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47,330 public-domain books, summarised. Page 799 of 987.

Cover of The box of whistles

The box of whistles

John Norbury

This observant travelogue and technical guide offers an intimate, century-old look at the grandeur of European organ cases, capturing the intersection of fine craftsmanship, architectural ambition, and musical history.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of The Boy Scout pathfinders

The Boy Scout pathfinders

George Durston

Two ordinary schoolboys find themselves tangled in the high-stakes intelligence operations of the Great War, proving that even a youthful pair of scouts can turn the tide of a desperate campaign.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Bride of Huitzil—An Aztec Legend

The Bride of Huitzil—An Aztec Legend

Hervey Allen

The story of a king’s final, prideful days and his descent into the underworld unfolds as a haunting exploration of power, divine judgment, and the heavy price of ambition.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of The Calvinistic Doctrine of Predestination Examined and Refuted

The Calvinistic Doctrine of Predestination Examined and Refuted

F. (Francis) Hodgson

HOOK This polemical work systematically dismantles the doctrine of absolute predestination, arguing that the belief that God foreordains every human action destroys the possibility of free will, moral accountability, and a coherent understanding of divine justice.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of The Chief Legatee

The Chief Legatee

Anna Katharine Green

A bride disappears hours after her wedding, setting off a desperate search across Connecticut that uncovers secret identities, fake twins, and a high-stakes conspiracy targeting a vast fortune.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Chinese Coat

The Chinese Coat

Jennette Lee

A woman discovers a forgotten, mythical garment in a dusty department store, sparking a lifelong quest that transforms her quiet existence into a pilgrimage of mythic proportions.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Colonial Mortuary Bard

The Colonial Mortuary Bard

Louis Becke

This collection of three narratives captures the spirit of the late nineteenth-century Pacific and Australian colonies, moving from the grim humor of tombstone inscriptions to the cunning of a seafaring rogue and the quiet intensity of childhood angling. It offers a glimpse into a world where survival, profit, and…

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The comet-drivers

The comet-drivers

Edmond Hamilton

A cosmic threat looms as a colossal, living comet hurtles toward the galaxy, forcing an elite interstellar force into a desperate, high-stakes collision course with an alien intelligence. This fast-paced adventure pits the survival of a universe against a singular, unstoppable force of nature.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Corner House

The Corner House

Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White

A woman of magnetic, dangerous charm orchestrates a web of deceit from a London townhouse, drawing a young doctor and a perceptive girl into a high-stakes game of shadows, motors, and murder.

Crime, Thrillers and Mystery6 min read
Cover of The Earl's promise

The Earl's promise

Riddell, J. H., Mrs.

The crumbling fortunes of an Irish estate become the crucible for a young woman’s pride and a community’s slow, inevitable decay. Against the backdrop of shifting social tides in Ulster, this narrative traces the consequences of rigid class barriers and the tragic cost of misplaced conviction.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The eternal quest

The eternal quest

Joseph Gilbert

In a future where humanity has succumbed to a hollow, mechanized existence, a desperate visionary promises salvation through a voyage to another star. Yet, beneath this glimmer of hope lies a haunting truth about the nature of progress.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 357, October 30, 1886

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 357, October 30, 1886

Various

A vibrant Victorian periodical blends domestic drama, practical financial guides, fairy tales, and personal advice into a single weekly issue.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 360, November 20, 1886

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 360, November 20, 1886

Various

A quiet corner of Victorian life, this volume gathers the voices and practical wisdom of an era through a curated collection of narratives, instructional guides, and personal correspondence.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Great Green Blight

The Great Green Blight

Robert Emmett McDowell

A young historian finds himself a prisoner in a brutal interstellar slave trade, leading a desperate, high-stakes rebellion to liberate the galaxy from a silent, invisible terror.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Jim Crow Car

The Jim Crow Car

J. C. (John Clay) Coleman

The struggle for human dignity in the post-Reconstruction American South remains a clarion call for justice and legal accountability. This record of systemic oppression, violence, and institutionalized bigotry serves as a vital historical witness.

History - American7 min read
Cover of The last age of the church

The last age of the church

John‏ Wycliffe

An urgent, apocalyptic warning from the fourteenth century, this text cries out against the moral decay of the Church. It captures a medieval world gripped by the fear that the end of time is near.

History - Medieval/Middle Ages6 min read
Cover of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 08: Otho

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 08: Otho

Suetonius

This account of a short-lived Roman ruler tracks the intersection of personal excess and political ruin, ending in an act of self-destruction that defied the expectations of a decadent life.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of The Making of a Man: Being a Description of Artificial Limbs and How They May Be Adopted by Those Who Have Suffered Loss of Their Natural Limbs

The Making of a Man: Being a Description of Artificial Limbs and How They May Be Adopted by Those Who Have Suffered Loss of Their Natural Limbs

N.Y.) George R. Fuller Co. (Rochester

The journey toward physical restoration begins not with a single step, but with the deliberate application of mechanical ingenuity to the human form. This archival document serves as a bridge between the physical loss of a limb and the restoration of a life’s functionality.

Engineering & Technology7 min read
Cover of The Man Who Hated Mars

The Man Who Hated Mars

Randall Garrett

HOOK A desperate exile on a frozen, hostile Mars plots an impossible escape to Earth, fueled by an obsession with the home he lost and a hatred for the world that holds him captive.

Novels5 min read
Cover of The Mysteries of Florence

The Mysteries of Florence

George Lippard

A young nobleman, framed for parricide, navigates a labyrinth of subterranean torture and monastic conspiracies to reclaim his legacy from a tyrannical duke and a fanatical uncle.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Negro as a soldier

The Negro as a soldier

Christian A. (Christian Abraham) Fleetwood

This address traces the persistent, often ignored service of African American soldiers from the Revolution through the Civil War. It serves as both a historical record and a plea for the recognition of black valor.

History - American7 min read
Cover of The Old Helmet, Volume II

The Old Helmet, Volume II

Susan Warner

The struggle for a meaningful life often requires setting aside the comforts of home to serve a greater purpose. This narrative explores the quiet, internal transformation of a woman as she commits herself to a difficult calling.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The old Worcester jug

The old Worcester jug

Eglanton Thorne

A lonely child, a hard-hearted antique dealer, and a forgotten piece of porcelain converge in a poignant story of redemption, loss, and the enduring power of kindness.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car

The Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car

Laura Lee Hope

Four young women navigate a scenic, motor-driven excursion that veers from a simple road trip into a search for a missing person and the investigation of a mysterious, reputedly haunted mansion.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Pennsylvania Journal of prison discipline and philanthropy (Vol. VIII, No. III, July 1853)

The Pennsylvania Journal of prison discipline and philanthropy (Vol. VIII, No. III, July 1853)

Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons

This mid-19th-century periodical serves as a rigorous, impassioned manifesto for the "separate system" of prison discipline, arguing that the only path to criminal reform is the total isolation of inmates from one another.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The picnic party

The picnic party

Oliver Optic

A young girl’s habit of treating her companions like servants threatens to ruin her summer vacation, leading to a humbling lesson in the true nature of kindness and independence.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of The Planet of Illusion

The Planet of Illusion

Donald A. Wollheim

The Astralite is a vessel of the Thirtieth Century, built to explore the furthest reaches of the cosmos. When its crew encounters an unrecorded red planet and a hostile fleet of alien ships, they discover that the boundaries of space are more fragile—and more deceptive—than their instruments ever predicted.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The principles and objects of geology, with special reference to the geology of Egypt

The principles and objects of geology, with special reference to the geology of Egypt

W. F. (William Fraser) Hume

The earth beneath our feet is a restless, shifting puzzle, slowly sculpted by water, wind, and time. This technical overview illuminates the geological forces that have defined the dramatic landscapes of the Egyptian desert.

Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming6 min read
Cover of The queer little man

The queer little man

Marion Ames Taggart

A tight-knit group of children transforms their world through imagination and loyalty, finding sanctuary in a secret clubhouse while facing the encroaching shadows of family hardship.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of The Rockspur Eleven: A Fine Football Story for Boys

The Rockspur Eleven: A Fine Football Story for Boys

Burt L. Standish

This story of high-stakes athletics and personal integrity follows a gifted young athlete as he navigates the volatile pride and moral pressures of small-town life. It captures the intensity of youth, where a single mistake can feel like a life-altering tragedy.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The Silver Glen

The Silver Glen

Bessie Dill

HOOK This memoir traces the quiet resilience of women navigating the political wreckage and personal heartbreak left in the wake of the failed Jacobite Rising of 1715.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of The Silver Plague

The Silver Plague

Albert dePina

A dying operative fights a desperate war against a civilization-ending pathogen, racing to deliver a secret cure before his own body succumbs to the same transformation.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The Smart Set: Correspondence & Conversations

The Smart Set: Correspondence & Conversations

Clyde Fitch

In a sequence of epistolary snippets and overheard conversations, late-nineteenth-century New York society drops its polite mask to reveal a world driven by social climbing, marital bargaining, and thin pretenses.

American Literature11 min read
Cover of The Star-Master

The Star-Master

Ray Cummings

Two ordinary men from Earth stumble into a cosmic conflict when they are abducted by a tyrant seeking to enslave the peaceful, exotic inhabitants of Venus.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Uncle of an Angel: 1891

The Uncle of an Angel: 1891

Thomas A. (Thomas Allibone) Janvier

A bachelor of settled habits finds his quiet life upended when he takes charge of a manipulative young ward who knows how to bend every social situation to her advantage.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Used People Lot

The Used People Lot

Irving E. Fang

In a future where personal worth is measured by long-term automobile contracts, a man scrambles to trade his wrecked car for a new one to save a failing romance.

Humour6 min read
Cover of The Vision of the Fountain (From "Twice Told Tales")

The Vision of the Fountain (From "Twice Told Tales")

Nathaniel Hawthorne

A fifteen-year-old youth glimpses a captivating female face reflected in a forest spring, spending months lost in romantic longing until a surprise winter encounter reveals the true, earthly identity of his mysterious vision.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Wooing of Calvin Parks

The Wooing of Calvin Parks

Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

A traveling candy merchant finds his steady rural route upended when a resilient sea-captain's widow and a pair of interdependent cousins challenge his quiet bachelor life.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Tour of the Zero Club

Tour of the Zero Club

Edward Stratemeyer

The crisp winter air and the promise of wilderness adventure draw four young friends into an unforgiving landscape, where their resilience is tested by ice, hunger, and unexpected enemies.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Benjamin Franklin Cresson

This technical account documents the monumental engineering effort required to extend the Pennsylvania Railroad into Manhattan, focusing on the complex excavation and stabilization beneath Ninth Avenue. It serves as a meticulous record of the early twentieth-century ingenuity that transformed New York’s…

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of Viola's vanity

Viola's vanity

Miller, Alex. McVeigh, Mrs.

HOOK A beautiful socialite’s impulsive marriage to a stranger creates a web of deception that forces her to confront the true cost of her own vanity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Virginia Dare: A Romance of the Sixteenth Century

Virginia Dare: A Romance of the Sixteenth Century

E. A. B. Shackleford

The disappearance of the Roanoke colonists remains one of history’s most haunting enigmas, here reimagined as a tale of cultural collision and the enduring power of personal devotion.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Vittoria

Vittoria

George Meredith

This dense, atmospheric tapestry of Italian revolution and personal loyalty follows an aspiring opera singer caught between her devotion to a clandestine cause and her ties to the Austrian officers occupying her land.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Wau-nan-gee

Wau-nan-gee

Major (John) Richardson

The tragic final stand at Fort Dearborn serves as the backdrop for a harrowing tale of devotion, military hubris, and the desperate struggle for survival in the American wilderness.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Why I Am a Vegetarian: An Address Delivered Before the Chicago Vegetarian Society

Why I Am a Vegetarian: An Address Delivered Before the Chicago Vegetarian Society

J. Howard (John Howard) Moore

The human race is like a snake—it sheds its old, restrictive skin of thought to make room for new intellectual growth. This work serves as an urgent, uncompromising call for universal compassion toward all sentient creatures.

Environmental Issues6 min read
Cover of With the Colors: Songs of the American Service

With the Colors: Songs of the American Service

Everard Jack Appleton

The call to service is a heavy burden, but the heart can remain light if it beats in time with a nation’s honor. This collection of verse captures the urgent, patriotic pulse of a country on the brink of a new era.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Canadian Heroine, Volume 1: A Novel

A Canadian Heroine, Volume 1: A Novel

Coghill, Harry, Mrs.

A quiet Canadian settlement hides old sorrows until an unexpected suitor and a sudden return threaten a young woman's peaceful life.

Novels5 min read
Cover of Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Book III

Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Book III

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

A sweeping history of ancient Athens, charting its rise through intellectual awakening, dramatic art, and the monumental clash of the Persian Wars.

History - Ancient5 min read