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42,801 public-domain books, summarised. Page 780 of 892.

Cover of The Calico Cat

The Calico Cat

Charles Miner Thompson

A nervous village busybody and a misunderstood boy become entangled in a web of pride and secrecy following an accidental, late-night gunshot. This quiet, observant mystery captures the small-town tensions of a New England village at the turn of the twentieth century.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Camp Fire Boys at Log Cabin Bend

The Camp Fire Boys at Log Cabin Bend

St. George Rathborne

Four teenage boys find adventure and long-lost family ties while camping in the tall timber. Their wilderness retreat turns into a mystery that tests their loyalty and woodcraft skills.

Adventure5 min read
Cover of The care of the skin and hair

The care of the skin and hair

Morris Fishbein

Modern beauty standards often promise transformation through simple products, but this medical guide from the 1920s reveals the enduring, often dangerous, divide between marketing claims and biological reality.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Carnivore

The Carnivore

Katherine MacLean

In the aftermath of humanity’s self-inflicted extinction, a sole survivor awakens to find her world inherited by terrified, peace-loving aliens. She soon discovers that their offer of salvation is merely a mask for a final, calculated containment.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of The Circus Boys in Dixie Land

The Circus Boys in Dixie Land

Edgar B. P. Darlington

Phil Forrest and Teddy Tucker are two ambitious teenagers who have traded their quiet lives in Edmeston for the sawdust and spectacle of the traveling circus. Now seasoned performers, they navigate a world of intense rivalry, daring rescues, and the relentless demands of life on the road.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Cornhill Magazine (vol. XLI, no. 244 new series, October 1916)

The Cornhill Magazine (vol. XLI, no. 244 new series, October 1916)

Various

The quiet halls of Oxford and the thunderous, gas-choked trenches of the Great War collide in this late-Victorian and Edwardian literary mosaic. It captures a world on the precipice of irrevocable change, documenting both the intimate struggles of the spirit and the brutal realities of modern combat.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Deep One

The Deep One

Neil P. Ruzic

A dying race launches the last ship to seed a new world, but survival rests on a brilliant, isolated child who realizes his greatest threat is his own humanity.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Edge of the Knife

The Edge of the Knife

H. Beam Piper

This classic piece of science fiction explores the burden of precognition, focusing on a history professor who begins to experience vivid, accurate memories of future events. It is a taut study of isolation, institutional hostility, and the heavy price of knowing what is yet to come.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The exploration of Tibesti, Erdi, Borkou, and Ennedi in 1912-1917

The exploration of Tibesti, Erdi, Borkou, and Ennedi in 1912-1917

Jean Tilho

This account documents a rigorous five-year military and scientific survey of the central Sahara, capturing a transformative era of European colonial expansion amidst the shifting sands and rising tensions of the First World War.

History - Modern (1750+)7 min read
Cover of The Fatal Glove

The Fatal Glove

Clara Augusta

A young boy’s act of kindness and a stolen token of affection spiral into a decade of vengeance, mistaken identities, and a high-stakes search for truth across the shifting landscapes of the nineteenth-century American city.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Frugal Life: A Paradox

The Frugal Life: A Paradox

Ortensio Landi

The art of living well is found not in the abundance of one’s table, but in the restraint of one’s desires. By stripping away the excess of a decadent society, the human spirit is finally free to pursue true wisdom and lasting health.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The girl from Samarcand

The girl from Samarcand

E. Hoffmann Price

The pull of the past is a tangible, suffocating weight for a man who finds his present life eclipsed by the haunting, silk-woven memories of a long-dead lover.

Romance6 min read
Cover of The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Part 12

The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Part 12

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

A deluded soul traverses the landscape of Spain, transforming mundane reality into a stage for heroic deeds, while those around him struggle to navigate the wreckage of his imagination.

Classics of Literature7 min read
Cover of The Home in the Valley

The Home in the Valley

Emilie Flygare-Carlén

This is a gentle, pastoral exploration of domestic life in rural Sweden, where the quiet sanctity of a simple hearth is contrasted with the hollow ambitions of the wealthy. It follows the interconnected lives of a humble family and their meddlesome, aristocratic neighbors, ultimately arguing that genuine…

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Husbands of Edith

The Husbands of Edith

George Barr McCutcheon

The quiet charm of a European holiday takes an unexpected turn when a man agrees to pose as his best friend, only to find himself entangled in a web of impersonation and romance.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The hyena

The hyena

Robert E. (Robert Ervin) Howard

This is a harrowing tale of colonial anxiety, where the vast, untamed African veldt serves as a stage for a young man’s obsession with a mysterious, unsettling adversary. It is a story of primal dread, shifting identities, and the thin, blurring line between humanity and the beast.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 46, May 15, 1841

The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 46, May 15, 1841

Various

This collection serves as a cultural mirror, preserving the folk traditions, genealogical history, and grim social realities of early nineteenth-century Ireland through a series of diverse, episodic reports. It functions as a bridge between the oral storytelling of the past and the documenting impulse of the…

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Last of the Barons

The Last of the Barons

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

A grand historical tapestry set against the bloody backdrop of the Wars of the Roses, this epic explores the tragic decline of the old feudal order through the eyes of a legendary power-broker.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The life-masters

The life-masters

Edmond Hamilton

The world wakes to a silent, glistening horror: a mysterious gray slime crawling from the seas to consume humanity. This is a tale of scientific hubris where the architects of extinction are ultimately consumed by their own creation.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The life of John Thompson, a fugitive slave

The life of John Thompson, a fugitive slave

John Thompson

Born into the brutal reality of Maryland slavery, a young man discovers the transformative power of literacy and faith, ultimately risking everything to secure his own liberty and navigate the unpredictable currents of freedom.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Volume 16: Depart Switzerland

The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Volume 16: Depart Switzerland

Giacomo Casanova

A wanderer of insatiable appetite, the author navigates the social labyrinths of 18th-century France, trading in wit, astrology, and the unpredictable nature of human desire.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Mentor: The Story of Coal, vol. 6, Num. 6, Serial No. 154, May 1, 1918

The Mentor: The Story of Coal, vol. 6, Num. 6, Serial No. 154, May 1, 1918

Charles Fitzhugh Talman

Coal is the dark, foundational fuel of the industrial age, a substance that links the ancient, prehistoric swamp to the modern machine. It is the primary engine of labor, heat, and global conflict.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Merry Wives of Windsor

William Shakespeare

When a boastful, penniless knight attempts to woo two married women simultaneously, he finds himself ensnared in a web of elaborate, hilarious traps. In this world, the hunters quickly become the hunted.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The neutral merchant: in relation to the law of contraband of war and blockade under the order in Council of 11th March, 1915

The neutral merchant: in relation to the law of contraband of war and blockade under the order in Council of 11th March, 1915

Francis Taylor Piggott

This legal analysis examines the collision between British naval policy and neutral trade rights during the First World War, arguing that the necessities of modern conflict fundamentally reshape traditional maritime law.

History - Modern (1750+)7 min read
Cover of The Philosophy of Health; Volume 2 (of 2)

The Philosophy of Health; Volume 2 (of 2)

Southwood Smith

The human body is an intricate machine defined by constant, vital chemical exchanges, where every heartbeat and breath serves a singular purpose: the maintenance of life through the perpetual renewal of its internal environment.

Health & Medicine7 min read
Cover of The Rubáiyát of a Bachelor

The Rubáiyát of a Bachelor

Helen Rowland

A spirited bachelor navigates the social traps of early twentieth-century courtship, armed with wit, cigars, and a fervent determination to remain a free agent.

Humour6 min read
Cover of The Sagebrusher: A Story of the West

The Sagebrusher: A Story of the West

Emerson Hough

In this rugged Western, a displaced city woman and a simple-hearted homesteader navigate a marriage born of a ruse, finding redemption against the backdrop of a changing, violent frontier.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Shaving of Shagpat; an Arabian entertainment

The Shaving of Shagpat; an Arabian entertainment

George Meredith

A young barber sets out across a surreal, magical landscape to fulfill a fated task: the shaving of a legendary, enchanted figure.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The story of iron

The story of iron

Elizabeth Ida Samuel

A young boy’s life changes when he becomes an office helper at a bustling foundry, leading him to discover the secrets of industry, the weight of responsibility, and the history of the metal that builds the world.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The swamp was upside down

The swamp was upside down

Murray Leinster

HOOK A seasoned surveyor arrives on a failing colony planet to confront a geological catastrophe: the very ground is liquefying and sliding into the sea.

Environmental Issues5 min read
Cover of The Tattva-Muktavali

The Tattva-Muktavali

active 17th century Gaudapurnanandacakravarti

This polemical poem serves as a spirited defense of dualism, challenging the assertion that the individual soul and the supreme Divine are one and the same.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of The Very Small Person

The Very Small Person

Annie Hamilton Donnell

A series of gentle, interconnected sketches reveals the inner lives of children living in the shadow of adult indifference, showing how their small hearts yearn for the simple, transformative power of being wanted.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The will to live (Les Roquevillard)

The will to live (Les Roquevillard)

Henry Bordeaux

The weight of a family’s reputation and the pull of individual desire collide in this study of duty, honor, and the enduring strength of heritage.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of There was an old woman—

There was an old woman—

Robert Silverberg

The lives of thirty-one identical brothers are meticulously scripted by a mother determined to prove that environment, not heredity, defines the soul. The resulting experiment, however, carries a price that only the sons can pay.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of University of California Library Handbook 1918-1919

University of California Library Handbook 1918-1919

University of California (1868-1952). Library

This handbook serves as a definitive guide to the infrastructure, procedures, and expectations of a major research institution, mapping the physical and intellectual landscape of the University of California Library during the 1918–1919 academic year.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Vixen, Volume III

Vixen, Volume III

M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

Caught between the suffocating expectations of a new stepfather and the loss of her childhood friend, a young woman finds herself exiled to a distant manor, only to discover the path back to her own life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of What's Mine's Mine

What's Mine's Mine

George MacDonald

The contrast between the soul’s hunger and the world’s hollow ambitions defines a journey through the Scottish Highlands. This narrative explores the tension between ancestral heritage and the encroaching, disconnected values of the modern era.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Woodburn Grange: A story of English country life

Woodburn Grange: A story of English country life

William Howitt

A serene English countryside becomes a battlefield of clashing traditions, where rigid religious devotion and modern ambition collide to shatter the quiet lives of families caught in the crossfire.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of A Letter to the Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, Representative in Congress From the City of Boston, In Reply to His Apology For Voting For the Fugitive Slave Bill

A Letter to the Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, Representative in Congress From the City of Boston, In Reply to His Apology For Voting For the Fugitive Slave Bill

Franklin Dexter

Public officials are often tempted to justify their legislative record with revisionist history, but some arguments are so transparently fragile that they invite a dismantling of both the politician’s logic and his integrity.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of A Soldier of Virginia: A Tale of Colonel Washington and Braddock's Defeat

A Soldier of Virginia: A Tale of Colonel Washington and Braddock's Defeat

Burton Egbert Stevenson

HOOK This historical narrative traces the formative, often painful, experiences of a young Virginian soldier serving under George Washington during the disastrous military campaigns of the mid-eighteenth century.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Spaceship Named McGuire

A Spaceship Named McGuire

Randall Garrett

A pilot is hired to protect a headstrong heiress and solve the sabotage of a robotic spaceship, only to discover the ship has a mind—and a very specific, stubborn personality—of its own.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of A Spinner in the Sun

A Spinner in the Sun

Myrtle Reed

A woman hiding a disfigured past behind a veil finds her reclusive life disrupted by the arrival of a spirited young girl and a man who refuses to look away. This quiet, evocative narrative explores the weight of long-held secrets and the redemptive power of forgiveness.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Assyrian Historiography: A Source Study

Assyrian Historiography: A Source Study

A. T. (Albert Ten Eyck) Olmstead

A critical examination of ancient royal inscriptions reveals how Assyrian scribes systematically altered history across successive generations, transforming raw battlefield reports into sanitized propaganda.

Archaeology & Anthropology5 min read
Cover of Bandit Love

Bandit Love

Juanita Savage

A beautiful young Englishwoman finds her life turned upside down when a charming, arrogant Spanish nobleman decides that he—and not her dull, predictable fiancé—is the only man worthy of her spirit.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Collected Poems 1901-1918 in Two Volumes. Volume II

Collected Poems 1901-1918 in Two Volumes. Volume II

Walter De la Mare

HOOK This collection captures the thin, translucent veil between the familiar world of childhood and an unsettling, moonlit realm where nature and folklore collide.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Daisy Burns (Volume 1)

Daisy Burns (Volume 1)

Julia Kavanagh

The windswept cliffs of the English coast offer a solitary girl nothing but the rhythm of the sea, until an older, magnetic stranger arrives to claim her life and heart as his own.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Dotty Dimple Out West

Dotty Dimple Out West

Sophie May

A vain little girl learns that the world is far larger and kinder than her own reflection.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Elizabeth: the Disinherited Daughter: By E. Ben Ez-er

Elizabeth: the Disinherited Daughter: By E. Ben Ez-er

Ebenezer Arnold

The daughter of a wealthy farmer loses her inheritance for the sake of her faith, choosing the fervor of early American Methodism over the strictures of her father’s household.

British Literature6 min read