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All free summaries — page 927
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 927 of 988.

Compatible
Richard Rein Smith
A surgeon finds a chilling, technological solution to his wife’s unbearable personality, proving that the most desperate marital problems can be solved with a scalpel and a bit of custom engineering.

Cosmopolis
Paul Bourget
The restless currents of an international elite collide in Rome, where old-world codes of honor struggle against the cold, calculating machinery of modern finance and shifting loyalties.

Dairy Disagreeables Busy the Bacteriologists
Frank H. (Frank Henry) Hall
Flavor is the silent arbiter of the dairy industry, turning a profitable batch of cream or cheese into a financial loss with nothing more than an unexpected whiff of fish or a speck of rust.

Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
A private window into the 17th century, this record captures the mundane and the momentous with startling candor. It offers a rare, unfiltered look at the inner life of a man navigating the corridors of power during one of London's most turbulent eras.

Extracts from "Sikes on Parochial Communion": relating to Episcopacy, and the sin of Schism
Thomas Sikes
The Christian priesthood and the authority of the episcopate define the framework of this theological treatise, which argues that the unity of the Church is a divine mandate, not a matter of human convenience or choice.

Facts for the Kind-Hearted of England!: As to the Wretchedness of the Irish Peasantry, and the Means for their Regeneration
Jasper W. Rogers
This urgent 1847 appeal exposes the systemic causes of Irish famine and poverty, challenging the English public to replace harmful prejudice with economic investment and humanitarian reform.

Fran
J. Breckenridge (John Breckenridge) Ellis
A young woman arrives in a quiet, judgmental town seeking a home and confronting a man who is hiding a secret from his past. She is a vibrant, unsettling force, forcing those around her to look at their own lives with newfound, uncomfortable honesty.

Garth and the Visitor
Stecher, L. J., Jr.
An adolescent reporter risks everything to interview a legendary, isolated alien, only to discover that his subject’s greatest desire is to finally be granted the mercy of death.

"George Washington's" Last Duel: 1891
Thomas Nelson Page
A spirited, comedic tale of Southern manners, high-strung egos, and the elaborate theatrics of a simulated duel, all orchestrated by a mischievous old bachelor.

Giant Hours with Poet Preachers
William L. (William Le Roy) Stidger
HOOK This collection gathers the voices of poets who bridged the gap between the pulpit and the city street, arguing that verse is a vital tool for social and spiritual renewal.

Harper's Round Table, July 30, 1895
Various
This periodical archive captures a singular, bustling moment in Victorian-era adolescence, where the appetite for mechanical invention, athletic prowess, and global curiosity defined the rhythm of young life. It serves as a sprawling, instructional, and entertaining time capsule for the turn of the century.

Harper's Young People, September 12, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This vintage periodical captures the earnest spirit of late nineteenth-century youth literature, blending serialized adventure stories with educational features and a deeply personal community of letter-writing readers.

His vanished star
Charles Egbert Craddock
A visionary investor’s dream of a mountain resort clashes with the fierce, insular pride of a moonshining family, leading to a desperate game of sabotage and mistaken identity.

Household words, No. 21, August 17, 1850
Unknown
This collection captures the vibrant, restless pulse of mid-nineteenth-century England, blending sharp social critique with imaginative fantasy to examine the mechanics of progress and the cost of human ambition.

Is There a Santa Claus?
Jacob A. (Jacob August) Riis
The spirit of generosity remains a powerful, tangible force, capable of bridging vast distances and transforming the coldest, most indifferent corners of the world into places of warmth and human connection.

Leila or, the Siege of Granada, Book III
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
The final days of Moorish power in Spain set the stage for a collision between ancient mysticism and the rising tide of religious orthodoxy.

Little Miss By-The-Day
Lucille Van Slyke
The world is full of elusive people who slip away just before we arrive, leaving us with a haunting sense of having missed something rightfully ours. Such is the case with the whimsical, will-o'-the-wispish Felicia Day.

Marianson: From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899
Mary Hartwell Catherwood
Amid the chaos of the War of 1812, a defiant young soldier and a fiercely independent widow find an unexpected, transcendent connection while hiding in a remote island cavern.

Membership Drive
Murray F. Yaco
A stranded alien manages to manipulate a gullible human government into arming his ship and providing him with companionship, all under the guise of an official membership application for a galactic federation.

Monthly supplement of the penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 16, May 31 to June 30, 1832
Unknown
This archival collection offers a candid glimpse into the intellectual life of 1832, blending historical preservation with the era’s fascination for mechanical progress and global discovery.

Morley Ashton: A Story of the Sea. Volume 3 (of 3)
James Grant
The final volume of this sprawling Victorian seafaring epic finds its cast of survivors battling mutineers, navigating the treacherous Mozambique Channel, and finally securing their passage back to the comforts of English domesticity.

Mrs. Hungerford: Notable Women Authors of the Day
Helen C. Black
A journey to the Irish countryside reveals the disciplined, vibrant life of a prolific Victorian novelist who balanced the demands of a large, devoted family with a steady stream of acclaimed romantic fiction.

Oldham
Lucy Ellen Guernsey
Quiet, steady, and full of quiet grace, this story of a nineteenth-century New England parish finds its drama in small choices, domestic trials, and the slow reshaping of human hearts.

On the Age of Maya Ruins
Charles P. (Charles Pickering) Bowditch
A fresh discovery of an inscription at Chichen Itza provides a vital chronological anchor, allowing for a precise comparative study of the relative ages of ancient Maya cities across Yucatan, Chiapas, and Guatemala.

Opportunities
Susan Warner
A young girl seeks to reconcile her newfound faith with the rigid, often uncharitable expectations of her household. She learns that true service is not a grand, singular act, but a persistent, humble commitment to the needs of others.

Outside Saturn
Robert E. Gilbert
A young man caught in the gravity of a criminal scheme finds his moral compass spinning when he is cast adrift in the rings of Saturn. This compact tale of space-faring outlaws and lonely watchmen balances low-gravity action with a surprising earnestness regarding the value of a single human life.

Polly of Pebbly Pit
Lillian Elizabeth Roy
A young girl living on a rugged Colorado ranch finds her world expanding when she hosts three city visitors, leading to an accidental discovery that changes her family’s fortunes forever.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 4, 1914
Various
This periodical volume captures the urgent, defiant pulse of British civilian life during the early months of the First World War. It is a mosaic of satire, propaganda, and domestic observation that reveals how a nation attempted to maintain its composure while the world around it fractured.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, February 7, 1891
Various
A sharp-witted snapshot of Victorian life, this collection captures a world of political maneuvering, domestic absurdity, and the relentless pulse of London’s social and cultural stage.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, October 3, 1891
Various
This collection of late-Victorian satire captures the fractious, witty, and deeply self-conscious spirit of a society balancing tradition against the relentless pressure of modernity. It serves as a sharp-eyed mirror to the cultural anxieties of 1891.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 93, December 24, 1887
Various
A Victorian weekly captures the fleeting, biting pulse of London life through satirical sketches, parliamentary mockery, and the sharp-witted observations of a culture obsessed with its own political and artistic theater.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 98, May 17, 1890
Various
A panoramic window into the late Victorian era, this collection captures the fleeting social anxieties, parliamentary bickering, and absurd commercial trends of a London caught between tradition and modern restlessness.

Reaching for the moon
Evan Hunter
An inventor stands before a group of wealthy, cynical financiers, desperate to trade his vision of space travel for the funding required to turn human reach toward the moon.

Religion & Morality Vindicated, Against Hypocrisy and Pollution
Robert Bell
A fiery pamphlet from 1813 exposes the double life of a London preacher accused of grave moral crimes. It documents the collision between a sensationalist press and a popular, controversial religious figure.

Security
Bryce Walton
In a world where secrecy has become a psychological prison, a group of brilliant scientists finds their humanity—and their sanity—slowly dismantled by the very project they were meant to lead.

Stories About Indians
Rufus Merrill
The former inhabitants of North American lands remain defined here by the virtues of their survival and the harshness of their displacement. These brief accounts preserve the character of a vanishing way of life.

Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Beneath the courtly artifice of seventeenth-century verse lies a sharp, cynical, and surprisingly modern exploration of how money and desire dismantle the rigid hierarchies of marriage and status.

The Allis Family
Velda Allis Eddy
A young family carves a new life out of the vast, unforgiving Western prairie, where survival depends as much on moral discipline and obedience as it does on hard physical labor.

The American Missionary
Various
These pages chronicle the late nineteenth-century endeavors of an American religious organization, mapping out the intersection of faith, social reform, and the complex, often fraught, cultural landscape of the post-Civil War United States.

The American Missionary
Various
This collection serves as a vivid archival window into late 19th-century American religious life, revealing the fervent, complex intersection of social reform, education, and missionary zeal.

The Battle of the Strong: A Romance of Two Kingdoms
Gilbert Parker
A young woman caught between two suitors on a fragile, storm-tossed island must navigate the violent collision of two empires. Loyalty and passion compete against the backdrop of an unforgiving sea and the encroaching chaos of the French Revolution.

The Blue Man: From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899
Mary Hartwell Catherwood
The quiet, atmospheric shores of Mackinac Island conceal secrets that transcend time. A chance encounter in a secluded cove reveals that some human connections are so profound they persist long after the physical world has faded.

The Bride of the Nile
Georg Ebers
HOOK In a famine-stricken, plague-ridden Memphis, a noblewoman’s life hangs in the balance as the city’s desperate populace looks to an ancient, dark superstition for salvation.

The Circuit Riders
R. C. FitzPatrick
The lights on the board glow as red, flickering indicators of human intent, but the men watching them must decide if a spike in intensity is a murder in the making or just a bad day at the ball game.

The Cruise of the Pelican
H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones
This is a hard-bitten tale of salvage, maritime rivalry, and desperate gambles set against the cold, isolating backdrop of the North Pacific.

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 2, No. 23, June 9, 1898: A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls
Various
This weekly magazine serves as a vibrant, instructive time capsule, chronicling the global events and anxieties of 1898 through the eyes of a young reader. It captures the tension of the Spanish-American War, bringing history to life for a generation eager to understand their changing world.

The Issue: The Case for Sinn Fein
Lector
HOOK This polemic demands an immediate, national pivot from legislative compromise to sovereign independence, arguing that Ireland’s destiny depends entirely on its own self-reliant defiance rather than the hollow promises of a foreign parliament.

The magazine of history with notes and queries, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1905
Various
This historical periodical captures the American past through a mosaic of scholarly research, archival documents, and eyewitness accounts, shedding light on everything from early continental exploration to the fiscal desperation of the Confederacy.