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All free summaries — page 931
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 931 of 988.
In the line of duty
H. P. S. (Henry Paul Stevens) Greene
The mud of France and the rigid, often nonsensical machinery of military bureaucracy prove to be a more formidable enemy for the young pilot than the skies above.
It
Hayden Howard
A stranded space captain struggles against a malevolent, parasitic organism that has seized control of his motor functions, turning his own body into a weapon against his crew.
Land Beyond the Flame
Evelyn Goldstein
This science fiction adventure follows a societal outcast who rejects his civilization’s cold logic to save his sister, ultimately forging a bridge between two warring species.
Little Frank and other tales
Anonymous
This collection of stories invites young readers to look closely at the world around them, from the creatures in the garden to the far-off corners of the globe. It is a quiet, observant guide to the natural world, framed by the gentle instruction of parents and the curiosity of children.
Mezzerow Loves Company
F. L. (Floyd L.) Wallace
HOOK A father and son travel to Earth to correct a clerical error on a star chart, only to discover that the bureaucracy of a galaxy-spanning civilization is far more indifferent than they imagined.
Miracle by Price
Cox, Irving E., Jr.
This psychological drama explores the intersection of scientific curiosity and human loneliness, following a rigid woman who finds the clarity she needs through a series of inexplicable, reality-bending events. It is a story about the masks we wear and the courage required to drop them.
Mrs. Dorriman: A Novel. Volume 2 of 3
Chetwynd, Henry Wayland, Mrs.
A young woman trapped in a loveless, volatile marriage finds her only solace in the written word, while those around her grapple with the consequences of their own selfish choices and long-held secrets.
Notes and Queries, Number 13, January 26, 1850
Various
This periodical serves as a mid-nineteenth-century clearinghouse for the curious, a collaborative space where Victorian scholars and laypeople trade fragments of knowledge, solve obscure linguistic puzzles, and document the vanishing traces of history.
Notes and Queries, Number 47, September 21, 1850
Various
This collection serves as a Victorian forum for the curious, where gentlemen and scholars exchange fragmented knowledge to piece together a broader understanding of history, language, and folklore. It captures a moment of intellectual transition.
Notes and Queries, Number 61, December 28, 1850
Various
This Victorian-era periodical serves as a collaborative, intellectual clearinghouse where curious minds trade historical inquiries, folklore, and literary observations. It functions as a public forum for the exchange of knowledge.
Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 90, July 19, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This collection serves as an early Victorian forum where antiquaries, bibliophiles, and scholars trade obscure facts and seek collective wisdom to solve their most stubborn research puzzles. It acts as a timeless repository of human curiosity.
Old Friends Are the Best
Jack Sharkey
The Peter W. Merrill Moonplant is a quiet, unassuming survivor from the lunar surface that inadvertently triggers a planetary apocalypse, demonstrating that the universe often saves its most devastating surprises for those it considers old friends.
Our Caughnawagas in Egypt: a narrative of what was seen and accomplished by the contingent of North American Indian voyageurs who led the British boat Expedition for the Relief of Khartoum up the Cataracts of the Nile
Louis Jackson
A seasoned Mohawk captain leads his skilled contingent of Canadian voyageurs to the Nile, teaching professional soldiers the art of navigating treacherous cataracts in a desperate race to relieve Khartoum.
Pierre and His People: Tales of the Far North. Volume 3
Gilbert Parker
In the vast, unforgiving landscape of the Canadian Rockies, men gamble with gold, survival, and their own souls while caught in the thrall of an ancient, indifferent wilderness.
Pleasant Journey
Richard Thieme
A man purchases a mysterious device that transports users to their own idealized memories. He soon finds the lure of this private heaven overwhelming, questioning if one should ever return to reality.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, June 8, 1895
Various
This collection captures the sharp, satirical heartbeat of late-Victorian London, where political theater, social absurdities, and the trivialities of daily life are skewered with relentless, rhythmic wit.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, July 16, 1892
Various
A satirical glance at late-Victorian society reveals a world obsessed with public spectacles, political anxieties, and the absurdities of daily life.
Quartet
Jean Rhys
In the shadow of bohemian Paris, a woman finds herself adrift between a charming, manipulative criminal husband and an affluent, detached couple who offer a predatory form of rescue. This is a stark, unsparing portrait of vulnerability and the cruel mechanics of dependency.
Richardson's New London fashionable gentleman's valentine writer, or, the lover's own book for this year
Thomas Richardson
A lighthearted guide to nineteenth-century romantic correspondence, this collection offers a series of rhymed missives designed to help hopeful suitors express their affection—and help their recipients accept or reject those advances with flair.
Sandra Belloni
George Meredith
A young woman of immense musical ambition discovers that the romantic delusions of her heart threaten to silence the singular gift defining her existence. This character-driven drama explores the painful maturation of a prodigy caught between her own artistic intensity and the rigid expectations of English society.
Serapis
Georg Ebers
The fall of the ancient world is not a sudden tremor of the earth, but the slow, painful dissolution of a soul torn between the gods of the past and the promise of a new faith.
Strangers to Straba
Carl Jacobi
Can a vessel possess a mind, a heart, and a lethal capacity for vengeance? This haunting tale explores the strange, rhythmic life trapped within the hollowed-out hull of a derelict space freighter.
Tea Tray in the Sky
Evelyn E. Smith
A young man from a sequestered, traditional society ventures into the hyper-regulated United Universe, only to discover that universal peace comes at the cost of personal liberty and common sense.
The American Missionary
Various
Across the post-Reconstruction American landscape, a dedicated coalition of educators and ministers wage a quiet, methodical war against ignorance and social inequality.
The American Missionary
Various
This collection of reports and correspondence chronicles the mid-19th-century endeavor to expand education and religious influence among marginalized populations across North America.
The American Missionary
Various
A window into the organized religious fervor and social anxieties of late nineteenth-century America, this periodical chronicles the expansive efforts of missionaries working to transform the post-Civil War landscape.
The Character of a Priest
Richard Carlile
The priesthood is a fraudulent trade predicated on hypocrisy and the systematic exploitation of human fear. This work serves as a fierce, uncompromising indictment of institutional religion as an obstacle to human reason and liberty.
The Church In Politics—Americans Beware!
M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch) Mangasarian
The church and the state cannot mix, for a supernatural power must always swallow the human constitution it touches.
The Cornish Fishermen's Watch-Night, and Other Stories
Anonymous
A collection of Victorian moral tales designed to guide working-class readers toward piety, industry, and the enduring comfort of the Christian faith. These stories serve as humble companions for the home, aiming to turn wayward hearts toward a life of purpose.
The flying chance
Gordon McCreagh
After being grounded for minor physical imperfections, an impulsive young aviator defies orders to hunt for a destroyer in the path of enemy submarines.
The Imitator: A Novel
Percival Pollard
A man discovers a mirror capable of transferring the souls of others into his own, only to find that possessing another person's mind is a hollow, corrupting experience.
The Indulgence of Negu Mah
Robert Arthur
A wealthy merchant on a desolate moon discovers his wife is plotting to steal his ship and desert him, prompting a calculated act of "mercy" that seals their fate among the stars.
The Library
George Crabbe
A sanctuary for the troubled mind, this meditative poem explores the quiet power of books to soothe human suffering while questioning the vanity of those who write and critique them.
The Long Hillside: A Christmas Hare-Hunt In Old Virginia
Thomas Nelson Page
A group of boys and their companions head into the frosty Virginia fields for a Christmas hare-hunt, finding that the chaotic reality of the day often outpaces their carefully laid plans.
The Mysterious Wanderer, Vol. III: A Novel in Three Volumes
Sophia Reeve
This novel of manners and moral reckoning navigates a labyrinth of inheritance disputes, parental tyranny, and the eventual triumph of virtue over calculated malice. It is a work that captures the intense emotional anxieties and the intricate social codes of its era through a complex, multi-generational web of…
The Old Castle and Other Stories
Anonymous
These stories offer a quiet look into the lives of children learning to navigate their own hearts and the world around them. They find courage in duty, kindness in strangers, and comfort in faith.
The Parisians
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A woman of rare artistic genius finds her private heart entangled in the social and political volatility of a city on the brink of profound transformation.
The Plague of the Heart
Francis Prevost
The heart is a treacherous landscape where duty and desire collide, often leaving those who wander its rugged paths to reckon with the wreckage of their own choices.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
This sweeping historical narrative chronicles the birth of the Dutch Republic, tracing the transformation of a collection of submerged provinces into a unified, defiant force for freedom against the most powerful empire of the sixteenth century.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
The shadow of the Inquisition looms over the Low Countries, transforming a prosperous, industrious society into a desperate, battle-hardened nation. This is the chronicle of a struggle where religious conviction and the demand for civil liberty collide with the absolute, uncompromising power of a distant crown.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
A sovereign’s hidden malice meets the desperate resistance of a people, setting the stage for a revolution that reshapes the map of Europe. This narrative chronicles the descent of the Netherlands into the Eighty Years' War.
The Severed Hand: From "German Tales" Published by the American Publishers' Corporation
Wilhelm Hauff
A doctor’s greed leads him into a midnight encounter, resulting in a gruesome surgical commission and a life-altering sentence. This haunting tale explores the high price of curiosity and the long shadow of a single mistake.
The Space Rover
Edwin K. Sloat
Framed for a crime he did not commit, a desperate escapee from Mercury’s deadly mines seizes a freighter to reclaim his life and exact vengeance against a corrupt interplanetary mogul.
The Story of Nelson: also "The Grateful Indian", "The Boatswain's Son"
William Henry Giles Kingston
These three tales of seafaring adventure and frontier peril capture the spirit of nineteenth-century duty, tracing the paths of legendary admirals, resilient pioneers, and rising young officers.
The Subspecies of the Mountain Chickadee
Joseph Grinnell
A examination of avian geographic variation reveals how mountain ranges shape subtle evolutionary boundaries across Western North America.
The terrible meek
Charles Rann Kennedy
The world ends not with a whimper, but in the cold, dark silence of a hill where duty has just claimed the life of a man. In this haunting, one-act drama, the mechanics of empire confront the absolute power of love.
The Third Miss St Quentin
Mrs. Molesworth
A young woman, feeling like an outsider in her own family, navigates the quiet tensions of home and the sudden, disorienting arrival of romance.
The Time-Techs of Kra
Max C. Sheridan
This adventure pits a group of time-displaced humans against ancient, insectoid masters of history. It is a tale of survival, scientific ingenuity, and the ultimate, fragile supremacy of the human spirit.