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All free summaries — page 925
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 925 of 988.
A day in Mary Carrow's school
Anonymous
Guided by a gentle, observant teacher in a rural schoolhouse, a small group of children learns that happiness is found through acts of service, kindness, and moral reflection.
A Description of a New-Invented Stove-Grate: Shewing Its Uses and Advantages Over All Others, Both in Point of Expence, and Every Purpose of a Chamber Fire
J. Durno
The eighteenth-century home was often a place of shivering, smoke, and drafty misery. This technical manual reveals a singular, ambitious solution: a cast-iron stove-grate designed to revolutionize how a room retains its warmth.
A fishing trip on the planet Mars
F. H. (Frederic H.) Sidney
A fisherman nods off by a river and wakes up to a life-changing, interplanetary excursion. This whimsical short story captures the turn-of-the-century fascination with space exploration through the lens of a classic, quiet sporting retreat.
A Letter to Lord Fielding. Suggested by the late proceedings at the New Church at Pantasa
George Luther Stone
A firm, polemical defense of Anglican orthodoxy, this work serves as an urgent theological appeal to a nobleman who has recently defected to the Roman Catholic Church.
A Succinct View of the Importance and Practicability of Forming a Ship Canal across the Isthmus of Panama
H. R. Hill
The dream of a shorter route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, long considered a dangerous fantasy, is presented here as an immediate, practical, and highly profitable necessity for global commerce.
An apology for atheism
Charles Southwell
This bracing polemic challenges the foundational role of religious belief in public life, arguing that political liberation is impossible so long as the masses remain shackled to supernatural superstitions.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 13, Vol. I, March 29, 1884
Various
This Victorian miscellany serves as a window into the intellectual curiosity of 1884, blending rigorous scientific observation with the sentimental fiction and social commentary characteristic of its era.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 113, Vol. III, February 27, 1886
Various
This collection offers a panoramic window into the Victorian imagination, blending rigorous scientific inquiry with serialized fiction and the rhythmic, sentimental poetry that defined the era’s literary appetite.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 148, Vol. III, October 30, 1886
Various
This Victorian periodical serves as a vibrant microcosm of nineteenth-century curiosity, blending technical reportage, adventurous mountaineering, and serialized fiction. It captures the era’s restless spirit of scientific inquiry and its preoccupation with social order.
Christian Literature: a sermon delivered May 8th, 1870, in Kensington Chapel, at the seventy-first anniversary of the Religious Tract Society
John Stoughton
This sermon serves as a bridge between the spiritual history of the past and the industrial potential of the printing press, arguing that Christian literature is a vital, expansive tool for modern moral instruction. It is a work of Victorian advocacy, blending theological reflection with a detailed account of the…
Evan Harrington
George Meredith
A tailor’s son attempts to navigate the treacherous waters of the English landed gentry while his sister maneuvers to hide their true origins behind a veil of aristocratic artifice. This is a comedy of social performance and the persistent, often painful, friction between who we are and who we pretend to be.
Harold : the Last of the Saxon Kings
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
As the shadow of the Norman Conquest lengthens over England, a noble Saxon leader finds himself caught between his devotion to a fractured kingdom and the siren call of a crown that demands his soul.
Harper's Round Table, June 30, 1896
Various
This collection of stories and dispatches captures the boundless curiosity of turn-of-the-century youth, blending tales of mechanical invention with the earnest traditions of a bygone era. It serves as a vibrant time capsule of 1896.
Harper's Young People, November 25, 1879: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This illustrated weekly digest offers a vibrant window into the Victorian imagination, blending moral tales, natural history, and interactive puzzles for young readers.
Historical Papers: Part 3 from Volume VI of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
This collection of historical essays serves as a moral compass, navigating the turbulent waters of political reform, religious intolerance, and the enduring struggle for human liberty. It offers a window into the conscience of a dedicated advocate as he examines figures and events that shaped the American and…
History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce, 1585e-86a
John Lothrop Motley
In late 1585, England enters a perilous struggle in the Low Countries to halt Spanish domination, only for internal court politics and royal fury to threaten the entire enterprise from its very inception.
Hungary and Democracy
Cecil J. C. (Cecil John Charles) Street
Hungary emerges from the wreckage of the First World War as a nation clinging to an exclusionary past while its neighbors strive for a democratic future. This account dissects the systemic repression that defined pre-war Hungarian governance and the subsequent rise of a militaristic, feudal reaction.
Hystereo
Maurice Baudin
The allure of perfect sound becomes a deadly trap when one man’s obsession with high-fidelity audio turns the summer resort experience into a laboratory for human erasure.
Introduction to the Dramas of Balzac
J. Walker (Joseph Walker) McSpadden
This critical introduction offers an essential guide to the five plays written by a master novelist, revealing both his struggle to master a new medium and his eventual success in theatrical satire.
Jess of the Rebel Trail
H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody
HOOK A young woman flees a suffocating life of parental control, finding refuge on a weathered wood-boat and the rugged wilderness of the river country.
Jinx Ship to the Rescue
Alfred Coppel
A disgraced captain and his crew of misfits command a derelict, cursed spaceship, only to find themselves the unlikely saviors of the entire Space Navy during a desperate, sun-scorched rescue mission.**
Kenelm Chillingly
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A wandering young aristocrat seeks to escape the suffocating expectations of Victorian society, only to find himself unexpectedly tethered to the life of a mysterious, free-spirited girl in a quiet country village.
Lefty o' the Big League
Burt L. Standish
A determined young pitcher battles both a treacherous former rival and his own teammates to prove his worth in the unforgiving world of professional baseball.
"Let Us Have Peace": Remarks of Logan H. Roots on the Assassination of Hon. James Hinds, Delivered in the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C., on Friday, January 22, 1869
Logan H. (Logan Holt) Roots
In this somber address to the House of Representatives, a congressman recounts the brutal murder of a colleague, using the tragedy as a catalyst to demand federal intervention and lasting security for the post-Civil War South.
Little Merry Christmas
Winifred Arnold
The arrival of a spirited young girl in a quiet, snow-bound village transforms a bitter recluse and his neighbors, proving that a little sunshine can melt even the frostiest of hearts.
Marjorie Fleming
John Brown
This portrait of a brilliant, doomed child celebrates the brief life of Marjorie Fleming, a girl whose precocious wit and intense capacity for love captivated the legendary Sir Walter Scott.
Monthly supplement of the penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 26, July 31 to August 31, 1832
Unknown
This monthly digest chronicles the burgeoning industrial spirit of 1832, offering a window into an era that elevated engineering, pedagogy, and mechanical ingenuity to the status of civic virtues.
Mrs. Budlong's Christmas Presents
Rupert Hughes
The morning after Christmas is a universal headache, but in the small town of Carthage, the holiday is a high-stakes, competitive ordeal of forced cheer and relentless social maneuvering.
My Lady Valentine
Octavia Roberts
A cynical editor finds his skepticism challenged when he begins a correspondence with a mysterious contributor, leading him into the orbit of a spirited young woman living in a secluded garden.
Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Vol. CX. March, 1916. No. 3
Various
The evolution of early twentieth-century medical science reveals a profession caught between traditional intuition and the emerging precision of laboratory diagnostics. This collection of reports documents a transformative era in clinical practice and public health.
Notes and Queries, Vol. V, Number 120, February 14, 1852: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This Victorian periodical captures the intellectual curiosity of its time, functioning as a collaborative clearinghouse for historical enigmas, folklore, and scholarly debates. It remains a fascinating map of the mid-nineteenth-century mind.
Notes from Calais base, and pictures of its many activities
C. E. (Charles Edward) Montague
This account captures the vast, mechanical, and human machinery of the British Army’s logistics in France during the First World War. It reveals how a modern nation sustained a gargantuan military effort through industrial efficiency and meticulous organization.
Old Coaching Days: Some Incidents in the Life of Moses James Nobbs, the last of the Mail Coach Guards
Moses James Nobbs
A veteran mail guard recalls the perilous, vanishing world of 19th-century coaching, where duty often meant battling snow-drifts, floods, and lethal accidents to keep Her Majesty's mail on time.
On the Sweeny wire
Charles R. Barnes
A telephone line shared with strangers is a theater for the curious, where the eavesdropper often hears more than they bargained for. In this tale, a race-track gambler’s wife discovers that listening in on her neighbors can turn a quiet morning into a high-stakes race against a malicious lie.
Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 3 (of 3)
Jessie Fothergill
A daughter trapped in a loveless marriage finds the strength to reclaim her life, turning to her father to escape the suffocating shadow of her husband.
Out with Gun and Camera
Edward Stratemeyer
The forest holds both the wild game these young adventurers seek and the unexpected traces of a vanished circus.
Poems
John William Draper
Traversing the delicate balance between classical mythology and existential despair, these verses map a restless journey through human pleasure, pain, and the ultimate solace of art and faith.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, May 25, 1895
Various
The mid-nineties in London were a period of sharp social transition, and this collection of weekly dispatches captures the city’s pulse with a mix of biting parliamentary satire and lighthearted domestic absurdity. It is a snapshot of an empire navigating the tensions between tradition and progress, played out on…
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, October 14, 1914
Various
Satirizing the anxieties, routines, and absurdity of early World War I, this historical issue captures a nation adjusting to home-front reality with dark humor and fierce camaraderie.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Volume 102, January 16, 1892
Various
This collection captures the sharp, satirical pulse of late Victorian London, balancing biting political commentary with the absurdities of daily life. It is a time capsule of wit, anxiety, and colonial ambition.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, October 1, 1892
Various
The British appetite for refined nonsense and sharp social commentary finds its perfect mirror in this collection of satirical verse, theatrical parodies, and lighthearted observations from the late Victorian era. It is a time capsule of a world that took its cricket as seriously as its politics and its social…
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 5, 1919
Various
This collection of satire, verse, and commentary captures the anxious, weary, and biting spirit of post-Armistice England. It serves as a sharp-witted mirror to a society struggling to reconcile wartime memories with peacetime realities.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, November 22, 1890
Various
This volume captures the irreverent, sharp-witted spirit of late-Victorian England, filtering the complex political anxieties and social absurdities of 1890 through the lens of biting satire. It serves as a vivid, comedic mirror to an empire wrestling with its own bureaucracy, its colonial ambitions, and the…
Puppet Government
George Revelle
The last taxpayer in a world of total government bureaucracy discovers that his stubborn refusal to conform makes him the most powerful man in the country.
Pythias
Frederik Pohl
The narrator sits in a prison cell awaiting execution for the murder of his oldest friend, Laurence Connaught. He confesses to the crime willingly, justifying the cold-blooded killing as a necessary act to save the world from an impossible power.
Radio mates
Benjamin Witwer
A jilted scientist uses a revolutionary teleportation machine to escape reality with his lost love, leaving behind a trail of scientific brilliance and psychological ruin.
Saints in Sussex
Sheila Kaye-Smith
Through the evocative lens of the Sussex countryside, these poems reimagine the lives of saints as pastoral figures, transforming ancient spiritual tradition into a deeply local, earth-bound act of devotion.
Sarréo: 1901
Louis Becke
HOOK A seasoned sailor recounts a harrowing tale of vengeance and redemption, centered on an unexpected bond between a wronged islander and the man who once brutalized him in the unforgiving waters of the South Pacific.