Free summaries
Adventure — page 120
5,964 public-domain adventure books, summarised. Page 120 of 125.
Out with Gun and Camera
Edward Stratemeyer
The forest holds both the wild game these young adventurers seek and the unexpected traces of a vanished circus.
Sarréo: 1901
Louis Becke
HOOK A seasoned sailor recounts a harrowing tale of vengeance and redemption, centered on an unexpected bond between a wronged islander and the man who once brutalized him in the unforgiving waters of the South Pacific.
The Minute Boys of Philadelphia
James Otis
HOOK Teenage boys in occupied Philadelphia risk their lives to gather intelligence for General Washington, navigating a city filled with enemy soldiers and treacherous local Loyalists.
Alf the Freebooter, Little Danneved and Swayne Trost, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
Sanguinary Scandinavian feuds and chivalric courtly rivalries meet pastoral Spanish romance in verse that captures the raw, unforgiving machinery of fate.
Harper's Round Table, July 30, 1895
Various
This periodical archive captures a singular, bustling moment in Victorian-era adolescence, where the appetite for mechanical invention, athletic prowess, and global curiosity defined the rhythm of young life. It serves as a sprawling, instructional, and entertaining time capsule for the turn of the century.
Harper's Young People, September 12, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This vintage periodical captures the earnest spirit of late nineteenth-century youth literature, blending serialized adventure stories with educational features and a deeply personal community of letter-writing readers.
Morley Ashton: A Story of the Sea. Volume 3 (of 3)
James Grant
The final volume of this sprawling Victorian seafaring epic finds its cast of survivors battling mutineers, navigating the treacherous Mozambique Channel, and finally securing their passage back to the comforts of English domesticity.
The Cruise of the Pelican
H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones
This is a hard-bitten tale of salvage, maritime rivalry, and desperate gambles set against the cold, isolating backdrop of the North Pacific.
The Mate of the "Lily"
William Henry Giles Kingston
The sea offers both a path to fortune and a theater of profound loss for a family left behind. This narrative chronicles the steadfast devotion of a young sailor and his uncle as they navigate the perils of the Eastern seas to reclaim a father long believed lost.
The terrors of the upper air
Frank Orndorff
The mystery of an impossible disappearance finds a chilling answer in the thin, frozen silence of the stratosphere. When two criminals vanish during an altitude-record attempt, the truth remains trapped between a tale of prehistoric terror and the cold calculations of a heist.
The Wreck of the Mail Steamer
Grenfell, Wilfred Thomason, Sir
A remote coastal community in Newfoundland faces the perils of a brutal winter and the isolation of a frozen sea, finding hope in the quiet resilience of a carpenter and a perilous maritime rescue.
A primal woman
H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole
A disgraced man flees his past to find sanctuary on a remote Pacific island, only to discover that the wild, untamed nature of his new wife is his only protection against a predatory secret.
A Romany of the Snows, vol. 1: Being a Continuation of the Personal Histories of "Pierre and His People" and the Last Existing Records of Pretty Pierre
Gilbert Parker
In the untamed Canadian North, a gambler and a giant forge an unlikely, volatile bond as they navigate a landscape where survival and legend blur into one.
Boy Scouts in Northern Wilds
Archibald Lee Fletcher
Four adventurous teenagers venture into the frozen Canadian wilderness, where a simple mission to retrieve a stolen heirloom turns into a harrowing struggle for survival against hostile rivals and the elements.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 12, Vol. I, March 22, 1884
Various
The gold-fields of the Transvaal and the quiet manners of the Victorian era offer a rare window into a world defined by both raw frontier ambition and refined social expectations. This collection of writing captures the disparate rhythms of nineteenth-century life.
Dave Darrin on the Asiatic Station
H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
A decorated young naval officer navigates the treacherous politics and violent uprisings of early 20th-century China, where duty and personal honor are constantly tested by international intrigue.
Fred Fearnot's New Ranch: and How He and Terry Managed It
H. K. (Harvey King) Shackleford
Fred Fearnot and Terry Olcott are two young men of exceptional grit and marksmanship who transition from the cutthroat world of Wall Street to the open spaces of a Texas ranch. They seek not only profit but a life of mastery, where their ability to handle both financial markets and frontier threats defines their…
Godsend to a Lady
B. M. Bower
After striking gold, a lonely prospector pins his hopes on a new car and a glamorous future. Instead, he finds himself bankrupted and stranded by a pair of manipulative drifters he tried to help.
Harper's Round Table, June 2, 1896
Various
This collection of late-Victorian journalism captures the restless, encyclopedic curiosity of a generation coming of age at the dawn of the twentieth century. It serves as a sprawling, multifaceted artifact of a lost era’s imagination.
Journal of Herbert Edward Pretyman written during his expedition to the Kittar Mountains, between Kenneh (on the Nile) and the Red Sea, 1891
Herbert Edward Pretyman
The desert holds a quiet, austere beauty for those who seek it, yet this record reveals how swiftly a youthful adventure can turn into a final chapter.
Phil Bradley's Snow-shoe Trail
Silas K. Boone
Four adventurous boys test their mettle in the Canadian wilderness, navigating frozen trails, local disputes, and the unpredictable dangers of a harsh winter season.
Prize of the air
Ben Conlon
The skies belong to the daring, but for one pilot, the stakes are rising from prize money to gold bullion and the heart of a banker’s daughter.
The Automobile Girls at Washington
Laura Dent Crane
Four young friends and amateur sleuths navigate the high-stakes world of Washington politics, espionage, and international intrigue while protecting government secrets from unscrupulous spies.
The Battle and the Breeze
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
The Battle and the Breeze follows a trio of British sailors whose loyalty to one another is tested by the relentless demands of the Napoleonic Wars. It is a stirring, high-stakes chronicle of naval combat and the stubborn persistence of the human spirit.
Devil Crystals of Arret
Hal K. Wells
Young inventor Larry Powell faces a grueling race against time to rescue his fiancée, Joan, from a nightmarish, parallel dimension inhabited by predatory rat-men and lethal, crystalline entities.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
Facing the German Foe
James Fiske
When the drums of the Great War begin to beat, two young friends—one American and one British—take it upon themselves to serve their country. Their amateur sleuthing quickly leads them into a dangerous web of international espionage.
Haste and Waste
Oliver Optic
HOOK A young pilot learns that patience and careful navigation are the true marks of a captain, proving that rushing through life’s waters often leads to ruin.
Hooking a sky ride
Dan Morrissey
A young boy’s obsession with aviation turns into a harrowing survival test when he stows away on the axle of an army pursuit plane. His impulsive decision to chase the horizon leads to a terrifying, high-altitude brush with death.
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 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.
He swallows gold
H. (Henry) Bedford-Jones
The arrogance of a swindler meets the silent, lethal precision of an ancient culture, proving that some debts are collected in ways no Westerner can comprehend.
Mr. Jacobs: A Tale of the Drummer, the Reporter, and the Prestidigitateur
Arlo Bates
A mysterious traveler with emerald eyes and a suitcase full of cheap jewelry sweeps an uncritical newspaper correspondent into a whirlwind of romance, stage magic, and baffling cross-continental absurdities.
Shaming the Speed Limit
Burt L. Standish
A stubborn small-town judge faces a reckoning when his crusade against reckless driving collides with a visiting governor, leading to an unexpected lesson in both humility and romance.
The adventures of Alphonso and Marina: An Interesting Spanish Tale
Florian
The path of true love is rarely direct, especially in a world of greedy guardians, mistaken identities, and sudden shipwrecks. This classic Spanish tale follows two lovers separated by a cruel twist of fate, charting their journey from the gated windows of Granada to the rugged peaks of the Alpuxares.
The Boy Scouts of the Geological Survey
Robert Shaler
A young man struggling to save his family farm finds his life transformed through an unexpected encounter with a group of disciplined, adventurous scouts.
The Challenge of the North
James B. (James Beardsley) Hendryx
HOOK In the unforgiving wilderness of the Canadian North, a framed man assumes a new identity to expose the swindler who stole his reputation and his fortune.
The Dare Boys with General Greene
Stephen Angus Douglas Cox
Young patriots navigate the dangers of the American Revolution, risking their lives to rescue settlers and secure crucial intelligence for General Nathanael Greene.
The Frontier Angel: A Romance of Kentucky Rangers' Life
Edward Sylvester Ellis
The untamed Kentucky wilderness serves as the backdrop for a desperate race against time, where a mysterious woman’s warnings stand between settlers and destruction. She is the only hope for those caught in the shadow of savage conflict.
The movie boys at Seaside Park
Victor Appleton
Three enterprising teenagers attempt to launch a successful motion picture theater at a bustling ocean resort, only to face bitter professional sabotage and a series of dangerous, life-altering natural disasters.
The Outdoor Chums
Quincy Allen
Four schoolboys seize an unexpected vacation to turn their amateur photography and hunting club into a wild, two-week camping expedition.
The Pluto Lamp
Charles A. Stearns
The Pluto Lamp is a tale of a long-shot hero, a frozen wasteland, and a final, grimly ironic realization of one man’s belief in his own destiny. It serves as a reminder that greatness often arrives in forms that defy our expectations.
The Two Whalers
William Henry Giles Kingston
This narrative offers a straightforward, earnest account of a teenager’s coming-of-age aboard a 19th-century whaling ship, where the trials of the sea serve as the ultimate test of character.