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5,112 public-domain books, summarised. Page 98 of 107.
The Tatler, Volume 4
Steele, Richard, Sir
This collection of 18th-century periodical essays serves as a witty, observant mirror of its age. It captures the social anxieties and moral ambitions of a society transitioning into modernity through the eyes of an urbane commentator.
The Three Bears
Anonymous
A young girl with bright curls wanders into the home of a bear family. What follows is a spirited, rhythmic confrontation that tests the boundaries of hospitality, curiosity, and the wild world of the woods.
George Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and Writings
René Doumic
This exploration of a singular literary life captures the evolution of a woman who translated her own restless search for meaning into the heartbeat of nineteenth-century French fiction.
Robin Hood: A collection of all the ancient poems, songs, and ballads, now extant, relative to that celebrated English outlaw. To which are prefixed historical anecdotes of his life
Unknown
This collection gathers the oldest surviving verses of a legendary English outlaw, painting a portrait of a defiant yeoman whose name echoes through the ancient forests of Northern England. It serves as a definitive archive of a mythic life, tracing the transition of a folk hero from a simple forest dweller into an…
De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2): The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D'Anghera
Pietro Martire d' Anghiera
The first chronicler of the Americas weaves reports of transatlantic exploration into a vivid, scholarly tapestry of discovery, documenting the irreversible collision between the Old World and the New.
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 2 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
Luigi Lanzi
The Roman and Neapolitan schools emerge through a meticulous survey of artistic lineage, where the evolution of style is traced from the early masters to the refined, reasoned aesthetics of the late eighteenth century.
Apocolocyntosis
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The halls of Olympus are rarely so crowded with absurdity as when an emperor demands to be worshipped by the gods he once ruled. This sharp satire turns the dignity of the afterlife into a chaotic farce.
Forgotten Books of the American Nursery: A History of the Development of the American Story-Book
Rosalie Vrylina Halsey
This historical study traces the evolution of American children’s literature from grim colonial primers to the early nineteenth-century emergence of a distinct, homegrown story-book culture.
Lysis
Plato
Seeking the nature of a bond that links us all, this dialogue probes the elusive heart of human connection. It examines whether we are drawn to our own reflection or to that which we fundamentally lack.
The Babylonian Legends of the Creation
Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir
This collection of ancient Mesopotamian texts reconstructs the foundational myths of the Babylonian universe, preserved on fragile clay tablets unearthed from the ruins of Nineveh. It offers a rare, scholarly window into how the people of the Euphrates Valley understood the origins of the heavens, the earth, and…
A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718
Wallace Notestein
This rigorous historical survey tracks the shifting legal and cultural tides of English witchcraft from the reign of Elizabeth I to the early eighteenth century. It offers a sober, evidence-based account of a turbulent era.
British Flags: Their Early History, and Their Development at Sea: With an Account of the Origin of the Flag as a National Device
William Gordon Perrin
The flags flown by the British fleet were never mere decorations; they were the essential, evolving language of naval command, maritime law, and national identity upon the high seas.
Cane
Jean Toomer
Deep-rooted in the Southern soil, these stories and poems surge with the fever of a land caught between the weight of history and the ache for a new, unwritten future.
The Book of Religions: Comprising the Views, Creeds, Sentiments, or Opinions, of All the Principal Religious Sects in the World, Particularly of All Christian Denominations in Europe and America, to Which are Added Church and Missionary Statistics, Together With Biographical Sketches
John Hayward
A panoramic exploration of human belief, this compendium maps the vast, intricate geography of religious thought across centuries and continents. It serves as an exhaustive directory of how humanity has sought to define the divine.
The Logic of Chance, 3rd edition: An Essay on the Foundations and Province of the Theory of Probability, With Especial Reference to Its Logical Bearings and Its Application to Moral and Social Science and to Statistics
John Venn
This inquiry into the nature of chance shifts the focus from abstract mathematics to the observable regularities of human life, arguing that probability is best understood as a study of long-term frequency.
Triplanetary
E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith
This is a foundational work of space opera that presents the history of the universe as a grand, unseen chess game between two competing super-races. It serves as the opening chapter of a legendary series, establishing a scale of conflict where planets are mere pawns in a struggle spanning eons.
Heidi
Johanna Spyri
This story of a young orphan finding grace among the high Alps and the city streets remains a definitive portrait of childhood’s restorative power. It endures because it captures the fundamental human need for both the wild, untethered freedom of nature and the gentle, structured security of a home.
How to Invest Money
George Garr Henry
The path to financial stability is paved not with speculation, but with a rigorous understanding of one’s own requirements and the distinct characteristics of different investment vehicles.
Man a Machine
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
Consider the human body as a complex arrangement of springs and levers, where thought is not a ghost in the shell, but a product of biological organization. This radical perspective challenges the traditional divide between the physical and the spiritual.
The Memoirs, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: A Linked Index to the Project Gutenberg Editions
Thomas Jefferson
These volumes offer a panoramic view of a foundational era, captured through the private musings and public correspondence of a primary architect of American independence.
One thousand books for children
Unknown
This guide offers a curated roadmap to the landscape of early twentieth-century literature for young people. It serves as a practical, structured manual for adults seeking to foster reading habits through thoughtful, age-appropriate selection.
Primitive culture, vol. 1 (of 2)
Edward B. (Edward Burnett) Tylor
Tracing the evolution of human thought from its earliest origins to modern civilization, this foundational work maps the development of mythology, religion, and custom through a global lens. It stands as a pillar of modern anthropology, famously defining "culture" as the complex whole that includes knowledge,…
Q-Ships and Their Story
E. Keble (Edward Keble) Chatterton
These "mystery ships" disguised as humble merchant vessels hunted German submarines during the First World War, turning the tables on attackers through sheer nerve and hidden firepower.
The measurement of intelligence
Lewis M. (Lewis Madison) Terman
The quest to measure the human mind is a journey of refinement, turning abstract observation into a precise, standardized language of potential.
The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother
George H. (George Henry) Napheys
This volume serves as a comprehensive medical and behavioral guide for nineteenth-century women, navigating the biological transitions of puberty, marriage, and motherhood. It offers a blend of Victorian domestic advice and clinical instruction, aiming to educate women on their health and responsibilities through a…
The pirates own book
Charles Ellms
This sprawling historical compendium documents the gruesome, lawless, and often short-lived careers of the world’s most notorious maritime predators, revealing the grim reality behind their romanticized myths.
Theocritus, translated into English Verse
Theocritus
The natural world, from the whisper of pine trees to the stinging heat of midsummer, serves as the stage for these timeless dramas of human longing, labor, and loss. These poems capture the voices of shepherds, lovers, and city dwellers with a vividness that bridges the chasm between ancient Alexandria and the…
Treatise on light
Christiaan Huygens
Light travels in waves, not particles, and this foundational insight explains the strange beauty of reflection and refraction.
Menexenus
Plato
The Menexenus is a masterful, layered parody of Athenian political vanity, revealing how grand rhetoric can seduce the mind while obscuring the messy realities of history and war.
Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather: A Reply
Charles Wentworth Upham
The Salem trials serve as a grim warning of how unchecked institutional power and superstition can destroy a society. This historical defense meticulously untangles the culpability of those who orchestrated the 1692 tragedy.
South America: Observations and Impressions: New edition corrected and revised
Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount
Crossing a continent on the cusp of modern industrial transformation, a seasoned observer explores the jagged mountains, sterile deserts, and rising cities of South America to decipher the future of its emerging nations.
The Goose-step: A Study of American Education
Upton Sinclair
The American university, once a sanctuary for open inquiry, has been transformed into a corporate instrument designed to produce obedient citizens and protect the interests of industrial wealth.
The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci, and Other Documents Illustrative of His Career
Christopher Columbus
A contentious collection of travel narratives and legal records, these documents invite readers to adjudicate one of history’s most enduring disputes regarding the discovery of the Western Hemisphere. They present the self-aggrandizing accounts of a Florentine adventurer alongside the stern, corrective rebuttals of…
Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes, Volume One
W. F. (William Forsell) Kirby
In a landscape shaped by song, heroes weave reality from words and iron, forging a nation’s identity through ancient myth and relentless, magical ambition.
Fathers and Children
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
A young radical returns home to challenge the traditions of his elders, only to find that life, love, and mortality possess a stubborn complexity that his rigid philosophy cannot contain.
The Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes: An Index of the Project Gutenberg Editions
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The physician and poet offers a window into the nineteenth-century New England mind, blending the clinical precision of a medical man with the whimsical, observant spirit of a seasoned essayist and storyteller.
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 04 (of 10): Filippino Lippi to Domenico Puligo
Giorgio Vasari
The history of Renaissance art unfolds through the intimate, often dramatic accounts of the masters who defined it, transforming technical mastery into enduring legend.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
The world is vast, and the most singular paths are often those hidden from the maps of the era. A determined woman journeys into the interior of a changing landscape to witness a life untouched by modernity.
U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1960 January - June
Library of Congress. Copyright Office
A methodical, austere inventory of creative works, this record documents the legal preservation of intellectual property as authors, heirs, and publishers acted to secure their claims during the first half of 1960.
Mosaics of Grecian History
Marcius Willson
This sweeping historical survey captures the spirit of Hellenic civilization by weaving together formal narrative, biographical sketches, and the evocative power of classical poetry. It offers a panoramic view of Greece, from its mythic foundations to the twilight of its ancient influence.
Pierre Curie
Marie Curie
This account of a life dedicated to scientific discovery serves as both a biography of a brilliant partner and a testament to the selfless, often grueling nature of pioneering research. It captures the quiet intensity of a shared life lived in laboratories, exploring the foundational work that unlocked the secrets…
Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell
Anne Brontë
The poet finds a sanctuary in the written word, transforming the crushing weight of isolation and bereavement into a quiet, enduring strength. These verses map the geography of a soul seeking refuge in faith, nature, and the memory of home.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
Oscar Wilde
A haunting testament to the fragility of human dignity, this poem turns the gaze of society inward to witness the slow, systematic destruction of a man condemned to die.
The Land Beyond the Forest: Facts, Figures, and Fancies from Transylvania
E. (Emily) Gerard
A military spouse offers a vivid, multifaceted portrait of a remote European province, blending historical research, ethnographic observation, and lyrical travelogues to capture a vanishing world. This work serves as an intimate window into the complex cultural tapestry of nineteenth-century Transylvania.
The Poems of Goethe, Translated in the Original Metres
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The soul of a master poet lives within these pages, inviting readers to wander through a landscape of human passion, nature’s quiet majesty, and the bittersweet dance of mortality.
Chance, Love, and Logic: Philosophical Essays
Charles S. (Charles Sanders) Peirce
Logic is not a static set of rules for the mind, but a living, evolving process of inquiry that shapes our understanding of reality. This collection maps the intellectual terrain of a pioneer who sought to unify scientific method with philosophical depth.
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon
Faithful stewards of history examine how human ambition, religious fervor, and systemic decay gradually dismantle the grandest imperial structures ever raised.
Early Greek philosophy
John Burnet
The pursuit of truth began in the Ionian cities, where the first thinkers broke from myth to seek the underlying substance of the world. Their legacy remains the foundation of all Western inquiry.