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All free summaries — page 917
44,127 public-domain books, summarised. Page 917 of 920.
Mary Jane: Her Book
Clara Ingram Judson
A five-year-old girl navigates the small, earth-shaking dramas of early childhood with endless curiosity, absolute earnestness, and a family that knows just how to guide her.
Miss Ellis's Mission
Mary P. Wells (Mary Prudence Wells) Smith
HOOK A portrait of quiet, persistent devotion, this account follows one woman who, despite chronic illness, sparked a nationwide movement by mailing literature to seekers in need of a rational faith.
Notes and Queries, Number 224, February 11, 1854: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
A 1854 periodical issue gathers curious readers, scholars, and antiquaries to solve literary mysteries, correct linguistic slips, track ancient customs, and debate theological and historical texts.
Observations of a Retired Veteran
Henry C. Tinsley
A small-town Virginia editor transforms the quiet observations of his sickbed and daily strolls into warm, sharply observed meditations on human nature, aging, and the quiet dignity of ordinary life.
Over the Line
Harold M. (Harold Morrow) Sherman
A country boy overcomes his inner doubts on the gridiron, proving that personal courage matters more than where you start.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, July 20, 1895
Various
A satirical window into late-Victorian society, this issue of the classic magazine captures a culture locked in rapid transition.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 12, 1919
Various
This collection of wit and commentary captures the singular, weary, and eccentric atmosphere of London in the spring of 1919, as a society attempts to laugh while navigating the strange, lingering debris of the Great War.
Rosa's Quest
Anna Potter Wright
A young girl's quest to find the way to a beautiful land where her mother resides, free from suffering, leads her on a journey of faith, compassion, and redemption.
The American Missionary
Various
A 19th-century missionary society's quarterly report details its efforts to educate and evangelize marginalized communities across America.
The Christian Foundation, Or, Scientific and Religious Journal, Volume I, No. 8, August, 1880
Various
A nineteenth-century journal defends Christian orthodoxy against the rising tide of secular evolution and skeptical philosophy through rigorous theological debate.
The Dalby Bear, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
A bear roams the moors, an anxious groom misses his wedding over wet shoes, and a young mother faces dark curses under a green hill in these traditional verse narratives.
The Doubts of Infidels
William Nicholson
A biting work of Enlightenment-era dissent, these pages wield the tools of irony to expose perceived contradictions and moral failings within the canon of the Bible.
The Frightened Planet
Sidney Austen
A prehistoric warrior finds himself the savior of a technologically advanced but spineless civilization. He must teach a city of cowards how to fight for their survival against a reptilian enemy.
The Ink-Stain (Tache d'encre)
René Bazin
A clumsy ink blot in a solemn Parisian library unexpectedly steers a dreamy young law student toward romance, art, and the intoxicating perils of the heart.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 576, November 17, 1832
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, multifaceted window into the intellectual and social preoccupations of early nineteenth-century England. It captures a specific moment in time where history, natural science, and societal reform converge.
The postal service of the United States in connection with the local history of Buffalo
Nathan Kelsey Hall
The transformation of a wilderness outpost into a bustling commercial center unfolds through the lens of a developing mail system. This account tracks the vital threads of communication that bound a frontier settlement to the wider world.
The Splendid Folly
Margaret Pedler
A young singer's meteoric rise to fame is shadowed by a mysterious husband, a web of political secrets, and the difficult choice between a grand career and a consuming love.
The Thorogood Family
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
A sturdy blacksmith and his five sons pursue their distinct, adventurous callings with a shared commitment to faith, eventually reuniting across the Atlantic to build a new life in the rugged wilderness.
True To His Colors
Harry Castlemon
As the Civil War tears apart a southern military academy and its surrounding town, young students and townspeople grapple with divided loyalties, local vigilante plots, and the shifting pull of opposing flags.
You Don't Make Wine Like the Greeks Did
David E. Fisher
A psychiatrist’s conventional life unravels when a stranger claims to be a time-traveler seeking a cure for his wife’s sudden attachment to the present. Reality begins to blur as the boundaries between clinical observation and romantic obsession dissolve.
A Boy Knight
Martin J. (Martin Jerome) Scott
A young man chooses integrity over popularity, learning that true courage often requires silent suffering and the heavy burden of keeping a promise.
A Century of Christian Service: Kensington Congregational Church, 1793-1893
C. Silvester (Charles Silvester) Horne
This chronicle records the first century of a London congregation, documenting a transition from a small band of Dissenters meeting in fields to an established pillar of urban community life.
Are these Things So? (1740) The Great Man's Answer to Are These things So: (1740)
James Miller
These sharp, biting satires capture the frantic political climate of 1740, as a masked poet confronts a powerful minister over the fate of a nation teetering toward war and corruption.
Fern Vale
Colin Munro
A young woman in colonial Queensland struggles between duty to an unwanted betrothal and her silent love for a neighbor, while bush fires, river floods, and frontier violence threaten to sweep both families away.
History of the United Netherlands, 1588d
John Lothrop Motley
A sweeping chronicle of the Eighty Years' War, this narrative captures the existential clash between the nascent Dutch Republic and the overwhelming might of the Spanish Empire.
How The Raven Died: 1902, From "Wolfville Nights"
Alfred Henry Lewis
A ruthless chief's fatal weakness for curiosity leads him into a trap constructed of deadly secrets and endless storytelling.
Last Days in a Dutch Hotel (from Literature and Life)
William Dean Howells
A chilly September wind blows across the North Sea as an American traveler lingers through the dying days of the tourist season at a grand resort in Scheveningen.
Midnight In Beauchamp Row: 1895
Anna Katharine Green
The isolation of a winter storm provides the backdrop for a chilling confrontation between a young bride, a mysterious intruder, and a secret that threatens to destroy everything. A single night of terror unravels the foundations of a marriage, revealing the dark lengths to which one man will go to secure a fortune.
Miss Hildreth: A Novel, Volume 1
Augusta de Grasse Stevens
A decade of secrets and silent resentment separates two former lovers who must now confront their unresolved past amidst the stifling social rituals of high society. Pride and pride alone stands between them and the reconciliation they both secretly crave.
Peter Biddulph: The Story of an Australian Settler
William Henry Giles Kingston
A young man climbs from the mud of the Thames to the vast, untamed pastures of Australia, proving that industry and faith are the only necessary currency for a life well-lived.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, June 14, 1916
Various
A weekly snapshot of British life in 1916, capturing the absurdity of the home front alongside the somber weight of the Great War.
Ripeness is All
Jesse Roarke
In a automated future of endless comfort and empty desires, a mindless consumer awakens to a quiet, terrifying question: what is a human life actually for?
The Brown Study
Grace S. (Grace Smith) Richmond
A man chooses to exchange the comforts of an elite urban parish for a life of modest service, only to find that his true challenge lies in remaining faithful to his own sense of purpose.
The Choice: 1916
Edith Wharton
A stifling summer night becomes a stage for hidden desperation, where the suffocating weight of a loveless marriage leads to a moment of irrevocable, dark decision.
The clammer and the submarine
William John Hopkins
A New England clammer, restless in the shadow of the Great War, finds his quiet life of gardens and tides interrupted by the encroaching phantom of the submarine.
The House Opposite: A Mystery
Elizabeth Kent
When a young New York doctor peers out his window during a sweltering heatwave, he inadvertently becomes the sole eye-witness to a bizarre murder, entangling himself in a labyrinth of high-society secrets and false clues.
The King's Esquires
George Manville Fenn
A missing gem, a bold royal disguise, and a nocturnal flight across the Channel set two young esquires on a collision course with national destiny.
The Maid and the Magpie: An Interesting Tale Founded on Facts
Charles Moreton
The Maid and the Magpie is a cautionary verse tale illustrating how easily silence and circumstance can condemn the innocent. It serves as a reminder that the truth often hides in plain sight, waiting for a chance discovery.
The Nursery, June 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 6: A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers
Various
This collection offers a window into the Victorian nursery, where natural curiosity, moral instruction, and gentle wonder are nurtured through brief, accessible tales and verses intended for the youngest readers of the late nineteenth century.
The Peasant and the Prince
Harriet Martineau
This is a historical narrative that examines the tragic downfall of the French monarchy, juxtaposing the immense suffering of the peasantry with the insulated, often oblivious lives of the royal family during the Revolution.
The Romantic Scottish Ballads: Their Epoch and Authorship
Robert Chambers
A provocative inquiry into the origins of Scotland’s most beloved ballads, challenging the long-held belief that these haunting verses are ancient relics of the medieval minstrel tradition.
The Supposed Autographa of John the Scot
Edward Kennard Rand
A scholarly detective story, this examination of medieval manuscripts systematically dismantles a celebrated attribution to uncover the true, collaborative nature of a philosopher’s working process.
The Triumph of Jill
F. E. Mills (Florence Ethel Mills) Young
An impoverished young art teacher in London fights to preserve her independence while navigating a complicated romance with an aspiring painter bound by social divides.
The Weird Sisters: A Romance. Volume 3 (of 3)
Richard Dowling
This psychological thriller tracks a banker’s slow, agonizing descent into madness as he attempts to conceal a massive financial betrayal. It is a portrait of a man haunted by the literal and figurative ghosts of his own greed.
With Edge Tools
H. C. (Hobart Chatfield) Chatfield-Taylor
A society man and a restless wife navigate the treacherous currents of love and reputation in a world where appearances are the only currency that truly matters.
A Chilhowee Lily: 1911
Charles Egbert Craddock
When rumor sweeps through a remote Appalachian gap that a forgotten chest lies buried beneath a wild white bloom, every idle hand takes up a pickaxe, and one young woman must decide whether her word is worth more than her lover's trust.
A Romance of Wastdale
A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason
When an idealist discovers his fiancée’s past love affair, a solitary walk through the English Lake District becomes a descent into obsession, betrayal, and violence.
Books in general
Squire, John Collings, Sir
A relaxed room full of old volumes becomes a mirror for human nature in all its vanity, humor, and unpredictable charm.