The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 911
44,127 public-domain books, summarised. Page 911 of 920.
The Weakling
Everett B. Cole
A powerful, isolated man uses sophisticated psionic technology to maintain a brutal, hidden empire, only to be dismantled by an observant traveler who sees past his facade of lordship.
The York Problem
Herbert D. Kastle
The story follows an adolescent trapped in a cycle of racial hatred and isolation, whose frantic attempt to escape his segregated slum leads to a confrontation that forces the Galactic Council to resolve an ancient, violent social impasse.
Ultimatum
Roger D. Aycock
A reporter attempts to help an elderly, delusional stranger, only to discover that the man is an extraterrestrial scout who has condemned humanity to total annihilation.
Uncle Tweazy and his quizzical neighbours, vol. 2 of 3
Author of the Observant pedestrian, Montrose, Mystic cottager, &c. &c.
When an eccentric, disillusioned uncle and his observant nephew encounter a village paragon, hidden past sorrows collide with relentless local gossip and elaborate masquerades.
Vanilla culture as practiced in the Seychelles Islands
S. J. Galbraith
A seasoned planter reveals the meticulous secrets of cultivating and curing delicate vanilla orchids in the humid hills of the Seychelles.
Women and Politics
Charles Kingsley
The argument for women’s suffrage is not a radical departure from justice, but a necessary realization of the fundamental principles of a free and fair society.
A Special Mortality among Infants at Loughton, in the Epping Rural Sanitary District
Power, William Henry, Sir
An unexplained infant mortality crisis in a quiet Essex parish prompts a rigorous public health investigation that uncovers a lethal everyday contaminant.
A Succinct Account of the Plague at Marseilles: Its Symptoms and the Methods and Medicines Used for Curing It
François Chicoyneau
The Great Plague of Marseille was a disaster of overwhelming proportions, yet this clinical report offers a chillingly calm, methodical account of the epidemic’s progression and the desperate medical efforts to contain it.
A voice from the fire
Robert Wallace
A burning heap of pocket Bibles in a nineteenth-century Irish town sparks a fierce pulpit defense of scripture against the fires of sectarian hostility.
An Address to Lord Teignmouth, president of the British and Foreign Bible Society, occasioned by his address to the clergy of the Church of England
Thomas Sikes
A fiercely protective clergyman warns Lord Teignmouth that his newly formed Bible society threatens the survival of the established church by uniting orthodox believers with their bitterest sectarian enemies.
An Address to the Sisters of St. Peter's Home, Brompton
Edward Meyrick Goulburn
True holiness does not seek grand isolation, but quietly transforms the world through daily acts of mercy, unconscious influence, and a steadfast heart turned toward God.
Barbara Blomberg
Georg Ebers
A young German singer finds herself caught between the passionate love of Emperor Charles V and the bitter jealousy of those who guard his court.
Carrots, mangold wurtzels and sugar beets
James J. H. (James John Howard) Gregory
Maximizing nourishment from an acre of land requires a fundamental shift toward intensive root culture, where careful soil preparation, selective manuring, and precise harvesting unlock unprecedented agricultural yields.
Collision Orbit
Clyde Beck
A young technician trades a safe corporate career for a desperate gamble in the asteroid belt, only to find himself stranded, hunted, and fighting to reclaim his father's stolen legacy.
Darwinism. The Noachian Flood: A lecture delivered before the Torquay Natural History Society, Jan. 31st, 1870
Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing
When ancient texts describe a world drowned by water, we mistake poetic idiom for precise science, binding our understanding of antiquity to impossible physical extremes.
Dead-sea fruit, Vol. 3 (of 3)
M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
An aging worldling’s pursuit of a phantom happiness leaves a trail of regret, resolved only when younger lives break free from his mistakes.
Death of a mutant
Charles V. De Vet
A silent, gentle-faced mutant with the power to end suffering is hunted down by a world that fears what it cannot understand.
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
A diligent naval official records the daily pulse of Restoration London, balancing high-stakes admiralty business, parliamentary alarms, and domestic trials with startling intimacy.
Dramatics in the home
William Byron Forbush
Children are naturally dramatic, turning simple games, everyday chores, and imaginative play into vital tools for personal growth, social connection, and character development under gentle parental guidance.
England's Stewardship: The Substance of a Sermon Preached on the Fast-Day, in Trinity Church, Tunbridge Wells
Edward Hoare
A nation called to profound humiliation must examine its conscience, confront its moral failures in governing foreign territories, and embrace its spiritual obligations before God.
Enter the Nebula
Carl Jacobi
When a daring gentleman burglar is framed for murder, he must unravel a dark Martian conspiracy to clear his name and save a dying world.
F.O.B. Venus
Nelson S. Bond
A notoriously clumsy vice-president's nephew inadvertently turns a cargo disaster into a fortune aboard an aging space-freighter.
Fanny, with Other Poems
Fitz-Greene Halleck
Ambitious New York merchant rises, flirts with political vanity, and watches a crystal chandelier crash into his ruined grand gala. Meanwhile, a steadfast young couple weather a gale to build a quiet life by the river.
Fools and mules
Ray Humphreys
When a snowy Colorado mountain pass traps a bank messenger and a notorious highwayman, survival depends less on cleverness than on the stubborn instincts of an underestimated beast of burden.
Four Ghost Stories
Mrs. Molesworth
Genuine encounters with the unexplained leave ordinary people grappling with shadows, memory, and the strange echoes of souls departed before their time.
Go to sleep, my darling
Winston K. (Winston Kinney) Marks
A middle-aged salesman discovers he can telepathically quiet his infant daughter, setting off a dangerous psychological intrusion that ultimately traps his consciousness inside her mind.
Harper's Young People, December 28, 1880: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
This curated issue of a late-Victorian periodical offers a vibrant window into the imagination, social habits, and curiosity of American children at the close of 1880. It serves as a charming, multifaceted time capsule of a bygone era.
Harper's Young People, June 13, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
Step back into a nineteenth-century weekly journal where children chase wild lynxes, battle aggressive hornets, converse with attic portraits, and master coin tricks.
If Your Baby Must Travel in Wartime
United States. Children's Bureau
Navigating packed trains, scarce food, and unpredictable delays with an infant requires rigorous preparation, steady nerves, and practical strategies to keep civilian life moving safely behind the home front.
In the Fire of the Forge: A Romance of Old Nuremberg
Georg Ebers
The sudden death of a prince shatters a young knight’s world, driving him toward monastic renunciation even as financial ruin and scandal threaten the proud merchant city of Nuremberg.
Jimsy and the Monsters
Walter J. Sheldon
When a Hollywood film set needs terrifying alien monsters for a psychological thriller, an eccentric scientist's teleportation beam delivers creatures that turn out to fear nothing more than an insufferable child star.
Magpie's night-bear
W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle
A quiet night in a mountain cabin takes a strange turn when a massive, unexpected visitor wanders in and disrupts two prospectors' peace.
Martian Terror
Ed Earl Repp
A Martian military officer discovers he is actually a stolen Venusian prince, sparking a desperate subterranean rebellion to overthrow their brutal conquerors.
Mask of Death
Paul Ernst
A mysterious figure calling himself Doctor Satan threatens a lavish Maine resort with a weapon that distorts the flow of time itself.
Michael Fairless
William Scott Palmer
Grounded in profound physical suffering yet suffused with radiant nature, the life and writings of an anonymous Victorian creator reveal an enduring mystic philosophy of love, service, and spiritual wholeness.
Minnie's Pet Cat
Madeline Leslie
A young girl’s devotion to her cat becomes a window into the surprising intelligence and emotional depth of domestic animals.
Mohawks: A Novel. Volume 2 of 3
M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
A decadent, treacherous Georgian society serves as the backdrop for a high-stakes struggle between forbidden love and a sinister, long-concealed past.
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus: Musical Christmas play in four scenes
Maud Brunton
When Santa falls for the Fairy Queen and neglects Christmas, a presidential messenger, a fake fire, and a whimsical double wedding set everything right in Maud Brunton's charming play.
Neither Dorking nor the Abbey
J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
A great writer escapes the confines of a funeral to ascend a hill, greeted by the immortal characters he created. His final journey is not to a grave, but toward a joyous reunion with his peers.
Notes and Queries, Number 170, January 29, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
A weekly Victorian repository of curious scholarship, bridging obscure historical questions, literary debates, and antiquarian discoveries through the collaborative inquiries of nineteenth-century intellectuals.
Observations on antimony: Read before the Medical Society of London, and published at their request
John Millar
An eighteenth-century medical treatise exposes the dangers of indiscriminate antimonial remedies and popular fever-powders, tracing a history of chemical exaggeration, shifting medical dogmas, and pharmaceutical overconfidence.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, June 22nd, 1895
Various
Step into the vibrant, satirical world of late-Victorian England through this snapshot of a classic weekly periodical, where political absurdities and everyday eccentricities meet sharp wit.
Rago and Goni, the Tree-Dweller Children
Belle Wiley
High in the ancient forest branches, two prehistoric children learn the perilous art of survival alongside dangerous beasts, flickering fire, and a growing community.
Ralph Clavering
William Henry Giles Kingston
An arrogant boy’s claim to a wealthy English estate is shattered by a sudden, disruptive revelation, forcing him to confront his own profound snobbery and find a path toward genuine redemption.
Reconstruction in Louisiana after 1868
Ella Lonn
A fractured state struggles through the turbulent years of post-war reconstruction under the heavy hand of political ambition and corruption.
Report of the committee appointed to investigate the causes and extent of the late extraordinary sickness and mortality in the town of Mobile
Mobile (Ala.). Committee on Causes and Extent of the Late Extraordinary Sickness and Mortality in the Town
A civic committee investigates the devastating 1820 yellow fever epidemic in Mobile, Alabama, uncovering a toxic convergence of rotting wharves, extreme weather, and municipal neglect.
Revolt of the Brains
Stephen Marlowe
When humanity's ultimate weapons develop self-awareness and flee to the moon, one troubleshooter discovers they are hiding out of self-preservation.
Revolt on Io
Nelson S. Bond
An interstellar luxury liner carries a dangerous secret and a ruthless spy as it races through the void toward a rebellious moon.