Santa Catalina

Their Mariposa Legend: A Romance of Santa Catalina

Charlotte B. (Charlotte Bronte) Herr

A historical echo links two women separated by centuries, as a modern artist discovers that the haunting, unfinished romance of a native princess is not merely history, but a recurring destiny.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of This Way to Christmas

This Way to Christmas

Ruth Sawyer

The Hill Country is cold, but a small boy finds that the season’s magic—if sought with the right spirit—can transform a lonely winter into a festival of connection and homecoming.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Three Little Kittens

Three Little Kittens

Katharine Pyle

Jazbury, a spirited black-and-white kitten, chafes against the domestic discipline of his mother and aunt. His impulsive decision to run away with two friends leads to a challenging journey through the woods, where he learns the hard lessons of independence.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Tommy Atkins at War: As Told in His Own Letters

Tommy Atkins at War: As Told in His Own Letters

James Alexander Kilpatrick

Ordinary men thrust into extraordinary violence preserve their sanity through humor, intense loyalty to their comrades, and an unshakable commitment to everyday routines.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Tree, Spare that Woodman

Tree, Spare that Woodman

Dave Dryfoos

Fear is the deadliest weapon on a world where thoughts are tangible, but a child’s imagination may be the only shield strong enough to survive the forest’s psychic reach.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of Vengeance From the Past

Vengeance From the Past

Robert W. Krepps

This thriller follows a man caught in a desperate struggle against a secret society of Neanderthal descendants who intend to reclaim the Earth by seizing a top-secret space station. It is a taut, high-stakes adventure that blends Cold War paranoia with prehistoric terror.

Novels6 min read
Cover of What is an index?

What is an index?

Henry B. (Henry Benjamin) Wheatley

The art of indexing is the hidden nervous system of literature, a vital yet frequently misunderstood discipline that transforms overwhelming volumes of information into usable knowledge. This guide explores the history, theory, and practical mechanics of the craft, advocating for its necessity in a well-ordered…

General6 min read
Cover of Willis's Current Notes, No. 14, February 1852

Willis's Current Notes, No. 14, February 1852

Unknown

This collection of Victorian correspondence acts as a lively, fragmented window into the intellectual preoccupations of 1852, documenting a world where scholarship, antiquarianism, and folklore collide in the pages of a small monthly periodical.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Youth, Vol. I, No. 3, May 1902: An Illustrated Monthly Journal for Boys & Girls

Youth, Vol. I, No. 3, May 1902: An Illustrated Monthly Journal for Boys & Girls

Various

This monthly journal captures the spirit of early 20th-century youth culture, weaving together patriotic historical fiction, nature lore, and the practical hobbies that defined childhood in 1902.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of 7 to 12: A Detective Story

7 to 12: A Detective Story

Anna Katharine Green

A missing diamond necklace, a troubled young lover, and a detective who sees through quiet drawing-room posturing to the secrets buried underneath.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery7 min read
Cover of A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 4, part 1: William Henry Harrison

A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 4, part 1: William Henry Harrison

Unknown

This archival record captures the abrupt transition of power following the sudden death of a President, illuminating the early constitutional uncertainties of the American Republic.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of A mission to Gelele, King of Dahome, Vol. 1 (of 2)

A mission to Gelele, King of Dahome, Vol. 1 (of 2)

Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

A British envoy travels inland through nineteenth-century West Africa to negotiate with an absolute king whose state is built on warfare and human sacrifice.

Travel Writing5 min read
Cover of A Perilous Secret

A Perilous Secret

Charles Reade

A desperate inventor swaps his living child for a dead infant to save her life, entangling two families in decades of deceit, subterranean terror, and hard-won redemption.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A picture of Stirling

A picture of Stirling

Robert Chambers

Perched high on a rocky eminence above the river Forth, a grand Scottish fortress shapes the destiny of the burgh below.

History7 min read
Cover of A summer in Skye, Volume 1 (of 2)

A summer in Skye, Volume 1 (of 2)

Alexander Smith

A city dweller escapes the suffocating heat and grime of Edinburgh to journey north, discovering the wild, mist-shrouded landscapes and ancient living traditions of Skye.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Virginia cavalier

A Virginia cavalier

Molly Elliot Seawell

A young surveyor rides into the vast, untested wilderness of colonial Virginia, learning that true leadership requires mastering himself before he can ever hope to command others.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of An Empty Bottle

An Empty Bottle

Mari Wolf

A starship crew returns to a unrecognizable Earth after a fifty-three-year voyage, only to face an impossible choice about their place in the universe.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Atmâ: A Romance

Atmâ: A Romance

C. A. (Caroline Augusta) Frazer

A fallen soldier seeks his true inheritance across a shattered homeland, only to discover that love, honour, and faith carry costs heavier than death.

Historical Novels5 min read