Free summaries
Adventure — page 117
5,687 public-domain adventure books, summarised. Page 117 of 119.
The Fatal Third
Theodore L. Thomas
HOOK A titan of a man, physically out of place in a peaceful future, discovers that the space fleet’s greatest threat is actually a deadly side effect of their own high-speed flight.
The Girl Avenger
T. C. (Thomas Chalmers) Harbaugh
A vengeful young woman, marked by the legend of her deadly aim, traverses the Maumee Valley in 1794 to settle scores against those who have destroyed her kin.
The Gray Shadow: A Mystery Story For Boys
Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell
HOOK A young air-mail pilot is forced down in the dark of night, beginning a desperate, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse to recover a stolen package that could decide the fate of nations.
The Khaki Boys over the Top
Josephine Chase
The Khaki Boys return to the front, finding themselves tested by capture, narrow escapes, and the fog of war. This tale of friendship and duty chronicles the grit of five young American soldiers as they navigate the perils of the Great War.
The last buccaneer
L. Cope (Leslie Cope) Cornford
A schoolmaster is pulled from his desk into a web of maritime intrigue, where the line between legitimate trade and the dying age of piracy blurs on the high seas.
The Shaving of Shagpat; an Arabian entertainment
George Meredith
The struggle against a preposterous and magical vanity requires both a hero’s blade and a barber’s steady hand. This tale reimagines the absurdities of human belief through the lens of high-fantasy satire.
The Young Engineers on the Gulf
H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
Professional grit meets industrial sabotage on the Gulf Coast as two young civil engineers race to complete a massive breakwater project while dodging lethal vendettas.
Uncle Wiggily's silk hat
Howard Roger Garis
A tall silk hat does more than look dashing in the woods; for one elderly rabbit, it is a versatile tool for rescuing milk, bailing out boats, and serving as a makeshift vase.
Camping at Cherry Pond
Henry Abbott
The woods offer a sanctuary where the absence of a trophy dinner is easily eclipsed by the quiet majesty of the natural world.
Comrades of the Saddle
Frank V. Webster
The open range offers more than just adventure for two brothers from Ohio, as they trade their baseball bats for lassos and find themselves caught in a dangerous cattle war.
Harper's Round Table, September 3, 1895
Various
This issue of a late-19th-century youth periodical offers a curated window into the Victorian imagination, blending high-seas adventure and moral instruction with the playful, earnest preoccupations of a generation on the cusp of a new century.
Jim
A. A. Strachan
The bond between a man and his dog is tested to its absolute limit when a remote homesteading accident leaves the narrator helpless, forcing him to rely entirely on his companion’s intelligence to survive.
Queen of the Blue World
Basil Wells
A daring rescue mission goes awry, leaving a Martian officer and a stranded princess to navigate a hostile, primordial Earth while the clock ticks toward a critical planetary transition.
Salute
Thomson Burtis
The wreckage of a man’s life can sometimes reveal a hidden core of nobility, provided someone is willing to look past the smoke and the scars. This story follows two army pilots whose friendship is tested by the sudden arrival of a ghost from a checkered past.
The Erie Train Boy
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
A plucky seventeen-year-old takes to the rail cars to support his family, only to find that doing the right thing draws both desperate scoundrels and extraordinary luck.
The lost charm
Roy Norton
A wily, red-haired prospector turns the tables on a corrupt mining boss after a staged robbery leaves an innocent man in jail. This fast-paced mystery highlights the sharp wit required to survive in the rugged, lawless West.
The mid of the maintop
Arthur Lee Knight
During a perilous anti-slavery patrol off the African coast, a young midshipman is swept overboard, only to be captured by slave-traders and forced to engineer his own daring escape.
The Motor Girls Through New England
Margaret Penrose
A group of spirited young people, motoring through New England, face down road troubles, shadowy prowlers, and a high-stakes kidnapping before steering their tour toward a triumphant conclusion.
The Rajah of Dah
George Manville Fenn
A young man and his uncle, a naturalist, find themselves trapped in a dangerous struggle when a local ruler’s obsession with a British girl threatens their lives.
Silence is—Deadly
Bertrand Shurtleff
A naval officer fights to reclaim his stolen cruiser from saboteurs using futuristic, reality-bending technology. In this high-stakes maritime thriller, silence is not just golden—it is a weapon of war.
The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore
Laura Lee Hope
This story follows a young family’s transition from a quiet life at home to the bustling, sun-drenched adventures of a coastal summer. It captures the simple, earnest curiosity of childhood, where every new discovery feels like a monumental event.
The Boy Allies at Liège
Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes
Two American teenagers find themselves in the heart of Europe just as the First World War erupts, transforming a planned vacation into a desperate race to survive the front lines.
The Busted Ex-Texan, and Other Stories
W. H. H. (William Henry Harrison) Murray
This collection of tales captures the expansive spirit of the American frontier and the quiet transformations of New England life through wit, pathos, and the inevitable folly of human ambition.
The man-killers
Dane Coolidge
A man caught in the crossfire of a brutal range war must navigate a landscape of hidden gunmen and family vendettas to secure a future with the woman he loves.
The Radio Girls on the program
Margaret Penrose
Young women embrace the dawn of wireless technology in this vintage adventure, where the crackle of a radio signal serves as both a curiosity and a catalyst for their next daring endeavor.
The Tahquitch Maiden: A Tale of the San Jacintos
Phebe Estelle Spalding
In the shadow of the San Jacinto mountains, a traveler’s restless night leads to a supernatural encounter with a legendary figure trapped between mortal memory and divine seclusion.
Tom Swift and his house on wheels
Victor Appleton
This classic adventure follows a young inventor’s quest to refine a mobile home, leading him into a dangerous collision with a criminal syndicate operating out of a remote, mysterious castle.
Where the West begins
Austin Hall
A desert homesteader outsmarts a greedy cattle baron to secure a future for himself and the woman who captured his heart. This brisk, atmospheric tale captures the shifting landscape of the American West.
Arctic angels
A. De Herries (Augustus De Herries) Smith
This short, tense drama follows two Royal North West Mounted Police officers navigating the brutal moral and physical landscape of the Arctic to preserve their authority and protect a starving community. It is a taut study of duty, manipulation, and the thin veneer of order in a frozen wilderness.
Fostina Woodman, the Wonderful Adventurer
Avis A. Burnham Stanwood
A young woman’s peaceful life in a mountain cottage is shattered by the lure of gold and the treachery of kin, forcing her to embark on a perilous, transformative journey to reclaim her destiny.
Frank Merriwell in Maine
Burt L. Standish
The quintessential American boy-hero embarks on a Maine wilderness retreat, only to find himself entangled in a rugged struggle against poachers, smugglers, and the perils of the river drive.
Free Trapper's Pass
William R. (William Reynolds) Eyster
A daring rescue mission unfolds across the rugged Yellowstone wilderness as a band of frontiersmen battles to save a young woman from captivity.
Harper's Round Table, June 18, 1895
Various
This collection of mid-1890s periodical entries captures a vanished world of youth, where adventure narratives and practical instruction sit side-by-side with the dry, earnest humor of a bygone age. It offers a glimpse into a time when reading was a rigorous, multifaceted pursuit for the young.
Little Oskaloo
T. C. (Thomas Chalmers) Harbaugh
A lone white girl raised among native villagers moves like a shadow across the frontier to shield imperiled settlers and unravel the mystery of her stolen past.
Quinquepedalian
Piers Anthony
A colossal, multi-brained creature stalks three explorers through an alien forest, forcing a lone survivor to confront the limits of human dominance and the terrifying reality of a superior intelligence.
Spacerogue
Robert Silverberg
HOOK A lone avenger navigates a galaxy of cruel masters and enslaved creatures, seeking the ultimate retribution against the tyrant who destroyed his home.
Strange waters
Kingsbury Scott
A humble Great Lakes fireman finds his true purpose when the call of history and the chaos of the Great War collide on the open Atlantic. This is a story of grit, loyalty, and the unexpected heroism of an ordinary man.
The Golden Boys Rescued by Radio
L. P. (Levi Parker) Wyman
Two teenage brothers use their homemade radio to thwart a dangerous smuggling operation in the Maine wilderness. It is an earnest, fast-paced tale of ingenuity, courage, and brotherly devotion.
The Lily of Leyden
William Henry Giles Kingston
In the shadow of a brutal historical siege, a courageous young woman and her father fight for the survival of their faith and their city against the encroaching Spanish army.
A Gold Hunter's Experience
Chalkley J. Hambleton
HOOK Driven by the allure of 1859 gold discoveries, a Chicago businessman trades his comfort for the perilous journey to the Colorado mountains, only to discover that the true cost of fortune is far greater than he imagined.
Heritage of the sea
W. R. Bethel
A fog-bound night on the Long Island Sound forces a hardened bootlegger into a desperate moral choice between his illicit cargo and the lives of drowning men. This taut, atmospheric tale explores the intersection of professional duty and human empathy under the cover of darkness.
Adrift on the Amazon
Leo E. (Leo Edward) Miller
The Amazon River serves as the backdrop for a young man’s perilous journey of self-discovery and survival in the wild. This adventure follows a headstrong youth who leaves home to prove his maturity, only to find himself tested by the unforgiving realities of the jungle.
Blacks and Bushrangers: Adventures in Queensland
E. B. (Edward B.) Kennedy
This Victorian-era adventure narrative follows two brothers who, after surviving a shipwreck, endure a long, transformative life in the Australian wilderness before returning to colonial society as hardened, capable men.
Fenn Masterson's Discovery
Allen Chapman
HOOK A group of inquisitive high school friends stumbles into a web of international intrigue and criminal activity while on a Great Lakes cruise. Their curiosity leads them from a mundane boat trip to a life-threatening discovery.
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, February 1841
Various
A curated window into the nineteenth-century imagination, this collection gathers the literary tastes, romantic sensibilities, and moral earnestness of a bygone era into a single monthly miscellany.
Harper's Round Table, February 23, 1897
Various
This collection captures the restless, expansive spirit of the late nineteenth century through a blend of high-seas adventure, frontier survival, and the earnest, curious preoccupations of a reading public at the turn of an era.
Harper's Young People, July 20, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This archival edition offers a window into the Victorian era, blending adventurous serial fiction, scientific curiosities, and a vibrant community of young readers corresponding across the American landscape.
Harper's Young People, July 25, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
Adventures in imagination and nature define this classic collection, where stories, scientific curiosities, and letters from children converge to celebrate the spirit of 1880s youth.