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47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 93 of 988.

Cover of Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation: 1838-1839

Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation: 1838-1839

Fanny Kemble

A searing, intimate document of conscience, these letters capture the dissonance of a woman of privilege forced to confront the fundamental inhumanity of the plantation system she has married into.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Life in the Iron-Mills

Life in the Iron-Mills

Rebecca Harding Davis

A stark, haunting portrait of industrial life, this narrative explores the crushed dreams of a furnace-tender trapped in the shadow of a sprawling iron-mill. It stands as a powerful, unsentimental examination of human potential suffocated by poverty.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Faust: a Tragedy [part 1], Translated from the German of Goethe

Faust: a Tragedy [part 1], Translated from the German of Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

HOOK A brilliant, restless scholar makes a desperate bargain with a devil for the sake of forbidden knowledge and youth. This foundational work explores the dangerous depths of human desire and the terrible cost of satisfying it.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking

Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking

Unknown

This collection preserves the culinary heritage of Pennsylvania’s "Plain Sects," offering a window into a tradition where hard work in the kitchen was a folk art and every meal served as a communal harvest.

Cooking & Drinking6 min read
Cover of Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive

Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive

Alfred Burnett

The chaotic, human heart of the American Civil War beats within these pages, where soldiers trade jokes, face mortal terror, and grapple with the dark realities of a fractured nation.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work

Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work

Johann Nikolaus Forkel

This foundational biography preserves the intimate observations of those who knew the master, offering an essential window into the mind of one of history’s greatest musical figures. It remains a cornerstone of musicology.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of A Pessimist in Theory and Practice

A Pessimist in Theory and Practice

Frederic Mayer Bird

The world is too much with us, but finding a way to exist within it—or escape it—remains a struggle. This narrative follows a man’s attempt to reconcile his cynical, reclusive friend with a complex, exacting woman, navigating the delicate social machinery of their circle.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Cosmos: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1

Cosmos: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1

Alexander von Humboldt

The universe is a unified, interconnected whole, where the smallest grain of sand and the most distant nebula are bound by the same immutable laws of physical nature.

Environmental Issues8 min read
Cover of Elson Grammar School Literature, book 4

Elson Grammar School Literature, book 4

William H. (William Harris) Elson

This collection of literature serves as a structured introduction to the canon of classic poetry and prose, curated to build a foundation in rhythm, historical narrative, and moral reflection. It acts as both an anthology and a guided tutorial for students of English letters.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Mogens, and Other Stories

Mogens, and Other Stories

J. P. (Jens Peter) Jacobsen

This collection captures the fragile, often agonizing intersection of human desire and the inevitable decay of time. It explores how individuals define themselves against the crushing weight of expectation, memory, and social propriety.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of Texas Fossils: An Amateur Collector's Handbook

Texas Fossils: An Amateur Collector's Handbook

William Henry Matthews

Buried beneath the Texas landscape lies a vast, silent archive of prehistoric life, waiting for the curious eye to uncover its secrets. This practical guide serves as an essential companion for anyone wishing to transform a simple rock-hounding excursion into a journey through millions of years of geologic time.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern

Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern

Unknown

This expansive collection gathers the voices of poets, historians, and storytellers from across history, serving as a vast, curated gallery of global literary achievement. It is a bridge between the reader and the foundational texts that have shaped human expression.

Classics of Literature8 min read
Cover of Life in Hawaii

Life in Hawaii

Titus Coan

HOOK A devoted missionary recounts his decades of labor among the people of Hawaii and the Marquesas Islands, set against a backdrop of dramatic volcanic eruptions and sweeping cultural change.

Travel Writing7 min read
Cover of Mountain Interval

Mountain Interval

Robert Frost

The choices we make in a quiet, indifferent world define us, yet often remain beyond our comprehension. This collection explores the tension between human connection and the isolation of the New England landscape.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The domestication of Dobie

The domestication of Dobie

W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle

A drifting cowboy finds himself tangled in a chaotic series of misfortunes after his impulsive marriage, documenting his slide from a romantic drifter to a reluctant, sheep-herding husband.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The green overcoat

The green overcoat

Hilaire Belloc

A stolen coat and a misplaced identity launch a timid academic into a chaotic, farcical nightmare of crime, class struggle, and accidental celebrity.

Novels6 min read
Cover of The science of fairy tales

The science of fairy tales

Edwin Sidney Hartland

A foundational work of nineteenth-century folklore, this investigation explores the hidden connections between fairy legends and the primitive social structures from which they emerged. It treats myth not as mere fancy, but as a living record of human evolution.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of The Story of Switzerland

The Story of Switzerland

Richard Stead

A rugged, alpine chronicle of a nation forged from diverse tribes, feudal scraps, and an enduring, stubborn commitment to communal independence.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of The Tin Woodman of Oz: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken

The Tin Woodman of Oz: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken

L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum

An unlikely trio sets out on a quest to reunite a legendary hero with a long-lost love, only to discover that the heart’s deepest desires are often more complicated than a fairy tale suggests.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ: Based on the Broadus Harmony in the Revised Version

A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ: Based on the Broadus Harmony in the Revised Version

A. T. Robertson

The life of Christ unfolds through a precise, comparative arrangement of the four Gospels, inviting readers to examine the narrative flow and historical development of the ministry of Jesus.

Religion/Spirituality7 min read
Cover of Diary of Samuel Pepys

Diary of Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys

A clerk’s secret, sprawling record of daily life in Restoration London, capturing the intimacy of a marriage and the pulse of a city defined by intrigue, fire, and the shifting whims of a king.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft

Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft

Walter Scott

Superstition is a contagion of the mind, often flourishing more in the hearts of the fearful than in the presence of any genuine spirit. These letters trace the dark history of humanity’s obsession with the invisible.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso

Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso

Gina Lombroso

This volume offers a concise distillation of a controversial, foundational theory in criminology, detailing how biological traits were once believed to dictate criminal behavior. It provides a window into the nineteenth-century effort to pathologize the impulse to break the law.

Law & Criminology6 min read
Cover of Elements of Military Art and Science

Elements of Military Art and Science

H. W. (Henry Wager) Halleck

Strategic victory is not the product of impulse, but the result of deliberate, scientific calculation that governs every movement from the march to the final assault.

History - Warfare7 min read
Cover of Peter Pan

Peter Pan

J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

A boy who refuses to grow up spirits three children away to a magical island, where they navigate the perils of pirates, mermaids, and their own shifting identities.

Plays/Films/Dramas6 min read
Cover of The tale of Grandfather Mole

The tale of Grandfather Mole

Arthur Scott Bailey

A grumpy, subterranean eccentric finds his quiet, worm-filled life in a garden repeatedly interrupted by meddling neighbors and their demands.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of War Letters of a Public-School Boy

War Letters of a Public-School Boy

Henry Paul Mainwaring Jones

This collection of letters and biographical sketches captures the earnest, high-minded spirit of a young British officer who balanced a deep love for classical culture with the harsh realities of the Great War.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae (Complete)

Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae (Complete)

Jennie Hall

Digging into the earth can reveal more than just dirt; it can uncover the heartbeat of civilizations long thought lost to history. This collection explores the remnants of three ancient worlds, bringing their daily lives, tragedies, and enduring mysteries back into the light.

History - Ancient7 min read
Cover of Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, with a Few Observations

Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, with a Few Observations

J. Frank (James Frank) Dobie

This guide serves as a map through the literature of the American Southwest, reclaiming the region’s distinct cultural identity from the shadows of colonial New England imports. It functions as both a curated bibliography and a personal, intellectual manifesto on living intelligently within one's own home soil.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The Dance of Life

The Dance of Life

Havelock Ellis

The world is not a machine to be measured, but a performance to be lived. This inquiry reclaims the act of existence as an unfolding aesthetic experience, where life itself is the primary art.

Art7 min read
Cover of A Selection from the Writings of Guy De Maupassant, Vol. I

A Selection from the Writings of Guy De Maupassant, Vol. I

Guy de Maupassant

This collection gathers the sharp, unforgiving observations of a master of the short form. These stories capture the quiet cruelties, fleeting joys, and deep-seated madness lurking beneath the surface of nineteenth-century French life.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Korean Fairy Tales

Korean Fairy Tales

William Elliot Griffis

This collection offers a window into the folklore and ancient spirit of Korea, presenting a tapestry of legends, animal fables, and moral parables that shaped the cultural imagination of the Land of Morning Splendor.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of Paradise Regained

Paradise Regained

John Milton

The epic poem follows the spiritual struggle of Jesus as he confronts the Adversary in the wilderness, choosing divine obedience over the seductive promises of earthly power and worldly wisdom.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Golden Treasury: Of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language

The Golden Treasury: Of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language

Unknown

This expansive collection gathers the finest lyrical voices of three centuries into a single, enduring vessel of English verse. It serves as a lifelong companion for those seeking beauty, solace, and the music of the human heart.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Praise of Folly

The Praise of Folly

Desiderius Erasmus

HOOK A satirical goddess ascends the podium to explain why the world’s most successful, happy, and influential people are, by necessity, fools.

Classics of Literature7 min read
Cover of Egoists, A Book of Supermen: Stendhal, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Anatole France, Huysmans, Barrès, Nietzsche, Blake, Ibsen, Stirner, and Ernest Hello

Egoists, A Book of Supermen: Stendhal, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Anatole France, Huysmans, Barrès, Nietzsche, Blake, Ibsen, Stirner, and Ernest Hello

James Huneker

This collection of critical essays serves as a rigorous, unsentimental map of the nineteenth century’s most defiant and individualistic minds. It explores the tension between the singular creator and the stifling herd.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book

McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book

Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton) McGuffey

Mastering the English language begins with the fundamental building blocks of sound and structure. This foundational guide transforms the daunting task of literacy into a systematic journey from simple phonetics to complex, nuanced vocabulary.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of This Simian World

This Simian World

Clarence Day

A whimsical, sharp-witted meditation, this work explores what history might have looked like if humanity had descended from cats, ants, or elephants rather than monkeys.

Humour6 min read
Cover of Selections from Poe

Selections from Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

This collection offers an essential encounter with the haunting melodies and chilling architectural precision of a master of the macabre and the analytical. It serves as a comprehensive introduction to the foundational voice of American Gothic and detective fiction.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam: (Based on Professor H. H. Wilson's translation.)

A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam: (Based on Professor H. H. Wilson's translation.)

H. H. (Horace Hayman) Wilson

The divine majesty of Vishnu breathes through this ancient tapestry of creation, dissolution, and the rhythmic return of the soul to its source. It serves as a foundational bridge between the cosmic infinite and the human search for righteousness.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore7 min read
Cover of A Study of the Bhâgavata Purâna

A Study of the Bhâgavata Purâna

Unknown

The Bhâgavata Purâna reveals the cosmos not as a random collection of events, but as a deliberate, unfolding drama of spirit descending into matter and seeking its way home again.

Religion/Spirituality7 min read
Cover of Fate and a fool

Fate and a fool

W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle

Fate and a fool are often the only things standing between a town and its own destruction. In this raucous tale, a mysterious, disheveled shepherd and a legendary local vagabond prove that the most unlikely characters are those who truly shape the course of history.

Short Stories6 min read
Cover of Inventions in the century

Inventions in the century

William H. (William Henry) Doolittle

This chronicle traces the relentless ingenuity of the nineteenth century, cataloging how human persistence and mechanical curiosity transformed the raw materials of the earth into the foundations of the modern industrial world.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of My Life as an Author

My Life as an Author

Martin Farquhar Tupper

A man of letters looks back upon a life defined by immense popularity, steady industry, and an unshakeable belief in his own moral purpose.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Papers on Health

Papers on Health

John Kirk

A comprehensive manual of home-based hydrotherapy and hygiene, this text distills decades of practical medical advice into an accessible, alphabetical guide for the household. It stands as a curious monument to late-Victorian domestic self-reliance.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The First Men in the Moon

The First Men in the Moon

H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Two men of wildly different temperaments journey to the lunar surface in a sphere of their own invention, discovering a subterranean world that defies every earthly expectation. This classic of early science fiction remains a masterwork of imaginative world-building, blending the wonder of space travel with a…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Game of Logic

The Game of Logic

Lewis Carroll

This book transforms the study of logic from an abstract, academic pursuit into a tangible, playful puzzle. By utilizing a physical board and colored counters, it invites readers to map out arguments visually, turning statements about "cakes" and "dragons" into a game of spatial reasoning.

Mathematics6 min read
Cover of The Story of the Sun: New York, 1833-1918

The Story of the Sun: New York, 1833-1918

Frank Michael O'Brien

This history chronicles the rise of the New York Sun, from its 1833 debut as a radical penny paper to its transformation into a pillar of American journalism by the early twentieth century.

History - American7 min read