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44,127 public-domain books, summarised. Page 748 of 920.

Cover of Jim Davis

Jim Davis

John Masefield

The life of a boy is irrevocably altered when he is abducted by a band of desperate smugglers. This high-seas adventure captures the collision between a child’s innocence and the brutal, lawless world of the early nineteenth-century coast.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Josiah in New York

Josiah in New York

James Otis

A farm boy journeys to the overwhelming bustle of New York City, where he unexpectedly discovers that true adventure means choosing compassion over his own fleeting desires.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of Keineth

Keineth

Jane Abbott

The child of a diplomat, Keineth Randolph is whisked away from her sheltered, intellectual life to live with a boisterous family in the country while her father serves the government abroad. She must learn to trade her formal lessons and frilled dresses for tennis, swimming, and the messy, joyous chaos of being an…

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Letters to His Son, 1753-54: On the Fine Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman

Letters to His Son, 1753-54: On the Fine Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of

These private letters serve as a meticulous manual for social and political advancement, transforming the intimate bond between a father and son into a rigorous, lifelong curriculum on the art of worldly success.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Libraries in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods: The Rede Lecture Delivered June 13, 1894

Libraries in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods: The Rede Lecture Delivered June 13, 1894

John Willis Clark

The physical evolution of the library, from the humble, chain-bound lecterns of monastic cloisters to the grand, wall-lined repositories of the Renaissance, reveals how humanity has long sought to preserve its most precious intellectual treasures.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of Little Miss Joy

Little Miss Joy

Emma Marshall

In the quiet rows of a seaside town, a fragile child becomes the unlikely anchor for a community fractured by pride, long-held secrets, and the unforgiving pull of the sea.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Loco or Love

Loco or Love

W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle

A bumbling sheriff and his cynical deputy find their partnership fractured by the sudden arrival of a mysterious, charming woman in the hills. The resulting romantic rivalry leads them headlong into a dangerous criminal conspiracy.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Luna Benamor

Luna Benamor

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

These stories capture the intersection of ancient prejudice and modern instability, where rigid traditions collide with the fragile, flickering lives of individuals trapped by their own histories.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Making a garden of perennials

Making a garden of perennials

W. C. (William Constantine) Egan

A practical guide for the home gardener, this handbook demystifies the perennial border, offering time-tested techniques for creating lasting floral displays that return with the seasons.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Mark Tidd: His Adventures and Strategies

Mark Tidd: His Adventures and Strategies

Clarence Budington Kelland

A group of resourceful boys protects a struggling inventor's groundbreaking machine from corporate thieves. Their escapades prove that wit and camaraderie can overcome even the most daunting odds.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Mary Jane Married: Tales of a Village Inn

Mary Jane Married: Tales of a Village Inn

George R. (George Robert) Sims

A former domestic servant turned hotelier chronicles the eccentric characters and shifting fortunes of her village inn. This candid, observant memoir captures the messy, vibrant reality of Victorian life from the vantage point of the pantry.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Mate in two moves

Mate in two moves

Winston K. (Winston Kinney) Marks

The world’s sudden descent into a global epidemic of uncontrollable romance leaves even the most rational scientists reeling. When a cold, career-obsessed pathologist discovers the viral cause of the hysteria, he must grapple with the fact that he is not immune to the very thing he seeks to cure.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Measles

Measles

William Colby Rucker

Measles is not merely a nuisance of childhood, but a formidable, lethal disease that demands rigorous public health vigilance and a rejection of the dangerous myth that it is an unavoidable rite of passage.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of Memoirs of Major Alexander Ramkins (1718)

Memoirs of Major Alexander Ramkins (1718)

Daniel Defoe

A Scottish soldier spends twenty-eight years serving foreign powers, slowly discovering that the crown he fights for is merely a pawn in another nation’s political games.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Memoirs of the Courts of Louis XV and XVI

Memoirs of the Courts of Louis XV and XVI

Mme. Du Hausset

An intimate, fly-on-the-wall account of the French monarchy, this narrative pulls back the curtain on the private anxieties and petty machinations of the Versailles court during the reigns of Louis XV and XVI.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days

Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days

Annie L. Burton

This account of a life lived through the crucible of American slavery and the subsequent struggle for autonomy offers a rare, intimate perspective on the transition from bondage to freedom. It stands as both a personal memoir and a robust defense of the post-emancipation progress made by African Americans.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Mischievous Maid Faynie

Mischievous Maid Faynie

Laura Jean Libbey

Two broad-shouldered young men brave a roaring Manhattan blizzard, setting in motion a breathless tale of stolen identities, attempted murder, and resilient young love.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of New Orleans as it is

New Orleans as it is

Anonymous

A stark and unflinching examination of the moral decay and systemic brutality defining the mid-nineteenth-century American South, written from the perspective of an observant witness.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of Nicaraguan Antiquities

Nicaraguan Antiquities

Carl Bovallius

Nicaraguan Antiquities serves as a formal, rigorous field report documenting prehistoric stone sculpture, rock carvings, and ceramic artifacts discovered across the Nicaraguan landscape during the late 19th century.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Nor Iron Bars a Cage

Nor Iron Bars a Cage

Randall Garrett

HOOK A seasoned New York detective manages a secret, borderline-magical psychiatric program to neutralize repeat offenders, only to discover that the "cure" he oversees hides a deeply personal and tragic burden.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of One year in Scandinavia : results of the gospel in Denmark and Sweden

One year in Scandinavia : results of the gospel in Denmark and Sweden

Erastus Fairbanks Snow

A nineteenth-century American missionary documents his arduous year establishing a new religious foothold in Denmark and Sweden amidst political unrest, hostile authorities, and personal sacrifice.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Over the Plum Pudding

Over the Plum Pudding

John Kendrick Bangs

A world where spectral visitors, identity mix-ups, and absurd tall tales disrupt the polite surface of turn-of-the-century life with gentle, satirical wit.

Humour7 min read
Cover of Petty Troubles of Married Life, First Part

Petty Troubles of Married Life, First Part

Honoré de Balzac

The mundane friction of a shared existence can be more corrosive than any grand tragedy. These observations on the domestic sphere reveal how the most intimate of bonds are gradually dismantled by the accumulation of small, persistent irritations.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Physiology of the Opera

Physiology of the Opera

Scrici

The opera house is a mirror reflecting the vanities of high society, where the stage acts as a world unto itself and the audience performs just as much as the singers.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Pretty Michal

Pretty Michal

Mór Jókai

Pretty Michal is a sweeping, gothic-inflected historical romance set in 17th-century Hungary, where the lives of a sheltered minister’s daughter and a spirited young man are violently upended by social rigidities and the grim shadow of the executioner’s trade.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 19, 1916

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 19, 1916

Various

Beneath the polished front of Edwardian wit, a nation at war confronts its own anxieties through pointed satire, domestic absurdities, and trench-side humor.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-04-07

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-04-07

Various

A satirical slice of post-war British life, this single issue of Punch captures a nation navigating the absurdities of housing shortages, high taxes, and social change with dry, understated humor.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, September 26, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, September 26, 1891

Various

A satirical chronicle of Victorian life, this collection gathers the wit, anxieties, and social pretensions of 1891 into a sharp, humorous mirror of a changing England.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, April 4, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, April 4, 1917

Various

This archival edition captures the biting satire and resilient spirit of London during the darkest months of the First World War. It serves as both a historical record and a masterclass in resilient humor.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, April 2, 1919

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, April 2, 1919

Various

This volume captures the weary, witty spirit of a nation poised between the end of the Great War and the uncertainty of a fragile peace. It serves as a sharp-eyed mirror to the social and political anxieties of 1919.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 19, 1919

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 19, 1919

Various

Life in post-Armistice Britain moves forward with a mix of absurd bureaucratic confusion, weary relief, and sharp, persistent laughter.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Rollo in Society: A Guide for Youth

Rollo in Society: A Guide for Youth

George S. (George Shepard) Chappell

A pious country boy encounters the dizzying, decadent nightlife of 1920s Manhattan in this sharp, affectionate satire of jazz-age urban sophistication.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Rollo's Philosophy [Fire]

Rollo's Philosophy [Fire]

Jacob Abbott

This is a gentle, pedagogical exploration of the physical world, presented as a series of deliberate conversations between a curious boy and his patient mentors.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Rosemary in Search of a Father

Rosemary in Search of a Father

C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson

A lonely American expatriate in Monte Carlo finds his life transformed when a young girl mistakes him for the father she has only ever imagined.

Novels6 min read
Cover of 'Round the yule-log: Christmas in Norway

'Round the yule-log: Christmas in Norway

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen

A young officer, confined to a gloomy city lodging by illness during his first Christmas away from home, finds his solitude transformed by the shared folklore of his landladies and their young guests.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of Signs & Wonders

Signs & Wonders

J. D. (John Davys) Beresford

This collection of stories explores the thin, trembling membrane between the ordinary world and the vast, unexplained forces that haunt human consciousness.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Simon Called Peter

Simon Called Peter

Robert Keable

The Great War acts as a crucible for a young chaplain, stripping away his clerical certainties and forcing him to confront the raw, unvarnished nature of human desire. This narrative captures a soul adrift, caught between the rigid conventions of his past and the visceral reality of life in the shadow of death.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Six lectures on painting

Six lectures on painting

George Clausen

Artists must learn to see the world not merely as a collection of objects, but as a complex interplay of light, shadow, and color that demands thoughtful, disciplined interpretation.

General6 min read
Cover of Sketches in Duneland

Sketches in Duneland

Earl H. (Earl Howell) Reed

This evocative collection of observations captures a vanishing world of solitude and wild beauty along the shifting sands of the Lake Michigan shoreline. It serves as both a tender portrait of coastal outcasts and a meditation on the relentless intrusion of the modern age.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of South America

South America

Gardiner G. (Gardiner Greene) Hubbard

A sweeping survey of a continent defined by its colossal rivers, imposing mountains, and the persistent, unfulfilled promise of its vast natural wealth.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Spacemen lost

Spacemen lost

George O. (George Oliver) Smith

The vast silence of interstellar space becomes a desperate stage for a rescue mission when a lifeship disappears into the void, turning an ordinary transit into a race against time, cold, and uncertainty.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Stephen H. Branch's Alligator, Vol. 1 no. 23, September 25, 1858

Stephen H. Branch's Alligator, Vol. 1 no. 23, September 25, 1858

Unknown

A defiant editor, imprisoned for libel, chronicles his personal history, political struggles, and moral philosophy through the pages of a singular, embattled weekly publication.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Stories by American Authors, Volume 7

Stories by American Authors, Volume 7

Various

A collection of late-19th-century American short fiction, this volume offers a window into the era’s shifting social landscapes, from the languid resorts of the South to the rigid hierarchies of New York and the romanticized expatriate life in Europe.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Studies in Spermatogenesis (Part 2 of 2)

Studies in Spermatogenesis (Part 2 of 2)

N. M. (Nettie Maria) Stevens

By meticulously tracking the movement of chromosomes through insect germ cells, this foundational study identifies the physical mechanism that differentiates male from female.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs. Lathrop

Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs. Lathrop

Anne Warner

Two neighbors spend their days leaning on a fence, dissecting the absurd, often chaotic lives of their small-town peers with sharp tongues and relentless curiosity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Suspense, Volume 2 (of 3)

Suspense, Volume 2 (of 3)

Henry Seton Merriman

HOOK Amidst the mounting tensions of the Russo-Turkish War, a stoic war correspondent finds his life and values entangled with two sisters struggling to navigate a fractured, unhappy marriage.

History - Warfare7 min read
Cover of The Accomplished Muskrat Trapper: A Book on Trapping for Amateurs

The Accomplished Muskrat Trapper: A Book on Trapping for Amateurs

Arno Erdman Schmidt

The craft of the muskrat trapper is a quiet, rhythmic pursuit, demanding both a deep knowledge of animal habits and the practical skill to transform a wild encounter into a modest winter harvest.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Don Lavington: Nolens Volens

The Adventures of Don Lavington: Nolens Volens

George Manville Fenn

When a young clerk is wrongly accused of theft and swept away by a ruthless press-gang, he must navigate the brutal reality of naval service and the wild frontiers of New Zealand to reclaim his life.

Adventure6 min read