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5,112 public-domain books, summarised. Page 92 of 107.
Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
A master of the Enlightenment captures the essence of a rapidly changing world through the lens of scientific curiosity, civic duty, and a remarkably pragmatic approach to the art of living.
Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian
Friedrich Schiller
These essays navigate the profound intersections of art, morality, and history, inviting readers to reconsider the human condition through the lenses of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras. This collection offers a rigorous exploration of how humanity might move beyond its inherent…
Myths & Legends of Japan
F. Hadland (Frederick Hadland) Davis
A collection of spirits, deities, and mortals, this volume gathers the foundational tales and folklore of an island nation, blending ancient creation myths with the quiet, domestic magic of daily life.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3: In Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods
Plotinus
The universe is a cascading reflection of a singular, perfect source, and human consciousness is the bridge that allows the soul to return from the fragmented material world to that primordial unity.
The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 1, January 1810
Unknown
A passionate defense of the stage serves as both a mandate for high culture and a stage for dramatic storytelling. It offers a window into the intellectual fervor of early nineteenth-century American theater.
A dictionary of English proverbs and proverbial phrases
Unknown
This collection serves as a portable archive of the wisdom, warnings, and observations that have historically shaped English thought. It offers a structured, alphabetical survey of how generations have condensed complex human experiences into pithy, memorable lines.
Letters of John Keats to Fanny Brawne: Written in the years MDCCCXIX and MDCCCXX and now given from the original manuscripts
John Keats
These private messages document an intense, tragic romance between a dying poet and the woman who captured his heart, capturing the raw vulnerability of a genius facing his own premature end.
The Concept of Nature: The Tarner Lectures Delivered in Trinity College, November 1919
Alfred North Whitehead
Nature is a structure of events, each possessing its own location and character within a passing, interconnected whole. This work bridges the gap between raw human experience and the abstractions of physical science.
The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume 1 (of 2)
Marshall, Julian, Mrs.
This intimate biography charts the formative years of a literary icon, revealing the private joys and relentless pressures that shaped a visionary mind.
The Merchant of Venice
William Shakespeare
In the shadow of a lethal debt, a merchant and a moneylender find their fates inextricably bound by a single, terrifying contract. This play explores the fragility of mercy when law and vengeance collide.
A battle piece
Ernest Haycox
A raw, visceral account of the 1776 Battle of Long Island, where a quiet Connecticut sergeant and a boisterous Marylander find unity in the face of inevitable destruction.
The Orchard of Tears
Sax Rohmer
HOOK This story traces the spiritual awakening of a man caught between the comforts of an established life and the volatile, transformative power of a young woman’s presence.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Map" to "Mars": Volume 17, Slice 6
Various
This volume serves as a vast, meticulously organized repository of human knowledge, spanning from the technical complexities of map projections to the ancient origins of deities. It captures the world as it was understood at the dawn of the twentieth century, presenting a landscape of geography, history, religion,…
Pascal
John Tulloch
This volume offers a concise, scholarly portrait of a singular French genius, tracing his evolution from a brilliant child prodigy in science to a profound, tormented voice of religious conviction. It remains essential for its balanced, non-partisan engagement with a man who defined the intellectual boundaries of…
Poems from the Divan of Hafiz
active 14th century Ḥāfiẓ
A fourteenth-century poet finds eternity in the fleeting, weaving songs of wine, roses, and heartbreak that outlast the rise and fall of empires.
Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Art is an act of defiance against the mundane, a shimmering veil drawn across the face of an otherwise unremarkable existence. To read these pages is to witness the transformation of life into a deliberate, beautiful fiction.
Thirteen Chapters of American History: represented by the Edward Moran series of Thirteen Historical Marine Paintings
Theodore Sutro
This chronicle of thirteen maritime masterworks maps the American experience from the dawn of discovery to the close of the nineteenth century, celebrating a nation’s growth through the lens of its most iconic naval moments.
A Dictionary of Islam: Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion
Thomas Patrick Hughes
This comprehensive reference work serves as a foundational guide to the doctrines, rites, and technical terminology of the Muslim faith. It bridges the gap between academic scholarship and the practical needs of Victorian-era English readers.
The Clouds
Aristophanes
A desperate father attempts to cheat his creditors by learning the "unjust cause" from a philosopher, only to find that his new education destroys his family life and his own moral standing.
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories
Mark Twain
The honest citizens of a prideful town meet their match when a slighted stranger introduces a trap that unmasks their hidden greed. This collection of stories explores the frailty of human virtue with biting, clear-eyed humor.
The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees: Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398
James Mooney
This foundational ethnographic work documents the private spiritual and medical traditions of the Cherokee people, preserved in their own hand-written manuscripts. It recovers a complex, systematic worldview where every aspect of life—from hunting and romance to the treatment of illness—is governed by sacred,…
Thorstein of the mere
W. G. (William Gershom) Collingwood
In a landscape of mist, crag, and untamed water, a displaced family of Northmen stakes a claim to a wild valley, fighting to preserve their independence against the encroaching tides of kings and history.
Hawaiian folk tales
Unknown
These legends offer a window into a world where the line between the human and the divine is as thin as the sea mist, and where nature itself pulses with ancient, living power.
Field book of common rocks and minerals
Frederic Brewster Loomis
Hook An invitation to look downward with purpose, this guide transforms the mundane pebbles and outcrops of the landscape into a narrative of the earth’s deep, cooling history.
The Private Life of the Romans
Harold Whetstone Johnston
The world of the ancient Roman is often glimpsed in fragments of epic poetry or political debate, but the domestic reality of those who lived it remains elusive. This foundational study reconstructs the everyday existence of the Romans, providing a clear, grounded view of a civilization through the lens of its…
Wilhelm Meister's apprenticeship and travels, vol. 1 (of 2)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This sprawling, thoughtful chronicle follows a young man’s restless search for meaning as he drifts from his father’s bourgeois expectations into the unstable, enchanting world of the theater, ultimately seeking a more profound, grounded self-realization.
Discovery of Witches: The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster
Potts, Thomas, active 1612-1618
The cry of a desperate widow reaches heaven, yet remains unheard on earth, as neighbors turn upon neighbors in a fever of accusation and fear.
More toasts: Jokes, stories and quotations
Unknown
Wit and wisdom require the right delivery, and this resource offers a collection of quips, toasts, and humorous stories designed to rescue the tongue-tied speaker from the pressures of public performance.
A Voyage to Arcturus
David Lindsay
A man journeys to a distant star only to discover that the struggle between good and evil is a brutal, solitary war for the soul.
Leaves of Life, for Daily Inspiration
Margaret Bird Steinmetz
A collection of daily meditations and timeless wisdom, designed to anchor the spirit and focus the mind through the shifting seasons of the year.
Sacred and legendary art, volume 1 (of 2): Containing legends of the angels and archangels, the evangelists, the Apostles, the doctors of the church, and St. Mary magdalene, as represented in the fine arts
Mrs. (Anna) Jameson
This scholarly guide illuminates the hidden language of Christian art, transforming mysterious religious icons into legible stories of faith, history, and human expression. It acts as an essential bridge between the casual museum-goer and the deep, symbolic traditions of the past.
The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 1
Jonathan Swift
This collection gathers the sharp, metrical wit of a master satirist, offering a window into the political intrigue, social vanities, and biting humor of the early eighteenth century. Through verses that range from playful lampoons to scathing indictments of power, it reveals a mind that found the world as absurd…
Annals of Music in America: A Chronological Record of Significant Musical Events
Henry Charles Lahee
This meticulous chronicle maps the evolution of American musical life, tracing the transformation of a young nation’s scattered cultural outposts into a sophisticated landscape of orchestras, conservatories, and grand opera houses. It serves as an essential record of the first performances and foundational…
Preface to Shakespeare
Samuel Johnson
The primary duty of a critic is not to polish the monuments of the past, but to understand the human nature that built them. This foundational work of English literary criticism treats the playwright’s genius as an essential mirror of real life.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917
Various
This foundational collection of scholarly essays and primary documents reconstructs the African American past with rigorous academic intent, challenging the prevailing historical myths of the early twentieth century. It serves as a vital archive of resistance against intellectual erasure.
The Story of a Cat
Emile de La Bédollière
A lonely countess discovers a ragged street cat, sparking a rivalry between her faithful maid and a malevolent steward who plots the animal’s destruction.
Between Pike's Peak and a pickle
W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle
The boasts of a local cowboy lead to a wager that spirals into a chaotic, slapstick riot. This Western short story captures a town’s absurdity and the inevitable collapse of a man who claims he can ride anything.
Past and Present
Thomas Carlyle
The modern world is a place of smoke, industrial chaos, and moral drift, where humanity has traded its soul for a "Cash-Gospel" and lost its way in a wilderness of its own making.
Franz Liszt
James Huneker
Franz Liszt was more than a pianist; he was a revolutionary force who transformed the keyboard into an instrument of infinite color and dramatic power. This exploration examines his life, his art, and his legacy.
Knickerbocker's History of New York, Complete
Washington Irving
A whimsical, sprawling mock-chronicle, this work reimagines the colonial history of New York as a series of absurd, heroic, and deeply human misadventures. It stands as a foundational piece of American satire, celebrated for its wit and playful invention.
Salammbo
Gustave Flaubert
This is a haunting, sensory-drenched epic of a forgotten war, where the luxury of a golden civilization collides with the brutal desperation of those who fought to build it.
The Works of Lord Byron, Vol. 1. Poetry
Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron
The wild, mercurial spirit of a legendary poet takes flight in these early verses, where adolescent heartbreak and biting social satire collide with the raw intensity of a singular, untamed voice.
Wild Flowers: An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors
Neltje Blanchan
The wild flower is not a passive object to be admired, but a sentient actor in a complex drama of survival, struggle, and sophisticated partnership with the insect world.
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education: A Liberal Education for All
Charlotte M. (Charlotte Maria) Mason
True education is not a process of molding children from the outside, but a means of nourishing the living mind with a broad, rich, and varied diet of ideas.
Diana Carew
Mrs. Forrester
A young woman’s sudden introduction to the glittering, high-stakes world of the English landed gentry leads to an accidental entanglement with two brothers and a haunting, irreversible tragedy.
Dolly Reforming Herself: A Comedy in Four Acts
Henry Arthur Jones
A frivolous, debt-ridden wife attempts to reform her spending habits alongside her husband, only to discover that their resolutions are as flimsy as their bank accounts. This comedy explores the cyclical nature of human folly with sharp, witty precision.
Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers: Describing the Most Desirable Plants, for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies
J. G. (John George) Wood
Hardy, reliable, and possessed of a quiet, enduring beauty, old-fashioned perennials offer the garden a timeless structure that requires far less maintenance than their fleeting annual counterparts.
Legends, Tales and Poems
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Shadows of the past and the restless stirrings of the human heart converge in this haunting collection. Through a blend of prose legends and lyrical verse, the reader enters a world where the boundary between the material and the supernatural dissolves, leaving only the indelible mark of mystery.