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4,129 public-domain books, summarised. Page 76 of 87.

Cover of Sex & Character: Authorised Translation from the Sixth German Edition

Sex & Character: Authorised Translation from the Sixth German Edition

Otto Weininger

Driven by a tragic sense of intellectual urgency, this work attempts to categorize all humanity into a rigid system of sexual types. It serves as a stark artifact of early twentieth-century Viennese thought and existential crisis.

Gender & Sexuality Studies6 min read
Cover of Fifteen sonnets of Petrarch

Fifteen sonnets of Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca

HOOK The sonnet is a tiny vessel built for immense feeling, and these fifteen poems capture the eternal, shifting light of a love that long ago turned to shadow and memory.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Favorite Fairy Tales

Favorite Fairy Tales

Unknown

HOOK These timeless stories of wonder, peril, and transformation capture the essential moral landscape of childhood, where magic acts as both a dangerous force and a path to justice.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide: Vol. 1 Part 1

The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide: Vol. 1 Part 1

Various

This expansive reference work captures the intellectual landscape of the early twentieth century, offering a window into the definitions, geography, and technological advancements understood in 1922. It serves as a comprehensive snapshot of a world transitioning into the modern era.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Symbolism, its meaning and effect

Symbolism, its meaning and effect

Alfred North Whitehead

Human perception is not a simple recording of facts, but a complex, fallible, and essential process of interpreting symbols. We navigate the world by constantly translating between raw experience and the meanings we assign to it.

General6 min read
Cover of Highways and Byways in Surrey

Highways and Byways in Surrey

Eric Parker

This evocative guide explores the hidden corners and quiet lanes of Surrey, tracing the history of a county caught between the expansion of London and the enduring character of its rural landscapes.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Gilbert K. Chesterton

Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Gilbert K. Chesterton

G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

This collection serves as a comprehensive gateway to the vast, diverse literary output of a prolific early twentieth-century intellectual. It gathers his novels, essays, social critiques, and verse into one accessible guide.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference5 min read
Cover of Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Jack London

Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Jack London

Jack London

This expansive index represents the complete breadth of a prolific literary career, capturing the raw intensity of the Klondike, the brutality of the high seas, and the volatile social struggles of the turn of the century. It serves as a comprehensive map of a body of work that defined American naturalism.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference5 min read
Cover of Tales from Dickens

Tales from Dickens

Charles Dickens

These curated selections serve as a gateway to the vast, teeming world of Victorian literature, distilling complex narratives into accessible, episodic accounts. By threading together the emotional centers of major novels, the work offers a panoramic view of an author’s enduring fascination with human resilience…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Emperor Marcus Aurelius

The Emperor Marcus Aurelius

John C. (John Chrisentia) Joy

A meditative examination of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, this work probes the tension between the Stoic's internal pursuit of virtue and the external collapse of an empire.

General6 min read
Cover of The Pleasures of Life

The Pleasures of Life

Lubbock, John, Sir

The secret to a contented life lies not in changing the world around us, but in cultivating the mind to appreciate the simple, intellectual, and natural wonders already within our reach.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of How to keep bees

How to keep bees

Anna Botsford Comstock

This practical handbook serves as a steady, encouraging guide for the amateur apiarist, blending technical instruction with a deep appreciation for the social complexity of the honeybee.

General6 min read
Cover of The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886: Bay State Monthly Volume 4, No. 3, March, 1886

The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886: Bay State Monthly Volume 4, No. 3, March, 1886

Various

A mosaic of New England life, this periodical captures the transition of a region tethered to its colonial roots while racing toward the industrial and social complexities of the late nineteenth century.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Soul of Man under Socialism

The Soul of Man under Socialism

Oscar Wilde

The individual soul is a flower that can only bloom in the light of absolute freedom, far from the stifling weight of poverty and the soul-crushing demands of altruism.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Tragedies of Seneca: Translated into English Verse, to Which Have Been Appended Comparative Analyses of the Corresponding Greek and Roman Plays, and a Mythological Index

The Tragedies of Seneca: Translated into English Verse, to Which Have Been Appended Comparative Analyses of the Corresponding Greek and Roman Plays, and a Mythological Index

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The only complete, surviving examples of Roman tragedy, these intense plays offer a direct, visceral link to the ancient world. They represent a bridge from the Greeks to the Elizabethans, blending philosophical inquiry with the macabre.

Classics of Literature7 min read
Cover of The Door in the Wall, and Other Stories

The Door in the Wall, and Other Stories

H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

These narratives explore the thin, permeable veil between the mundane world and the terrifying or transcendent sublime. They map the quiet desperation of individuals haunted by glimpses of a reality they can never fully reclaim.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 334, August 1843

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 334, August 1843

Various

This August 1843 issue offers a panoramic window into the Victorian mind, blending scholarly literary criticism, biting political commentary, and serialized fiction into a singular, sprawling mosaic of the era’s intellectual life.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of Tudor and Stuart Love Songs

Tudor and Stuart Love Songs

Unknown

This collection captures the golden age of English lyric verse, gathering the voices of poets who turned the experience of desire into refined, musical art. It serves as a bridge to a time when wit and longing were inseparable.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Are the Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited?: An Examination of the View Held by Spencer and Darwin

Are the Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited?: An Examination of the View Held by Spencer and Darwin

W. P. (William Platt) Ball

Does the exercise of a muscle or the practice of a craft during a lifetime leave a permanent mark on the bloodline? This rigorous examination challenges the long-held assumption that acquired habits and physical modifications are passed to the next generation.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus;: With His Account of Germany, and Life of Agricola

The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus;: With His Account of Germany, and Life of Agricola

Cornelius Tacitus

A haunting study of power’s corruption, this collection captures the steady erosion of Roman liberty under the shadow of its first emperors and the resilience of those living in its wake.

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of Quotes and Images From The Works of Michel De Montaigne

Quotes and Images From The Works of Michel De Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne

To navigate the complexities of human existence, one must look inward, embracing the contradictions of the self and the inevitability of death with a cheerful, skeptical, and profoundly honest spirit.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles

The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles

Jean-Henri Fabre

A patient observer finds that the most profound mysteries of existence are often hidden within the humble labor of insects inhabiting a neglected field.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of The Officer's Manual: Napoleon's Maxims of War

The Officer's Manual: Napoleon's Maxims of War

Emperor of the French Napoleon I

Command is a heavy burden, and victory is rarely a matter of luck. These collected insights into the art of war provide a foundational guide for those who seek to master the deliberate, cold-blooded science of command.

History - Warfare6 min read
Cover of The Honourable Mr. Tawnish

The Honourable Mr. Tawnish

Jeffery Farnol

A dandy of delicate manners masks a resolute spirit to win the woman he loves, confounding the hardened, brawling squires who dismiss him as a mere fop.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Magna Carta

The Magna Carta

Anonymous

Born from the friction between an embattled monarch and his defiant nobility, this foundational document outlines the essential rights and legal constraints that would eventually shape the course of modern governance.

History - British7 min read
Cover of Unwise Child

Unwise Child

Randall Garrett

This taut, clever piece of mid-century science fiction follows an unconventional engineer drafted into a high-stakes mission to secure an unstable, world-altering artificial intelligence. It is a brisk, dialogue-driven mystery that explores the collision of human fallibility and machine logic.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery5 min read
Cover of Lives of the Engineers: The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson

Lives of the Engineers: The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson

Samuel Smiles

This is a portrait of the pioneers who shrank the globe, turning the industrial grit of the nineteenth century into the iron arteries of modern travel.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of A History of French Literature: Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II

A History of French Literature: Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II

Edward Dowden

The soul of a nation’s letters is not found in a mere catalog of titles, but in the unfolding drama of its changing thought. This volume traces that evolution from medieval courtly verses to the modern democratic spirit.

French Literature7 min read
Cover of The Ambassadors

The Ambassadors

Henry James

A middle-aged man travels to Europe to retrieve a young friend from a decadent life, only to find that his own rigid worldview is the thing truly in need of rescue.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling Teeth

Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling Teeth

Henry Lovejoy Ambler

This technical manual serves as an essential guide for the nineteenth-century practitioner, arguing that tin foil remains a superior, life-saving material for dental restorations. It offers a practical defense of a humble, often overlooked metal.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of A guide book of art, architecture, and historic interests in Pennsylvania

A guide book of art, architecture, and historic interests in Pennsylvania

Unknown

This is a meticulous, state-wide catalog of the Commonwealth’s physical legacy, serving as a time capsule of early 20th-century civic pride. It functions as both a traveler’s companion and a scholarly record of Pennsylvania’s architectural and historical milestones.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Poems on various subjects, religious and moral

Poems on various subjects, religious and moral

Phillis Wheatley

HOOK This collection of verse captures a singular voice in eighteenth-century literature, blending classical refinement with a profound, urgent focus on spiritual transcendence and the nature of human grief.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A History of Greek Economic Thought

A History of Greek Economic Thought

Albert Augustus Trever

A scholarly exploration of ancient economic theory, this work traces how the Greeks wrestled with the ethics of wealth, the nature of labor, and the foundations of a just society.

Economics6 min read
Cover of Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry

Unknown

This anthology serves as a vital record of a vanishing oral tradition, capturing the supernatural landscape of Ireland through the voices, superstitions, and imaginations of its rural people.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of France in the Nineteenth Century

France in the Nineteenth Century

Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer

This historical survey documents the rapid-fire political volatility of France from 1830 to 1890, capturing a century defined by the constant, clashing ambitions of monarchs, presidents, and revolutionaries.

History - European8 min read
Cover of A Defence of Poesie and Poems

A Defence of Poesie and Poems

Philip Sidney

An impassioned argument for the power of the creative imagination, this seminal work contends that literature does more than merely reflect the world; it transforms it into something golden.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

John Henry Newman

A profound exploration of how religious truths evolve over centuries, this work argues that the development of Christian dogma is a natural, logical, and vital process of historical maturation.

History - Religious7 min read
Cover of Little Folks (December 1884): A Magazine for the Young

Little Folks (December 1884): A Magazine for the Young

Various

A Victorian miscellany weaves together serial dramas of stolen children and lost inheritances with practical craft guides, historical sketches, and natural history lessons for young readers.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of Manalive

Manalive

G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

A man who has traveled the world arrives at a quiet boarding house, only to be accused of a series of bizarre crimes that he treats as cosmic jokes. This story explores whether life is a tragedy to be endured or a divine adventure to be reclaimed.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Years Between

The Years Between

Rudyard Kipling

The weight of a world at war presses through every line, offering a somber, unflinching look at the cost of duty and the fragility of peace. This collection of verse captures the sharp, bitter transition of an era defined by sacrifice.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Poems

Poems

Mary Baker Eddy

Poetry is the language of a soul reaching for the divine, reflecting a life of profound spiritual search and quiet, persistent hope. These verses capture the turning points of a century, mapping a journey from personal grief toward an unwavering trust in a higher, healing power.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 3, September 1864: Devoted To Literature And National Policy

The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 3, September 1864: Devoted To Literature And National Policy

Various

This collection of essays and commentary captures the intellectual and political fever of the American Civil War, offering a window into the preoccupations of a nation in the midst of a transformative, violent crisis.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772: New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations

A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772: New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations

Samuel Hearne

A relentless trek across the unforgiving Canadian North, this record tracks an explorer’s struggle to bridge the gap between indigenous knowledge and the ambitions of a colonial trading company.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of Blazed trail stories, and Stories of the wild life

Blazed trail stories, and Stories of the wild life

Stewart Edward White

The harsh beauty and relentless morality of the American frontier find a voice in these sharp, unvarnished snapshots of life in the logging camps and mining outposts of the West.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of On The Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation

On The Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation

David Ricardo

Wealth is generated by labor and divided among three distinct classes: the landlord, the capitalist, and the laborer. This foundational inquiry reveals how the laws governing rent, profit, and wages dictate the stability and progress of nations.

Economics6 min read
Cover of Style in Singing

Style in Singing

W. E. Haslam

Singing is not merely the production of beautiful sound; it is the sophisticated fusion of music and poetry, requiring an artist to master both technical precision and the nuance of human expression.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Fruit-Gathering

Fruit-Gathering

Rabindranath Tagore

The harvest of a life is gathered not in the abundance of one’s store, but in the willingness to offer oneself entirely to the light. This collection of poems maps the interior geography of a soul learning to discard the heavy burden of worldly pride in favor of a profound, humble union with the divine.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov

Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov

Maksim Gorky

A portrait of a quiet, singular genius, this collection gathers the intimate observations of those who stood closest to the man who redefined the possibilities of the short story.

Biographies6 min read
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