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All free summaries — page 785
42,801 public-domain books, summarised. Page 785 of 892.
Starr King in California
William Day Simonds
A preacher of rare eloquence and magnetism arrives in San Francisco just as the Civil War begins, single-handedly turning the tide of public opinion to secure California for the Union.
Ted Marsh on an Important Mission
Elmer Sherwood
A former newsboy turned Canadian academy student returns to his old Chicago haunts, stepping straight into a World War I espionage plot to thwart a German sabotage ring.
The American Practitioner and News. Vol. XXV. No. 3. Feb. 1, 1898: A Semi-Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery
Various
The American Practitioner and News captures a transitional moment in late nineteenth-century medicine, balancing entrenched clinical traditions with emerging scientific bacteriology and pharmacology.
The Answer
H. Beam Piper
The haunting shadow of a long-past nuclear catastrophe finds a mirror in a modern scientific experiment, forcing two aging physicists to confront the terrifying possibility that humanity destroyed itself over a natural phenomenon.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 45, July, 1861: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
A vivid snapshot of a nation caught between the pastoral beauty of old-world traditions and the red-hot crucible of an unfolding civil war.
The Blue Pavilions
Arthur Quiller-Couch
A tale of two retired sea captains, a long-standing grudge, and the unexpected arrival of a grown son, this historical drama plays out against the tense backdrop of the Franco-Dutch War. It is a story of stubborn pride, quiet reconciliations, and the persistence of human affection.
The Bobbsey Twins at Home
Laura Lee Hope
The Bobbsey twins navigate the seasonal rhythms of home, turning mundane neighborhood life into a series of small, earnest adventures while helping a friend solve a family mystery.
The Boy Allies at Verdun
Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes
The shadow of the Great War looms over the French countryside, where two inseparable American youths navigate the front lines of the most desperate struggle of the twentieth century.
The Boy Aviators' Polar Dash
John Henry Goldfrap
HOOK Teenage brothers command an advanced aeroplane on a high-stakes expedition to the Antarctic, where they must outwit rival explorers to claim a long-lost Viking treasure hidden beneath the ice.
The City Bride (1696)
Joseph Harris
A tangled comedy of manners, this 1696 drama navigates the volatile intersection of friendship, jealousy, and marriage in Restoration London. It captures a world where loyalty is constantly tested by suspicion and social performance.
The Daguerreian Journal, Vol. II, No. 2, June 1, 1851
Various
Step into the mid-nineteenth century to witness the thrilling convergence of pioneering chemistry, early photography, and modern industrial ambition.
The dark mother
Waldo David Frank
A young man drifts between rural stillness and the turbulent machinery of New York, seeking an elusive spiritual home among restless friends and complex desires.
The Day of the Dog
Anderson Horne
The day begins with a quiet maritime mystery and ends in an existential reckoning for humanity, as a simple pleasure trip turns into a frantic race against a biological contagion from the stars.
The Divine Comedy by Dante, Illustrated, Hell, Volume 04
Dante Alighieri
A living pilgrim descends into the subterranean terrors of the underworld, relying entirely on a wise guide to navigate demonic monsters, divine judgments, and his own overwhelming dread.
The Dweller on the Threshold
Robert Hichens
The boundary between the soul and the surface is easily breached, and once crossed, the reflection in the glass may no longer belong to the one who stands before it.
The dynasty of Theodosius, or, eighty years' struggle with the barbarians
Thomas Hodgkin
Eighty turbulent years of crumbling imperial power, desperate migration, and fierce clashes unfold as Rome confronts the rising tide of barbarian tribes across Europe and North Africa.
The Evacuation of England: The Twist in the Gulf Stream
L. P. (Louis Pope) Gratacap
When a sudden shift in the Gulf Stream turns the British Isles into a freezing, uninhabitable wasteland, an entire nation faces the unprecedented trial of abandoning its ancient home.
The Faa's revenge, and other tales
Various
Where winter winds bite sharp and human passions run high, old grudges breed bitter revenges and quiet village streets conceal dark, unfolding tragedies across the Scottish borders.
The Heptalogia
Algernon Charles Swinburne
A master of language turns his sharpest tools upon his own contemporaries, exposing the hollow flourishes of the Victorian literary establishment through a series of biting, brilliant parodies.
The History of the First United States Flag: and the Patriotism of Betsy Ross, the Immortal Heroine That Originated the First Flag of the Union
J. Franklin (John Franklin) Reigart
This account chronicles the origins of the American flag and celebrates the life of its legendary creator, Betsy Ross, framing her work as a vital contribution to the nation’s Revolutionary victory.
The Hospital Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 2, April 15, 1909
Various
This collection offers a candid, firsthand window into the moral struggles and technical evolution of physicians practicing in early twentieth-century Maryland.
The House of Whispers
William Le Queux
A blind man, his devoted daughter, and a web of international intrigue collide at a lonely Scottish estate. Secrets whisper through the stone walls, threatening to destroy a family built on hidden wealth.
The Hurricane Guide: Being an Attempt to Connect the Rotary Gale or Revolving Storm with Atmospheric Waves
William Radcliff Birt
Mastering the mechanics of the revolving storm can mean the difference between a safe voyage and a total loss at sea. This guide provides the essential logic and instrumentation required for sailors to navigate away from the centers of tropical hurricanes.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 29, January 16, 1841
Various
This collection of essays, lore, and history captures the intellectual pulse of 1841 Ireland, offering a window into a culture deeply invested in its own vanishing past and the scientific curiosities of the natural world.
The Iron Division, National Guard of Pennsylvania, in the World War: The authentic and comprehensive narrative of the gallant
H. G. (Harry George) Proctor
This account chronicles the 28th Division’s transition from Pennsylvania National Guardsmen into the "Iron Division," a front-line force that navigated the brutal realities of the First World War’s most decisive battles.
The Kenzie Report
Mark Clifton
The universe is far older and more crowded than humanity dares to imagine, and we are merely a footnote in a cosmic hierarchy we lack the humility to perceive.
The Log of the "Jolly Polly"
Richard Harding Davis
Temptation often arrives at the most inconvenient moments, but rarely does it present itself as a five-million-dollar offer to be adopted by a total stranger. This lighthearted tale follows a struggling author who discovers that the greatest riches are found not in inheritance, but in the independence of one's own…
The Millionaire Baby
Anna Katharine Green
A frantic search for a missing young girl leads a private detective into a web of high-stakes deception, hidden identities, and long-buried family secrets.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 353, January 24, 1829
Various
A lively miscellany captures the architectural, literary, and social curiousness of Regency-era Britain. This 1829 periodical paints a sharp, entertaining portrait of everyday life, romantic poetry, and quirky cultural history.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 557, July 14, 1832
Various
This anthology offers a window into the intellectual life of 1832, blending biographies, travelogues, and practical guides into a varied portrait of a rapidly changing British society.
The Nursery, October 1881, Vol. XXX: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers
Various
This collection of stories and verses from the autumn of 1881 offers a gentle, window-like view into the Victorian childhood, where the simple rhythms of farm life, nature study, and domestic play define the world.
The Old Ones
Betsy Curtis
Cast aside by a youth-obsessed Earth, a population of institutionalized seniors seizes an audacious chance to colonize Venus and reclaim their purpose.
The one great reality
Louisa Clayton
HOOK This collection of spiritual addresses offers a guided path toward experiencing the divine as a personal, constant presence in daily life. It invites readers to look beyond the surface of existence to find a singular, grounding reality.
The pelicans
E. M. Delafield
Orphaned sisters navigate sacrifice and the pull of the Catholic Church, leading one to the convent and leaving the other to confront a devastating loss.
The Power of a Lie
Johan Bojer
A small, uncorrected falsehood spirals outward through a rural community, steadily warping public opinion, destroying families, and trapping even its perpetrators in a comforting web of self-deception.
The Scornful Lady
John Fletcher
A volatile romantic comedy of manners, this play tracks the high-stakes games of pride, courtship, and reckless excess played by two brothers and their stubborn, sharp-witted counterparts.
The Song Book of Quong Lee of Limehouse
Thomas Burke
The songbook of a shopkeeper adrift in London’s Limehouse district offers a quiet, observational look at the immigrant experience through the eyes of a man caught between two worlds. It is a work of gentle irony and persistent, sometimes aching, humanity.
The sting
William Le Queux
A web of aristocratic blackmail, hidden crypts, and sudden murder shatters the peace of an English country estate, drawing a shrewd old lawyer and a psycho-analyst into a desperate quest for truth.
The Strange Adventures of Eric Blackburn
Harry Collingwood
A lone survivor of a tragic shipwreck navigates the Pacific, unearthing ancient treasure and facing island perils with a young companion. This classic adventure tale follows a resilient officer through survival, discovery, and a final, hard-won return to civilization.
The Tallants of Barton, vol. 3 (of 3)
Joseph Hatton
The wheel of fortune turns incessantly, and those who climb to the heights must be prepared for the inevitable descent. Even the most carefully constructed lives are subject to the shifting whims of fate.
The Test Colony
Winston K. (Winston Kinney) Marks
A group of human colonists on a remote, lush planet attempts to preserve their civilization, only to find themselves outsmarted by a deceptively simple, fun-loving race of extraterrestrials.
The Three Cities Trilogy: Rome, Volume 4
Émile Zola
A young priest’s quest to reconcile his faith with the modern world crumbles against the labyrinthine cruelty of the Vatican. This is a story of how institutions protect their power, often at the cost of the human hearts they claim to save.
The "Twenty-Seventh"
Winthrop Dudley Sheldon
Through mud, bombardment, and the tragic smoke of three major battles, a nine-month Connecticut regiment confronts the raw, unsparing realities of the American Civil War.
The Untouchable
Stephen A. Kallis
An inventor's gift becomes an unreachable paradox when a device that slips through solid matter accidentally turns itself permanently beyond human physical touch.
The Vanishing Venusians
Leigh Brackett
A cynical drifter and two companions scale a shrouded Venusian sea-cliff, stumbling onto a high, idyllic plateau ruled by deceptive, plant-like humanoids who guard their paradise with lethal telepathic power.
The Vehement Flame
Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
A young man’s impulsive marriage to an older woman unravels under the weight of jealousy and a hidden past, leaving him to navigate the wreckage of his own honor and the persistence of new love.
The virgin and the gipsy
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
An untethered young Englishwoman finds herself drawn to the rugged freedom of an outcast romani man while trapped within the suffocating conventions of a dreary northern rectory.
The Way of the Wind
Zoé Anderson Norris
When prairie winds break a young couple's spirit, the husband clings to a delusional promise of future wealth while the wife retreats to the soft comforts of her Kentucky past.