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44,127 public-domain books, summarised. Page 773 of 920.

Songs of the shining way
Sarah Noble Ives
The boundaries between reality and imagination blur as three children transform their mundane domestic surroundings into a vast, magical landscape. A simple backyard becomes a gateway to the extraordinary, where every mundane object is a vessel for wonder.

The 20-Mule-Team brigade
Pacific Coast Borax Company
This inventive piece of early twentieth-century advertising literature transforms a commercial product into a heroic, anthropomorphic legend. It chronicles the whimsical domestic crusades of a military-minded brigade of mules armed with cleaning powder.

The Amazing Years
W. Pett (William Pett) Ridge
The home front transforms as the First World War ripples through a respectable London family, forcing its members to shed their rigid class assumptions and find resilience in an age of uncertainty.

The American Missionary
Various
This collection of periodic reports serves as an urgent, mid-19th-century chronicle of the American Missionary Association’s efforts to educate and evangelize the marginalized across the United States. It documents a pivotal era of social transition through the lens of faith, administrative necessity, and…

The Andalusian Knitting and Netting Book
Eléonore Riego de la Branchardière
This practical compendium preserves the mid-Victorian art of domestic textile craft, offering precise instructions for creating everything from elegant apparel to functional household accessories through knitting and netting.

The Bush Fire, and Other Verses
Ida Lee
The vast, sun-drenched Australian bush serves as both a cradle and a crucible, testing the mettle of those who seek to master its unforgiving landscape. These verses capture the spirit of a frontier where nature’s beauty and its terrifying power are inextricably linked.

The Cadets of Flemming Hall
Anna Chapin Ray
A classic turn-of-the-century portrait of schoolboy honor, rivalry, and growth within the structured, disciplined life of an American military academy.

The Daughter of Virginia Dare
Mary Virginia Wall
A historical reimagining of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, this narrative bridges the mystery of the first English settlers with the legendary life of Pocahontas.

The Dreadnought Boys' World Cruise
John Henry Goldfrap
Two intrepid young sailors navigate a global naval expedition, confronting fires, volcanic hazards, and international misunderstandings with unwavering courage and quick-witted resourcefulness.

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX. No. 1013, May 27, 1899
Various
This 1899 issue of a Victorian periodical offers a window into the structured, instructive, and morally earnest world of young women at the turn of the century. It serves as both a repository of contemporary fiction and a manual for domestic and personal conduct.

The Hampstead mystery: a novel. Volume 1 (of 3)
Florence Marryat
A wealthy father’s rigid intolerance and a trusted family friend’s secret obsession collide, turning a young woman’s romantic elopement into a devastating tragedy. This dark Victorian domestic drama explores the lethal consequences of controlling those we claim to love.

The illustrious Dr. Mathéus
Erckmann-Chatrian
The illustrious Dr. Mathéus is a gentle, eccentric philosopher who believes he is destined to reform the world through a new scientific doctrine, only to find the reality of travel and human nature far more complicated than his theories.

The land of forgotten men
Edison Marshall
In a remote, frozen corner of Alaska, a disgraced man finds anonymity and a chance at redemption, only to have his past collide with his present when his former wife arrives as a tourist.

The magazine of history with notes and queries, Vol. II, No. 4, October 1905
Various
This collection of historical reports and primary source documents illuminates the fractured, often mythologized landscape of early American life and the Revolutionary struggle. It captures the granular reality of the young republic through a kaleidoscopic lens.

The Message and Mission of Quakerism
William C. (William Charles) Braithwaite
The message of Quakerism is a call to return to a vibrant, lived experience of the divine, moving beyond rigid traditions to embrace the transformative power of a direct relationship with God.

The Norwich Road: An East Anglian Highway
Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
The open road to Norwich holds a century of echoes, tracing the path from the bustling heart of London through the pastoral quiet of East Anglia. It captures the rhythm of a journey once defined by coach wheels and now preserved in memory.

The place of the individual in society
Emma Goldman
The individual stands as the ultimate reality against the crushing weight of institutional authority and the shifting sands of political ideology.

The Power of Conscience, exemplified in the genuine and extraordinary confession of Thomas Bedworth: delivered to one of the principal officers of Newgate, the night before his execution on September 18, 1815, for the murder of Elizabeth Beesmore in Drury lane. Relating his horrible sufferings until compelled to surrender to public justice by the constant supernatural visitations of the murdered woman, and the frequent appearance of her apparition. From the original paper now in the possession of the publisher. Including interesting particulars of Bedworth's former life, his behaviour before execution, and an original and full report of the Common Serjeant's address on passing sentence
Thomas Bedworth
This document preserves the final confession of an 18th-century tradesman turned murderer, tracing his descent from a life of military service and industry to a state of absolute moral and psychological ruin.

The Raider
Don Berry
The shadow of a revolution falls across the colonies, carried on the blade of a man who has lost his faith in the empire he once served.

The river Dove, with some quiet thoughts on the happy practice of angling
John Lavicount Anderdon
A gentle, meditative tribute to the river Dove, this work invites readers to rediscover the quiet joys of angling while exploring the landscape and literary legacy of its most famous practitioners.

The southern literary messenger, Vol. I., No. 8, April, 1835
Various
This eighteenth-century-style miscellany captures the intellectual fervor of the American 1830s, weaving together philosophical essays, frontier sketches, and moralizing poetry into a singular, earnest portrait of a burgeoning national identity.

The Strange Visitation
Marie Corelli
A cautionary tale of a wealthy, heartless man confronted by his own moral decay on a stormy Christmas Eve, this narrative serves as a stark reminder of the spiritual emptiness inherent in unchecked greed.

The Super Opener
Michael Zuroy
A bullied engineer accidentally invents a device that defies physics, only to discover his breakthrough is merely a doorway to an interdimensional conflict he must resolve alone.

The Survey, Volume 30, Number 6, May 10, 1913
Various
This volume serves as a primary record of early twentieth-century American social reform, documenting the earnest, often urgent efforts of progressives to address labor, housing, and public health at the dawn of the Wilson administration.

The testing of Janice Day
Helen Beecher Long
A young woman navigates the shifting social currents and modern mechanical wonders of a quiet country town, finding that her own integrity is the most important engine of all.

The Wishing Cap
Mary Martha Sherwood
A young orphan refuses to join in a game of material desire, eventually teaching his worldly guardian that true contentment comes only from faith.

Try to remember!
Frank Herbert
When an alien vessel lands and threatens Earth with destruction, humanity’s best minds realize that survival depends on transcending the limitations of human speech.

"Us, and our charge"
Amy Le Feuvre
The arrival of a sudden, sorrowful burden transforms a group of siblings from protected children into stewards of their own faith and courage. They must learn to "hold fast" to their convictions amidst the encroaching shadow of the Great War.

Willow the king
J. C. (John Collis) Snaith
A lighthearted, turn-of-the-century portrait of English village life where a high-stakes cricket match serves as the backdrop for social maneuvering, youthful bravado, and a clumsy attempt at romance.

Young Man from Elsewhen
Sylvia Jacobs
A weary, elderly man on a train journey strikes an unlikely deal with a mysterious traveler, trading his crumbling health for two weeks of youthful vitality. This is a story about the weight of time and the desperate hunger for a final, vibrant act of living.

Young man with a trumpet
Frank Belknap Long
After humanity vanishes from the Earth, the remaining animals attempt to reclaim the cultural legacy of their creators. This fable explores the nature of art, genius, and the persistence of beauty in a world left behind.

Youth, Vol. I, No. 4, June 1902: An Illustrated Monthly Journal for Boys & Girls
Various
This vintage journal captures the turn-of-the-century spirit through a curated blend of adventure serials, nature observations, and earnest moral instruction designed to shape the character of young readers.

A boke made by John Fryth, prysoner in the Tower of London: answerynge unto M. Mores letter, which he wrote agaynst the fyrste lytle treatyse that John Fryth made, concernynge the sacramente of the body and bloude of Christ
John Frith
Trapped in the Tower of London while awaiting execution, a condemned reformer fiercely defends his spiritual understanding of the sacrament against the sharp objections of a prominent adversary.

A Book of Old Ballads
Unknown
These verses preserve the raw, vibrant pulse of English history, capturing legends of outlaws, kings, and commoners in language that still rings with the clarity of a bell.

A Child's Primer of Natural History
Oliver Herford
Playful, irreverent verse turns standard zoological facts into sharp satire, poking fun at Victorian morality, human vanity, and artistic limits through a series of delightfully nonsensical animal sketches.

A master hand
Richard Dallas
A man is accused of a murder he did not commit, while the true killer orchestrates his defense from the inside. This is a tale of how legal procedure and personal loyalty can collide to obscure the truth.

"A Soldier Of The Empire"
Thomas Nelson Page
A battle-scarred veteran of Napoleon’s wars finds his loyalty to country and bloodline put to the ultimate test during the Franco-Prussian War. This short narrative captures the tragic dissonance between the romanticized glory of the past and the brutal, unsparing reality of modern conflict.

Aaron Trow
Anthony Trollope
The tale centers on the desperate flight of an escaped convict through the treacherous, isolated landscape of Bermuda, where his path violently intersects with the lives of a young woman and her protector.

Address of President Roosevelt at Cairo, Illinois, October 3, 1907
Theodore Roosevelt
Addressing a gathering in Cairo, Illinois, in 1907, the speaker confronts prevailing national pessimism, urging citizens to embrace sturdy hope, federal oversight of corporations, and a strong navy.

An Essay to Shew the Cause of Electricity
John Freke
A surgeon’s urgent quest to define the invisible spark of life, this eighteenth-century meditation reimagines electricity not as a human invention, but as a primal, animating force flowing through the very air we breathe.

Another year with Denise and Ned Toodles
Gabrielle E. (Gabrielle Emilie) Jackson
An imaginative eleven-year-old girl, her spirited pony, and an unforgettable menagerie of loyal pets navigate childhood adventures, mischief, and gentle moral growth through the changing seasons of a quiet country town.

Anthony Wayne, 1745-1796
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
Anthony Wayne’s fierce military career and controversial political life shaped the violent birth of the American republic and the bloody expansion of its frontier.

As many as touched Him
Eglanton Thorne
When a country girl leaves home for an apprenticeship, a single moment of carelessness with a candle changes the course of her family's life forever.

Baby-Land
Frink, Almira Louisa Corey, Mrs.
This collection of devotional poetry and lullabies frames the infancy of a child as a sacred, celestial trust, blending maternal devotion with a fervent, traditional Christian faith.

Bargain Basement
Charles L. Fontenay
A routine bargain hunting trip to a mysterious basement reveals an astonishing door to the future, triggering a temporal paradox of love, debt, and vanishing luxuries.

Battling the Bighorn
H. L. (Harry Lincoln) Sayler
Two enterprising teenagers take to the Canadian Rockies in a custom-built monoplane, trading grueling mountain climbs for aerial exploration in search of legendary big game.

Biscayne Bay, Dade Co., Florida, Between the 25th and 26th Degrees of Latitude.: A complete manual of information concerning the climate, soil, products, etc., of the lands bordering on Biscayne Bay, in Florida
Unknown
This 1876 publication serves as a promotional manual designed to attract settlers to the southern tip of Florida. It functions as a hybrid of geographical survey, health endorsement, and real estate prospectus, painting a picture of Biscayne Bay as an untapped Eden for those willing to endure the rigors of…

Boy: A Sketch
Marie Corelli
A fragile child receives only neglect and cruel whim from self-absorbed parents until a tender spinster offers him a lifeline that his family proudly and foolishly destroys.