The whole shelf
All free summaries — page 933
47,382 public-domain books, summarised. Page 933 of 988.
Morals of Economic Internationalism
J. A. (John Atkinson) Hobson
A nation’s moral health depends on its capacity to see past its own borders. This call to action explores the vital choice between isolationist greed and the collaborative future of a global society.
My friend Doggie
G. R. (Geraldine Robertson) Glasgow
This gentle Victorian-era story explores the friendship between a wealthy young girl and a spirited, impoverished boy. It highlights the power of simple, selfless acts to bridge the divide between two very different worlds.
Notes and Queries, Number 241, June 10, 1854: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant Victorian intellectual exchange, where readers and scholars gather to trade obscure historical facts, folk traditions, and technical inquiries in a spirit of collaborative discovery.
Notes on Old Edinburgh
Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
The High Street of Edinburgh serves as the setting for this urgent, sobering account of urban poverty, where the grand architecture of a royal city masks a desperate, hidden struggle for survival.
Notes on the book of Numbers
Charles Henry Mackintosh
This work acts as a spiritual map for the wilderness of life, guiding the reader through the ancient journey of Israel to find contemporary meaning in their desert wanderings.
Paul Clifford
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A charismatic highwayman navigates the treacherous divide between his criminal underworld and the polished, hypocritical society of Bath, where his identity and his heart hang in a fragile, dangerous balance.
Peril Orbit
C. J. Wedlake
A lone pilot trapped in a decaying orbit around the sun faces the agonizing choice between a quick end and a desperate, improvised attempt to survive the heat.
Petition and memorial of David Quinn, asking for the re-establishment of Negro slavery in the United States
Quinn, David, active 1850-1869
The arguments within these pages represent a stark, reactionary rejection of the American Civil War’s outcome, demanding a return to a social order based on the bondage of others.
Proper pride
B. M. (Bithia Mary) Croker
This Victorian novel explores the tragic fallout of a young couple’s damaged trust, ignited by a malicious forgery and fueled by the stubborn pride that keeps them apart.
Proposals for Building, in Every County, a Working-Alms-House or Hospital: as the Best Expedient to Perfect the Trade and Manufactory of Linnen Cloth
Richard Haines
An ambitious seventeenth-century plan proposes a national network of workhouses to solve poverty, end unemployment, and capture the lucrative linen trade by putting the idle to work.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, May 27, 1893
Various
A sharp, light-hearted satire of 1890s Victorian society, where high-born politicians, pretentious art gallery patrons, and fashionable snobs are systematically stripped of their solemnity by the razor-sharp wit of London’s premier humor magazine.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, August 17, 1895
Various
A Victorian cultural snapshot, this collection captures the biting wit and rhythmic satire of a nation transitioning into the modern era, where parliamentary politics and social manners collide in equal measure.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 98, May 24, 1890
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, satirical snapshot of Victorian life, capturing the anxieties, follies, and political maneuvering of 1890 through the sharp lens of a national institution. It is a mosaic of short, punchy pieces—ranging from farcical plays to biting parliamentary commentary—that endure because…
Report of the Twentieth National Anti-Slavery Bazaar
A. W. Weston
The harsh winter of 1854 provides a somber backdrop for the twentieth annual effort to fund the American Anti-Slavery Society. Despite natural disasters and systemic opposition, this report documents a resilient, internationally supported campaign for justice.
Roger Davis, Loyalist
Frank Baird
A displaced Massachusetts teenager survives imprisonment, wilderness flight, and exile to pioneer a prosperous new life along the Canadian frontier.
Sketches by Seymour
Robert Seymour
A series of vignettes capturing the bungled excursions, petty misadventures, and humorous pretensions of nineteenth-century Londoners, where every pastoral outing inevitably descends into farce.
Sweet Hours
Carmen Sylva
This collection of blank-verse meditations finds strength in stillness, offering a contemplative map for navigating the exhaustion of the human spirit. It serves as a quiet sanctuary for anyone weary of the world’s noise.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond
George Meredith
A young man navigates the ruins of his father’s grand illusions while seeking his own path toward a stable, authentic life. This sprawling, psychologically astute novel explores the heavy price of inheriting a legacy built on performance rather than truth.
The Alternative: A Separate Nationality
William H. (William Henry) Holcombe
A fiery manifesto written on the eve of the American Civil War argues that the South must immediately secede to avoid moral and economic ruin.
The American National Red Cross Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 1, January, 1906
American National Red Cross
This inaugural bulletin serves as the foundational public record of the American National Red Cross, detailing its 1905 congressional charter, early administrative structure, and the earnest initial efforts to establish a nationwide network of humanitarian relief branches.
The barge of haunted lives
J. Aubrey (John Aubrey) Tyson
A mysterious host gathers a group of haunted individuals on a secluded barge, where each must recount their connection to a cursed Indian treasure to reveal the truth of their intertwined lives.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 20: Job: The Challoner Revision
Unknown
A righteous man loses everything he holds dear, yet his struggle to understand the divine purpose behind his suffering creates an enduring meditation on faith, patience, and the limits of human wisdom.
The Crucial Moment: 1911
Charles Egbert Craddock
A sudden argument over a flawed levee survey explodes into a fatal gunshot, launching a desperate fugitive across a flooded delta landscape.
The Draytons and the Davenants
Elizabeth Rundle Charles
A young woman reflects on the turbulent collapse of her English home as civil war turns neighbor against neighbor. Through her eyes, the personal costs of a nation divided by conscience and crown are laid bare.
The Flying Tuskers of K'niik-K'naak
Jack Sharkey
The flying tuskers of K’niik-K’naak are magnificent, pearl-tusked beasts, but the real hunt is the one conducted by a self-appointed superior who finds himself outmaneuvered by the very companion he treats as luggage.
The history of civilisation in Scotland, Vol 2 (of 4)
John Mackintosh
This volume chronicles the profound transformation of Scottish society during the sixteenth century, tracing the collapse of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and the rise of a new, austere religious and intellectual order. It examines how fundamental shifts in belief—from the medieval world of demons and relics to the…
The infant moralist
Violet Jacob
A cautionary collection for the unruly, these verses serve as a stern, rhyming ledger of the inevitable and often gruesome consequences awaiting children who stray from the path of perfect behavior.
The invading asteroid
Manly Wade Wellman
This story follows three young Terrestrial pilots who stumble upon a hidden Martian plot, setting in motion a desperate, high-stakes mission to save Earth from a surprise attack. It is a brisk, action-oriented tale of duty, sacrifice, and the strange bonds formed in the crucible of interplanetary war.
The Last Call: A Romance (Vol. 1 of 3)
Richard Dowling
The shadow of a looming financial catastrophe follows two young lovers into a dark, secret-filled world, where the boundaries between life and death blur. Suspicion and pride drive a wedge between those who should be closest, leaving them to navigate a labyrinth of ruin and redemption.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 545, May 5, 1832
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant microcosm of early nineteenth-century British intellectual curiosity, curating news, history, and social commentary for the inquisitive reader. It captures the spirit of an era where scientific advancement, royal biography, and the arts were consumed with equal fervor.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic
John Lothrop Motley
This sweeping historical narrative chronicles the birth of the Dutch Republic, detailing the agonizing struggle of the Low Countries to break free from the suffocating grasp of the Spanish Empire. It captures a defining moment in Western history where the ideals of civil and religious liberty collided with the…
The rival bicyclists
Edward Stratemeyer
A young cyclist navigates a gauntlet of neighborhood bullies, dangerous river rescues, and high-stakes racing to secure his future. Through grit and speed, he transforms from an honest laborer’s son into a national champion.
The silent cabin
Evan Merritt Post
A quiet, snow-bound cabin in the Alaskan wilderness becomes the final stage for two vastly different travelers to confront the weight of human decency.
The silver dial, volume 1 (of 3)
Mary C. (Mary Catherine) Rowsell
A master horologist hides a devastating secret while striving to complete a masterpiece, his life intersecting with the passions and deceits of a sixteenth-century cathedral city.
The Spawn of Ixion
James Ewing Cooley
In the shadows of classical mythology, a poet weaves a relentless satire aimed at crushing a literary rival's wretched verse.
The Story of Tim
George Borrow
A sharp-witted lad uses music, trickery, and nerves of steel to outfox a pair of professional highwaymen. This classic Russian folk tale captures the spirit of the clever underdog prevailing against all odds.
The Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of New Milford, Conn. June 17th, 1907: Address Delivered by Daniel Davenport, of Bridgeport, Conn
Daniel Davenport
The settlement of New Milford began in 1707, exactly a century after that of Jamestown, Va. At that time, although Milford and Stratford at the mouth of the Housatonic had been settled almost seventy years, and the river afforded a convenient highway into the interior, for much of the distance, this place, only…
The Vigil of Brunhild: A Narrative Poem
Frederic Manning
The aged Queen of Austrasia, betrayed by her own nobles and facing a brutal execution, confronts her turbulent past in a final, meditative vigil. This narrative poem transforms a historical figure of violence into a tragic, reflective soul grappling with the remnants of her ambition and love.
The White Comrade, and Other Poems
Katherine Hale
A young soldier, wounded in the trenches of France, finds his faith transformed by the spectral presence of a fallen comrade. This collection of poetry chronicles the profound spiritual awakening of a generation caught in the machinery of the Great War.
The Wish: A Novel
Hermann Sudermann
A young woman’s secret, unspoken desire for her ailing sister’s death leads to a haunting confrontation with her own conscience. This stark psychological portrait explores the thin, terrifying line between love and betrayal.
The World English Bible (WEB): Nehemiah
Anonymous
A high-ranking official leaves the comfort of a foreign palace to rebuild the crumbling walls of his ancestral home. His chronicle reveals the personal cost and relentless grit required to restore a broken community.
Theory and Practice, Applied to the Cultivation of the Cucumber in the Winter Season: To Which Is Added a Chapter on Melons
Thomas Moore
The cucumber, a tender visitor from warmer climates, demands a sophisticated hand to thrive in the unforgiving gloom of an English winter. This technical manual serves as an essential guide for the nineteenth-century gardener seeking to master the delicate art of indoor cultivation.
Thoughts on a Revelation
S. J. (Samuel John) Jerram
This inquiry examines the logical conditions under which a divine revelation might be communicated to humanity, arguing that such a process must necessarily be limited by human capacity and historical context.
Vengeance on Mars!
Jerome Bixby
An aging pioneer faces a moral ultimatum on the Martian frontier: rescue his former best friend from a lynch mob or allow the man to face the brutal justice of the indigenous people.
Weak on Square Roots
Russell Burton
In a quiet suburban house, the boundary between domestic appliance and human companion dissolves when a neglected wife discovers warmth and affection in an unlikely, vegetable-headed machine.
What the wind did
Amy Le Feuvre
HOOK A chance encounter on a stormy morning binds two lives together, setting in motion a long, quiet journey toward reconciliation and grace.
Woodcliff
Harriet B. (Harriet Burn) McKeever
A headstrong girl and a penniless, principled boy navigate the trials of youth and the expectations of a changing world, finding their way through faith and steadfast devotion.
"A Cathcart or a Riggs?"
Roy Norton
HOOK In a rough-and-tumble mountain mining camp, a defiant saloon owner and a persistent, crusading editor find themselves locked in an unlikely, high-stakes battle for the soul of their town.