Free summaries
Adventure — page 7
457 public-domain adventure books, summarised. Page 7 of 10.
A Son of the Immortals
Louis Tracy
The son of a gold miner finds himself cast as a Balkan prince, only to discover that the truest kingdom lies beyond the reach of crowns and conspiracies.
The Young Treasure Hunter
Frank V. Webster
A determined young man ventures into the frozen Alaskan wilderness to recover a legendary buried fortune and secure his crippled father’s future.
The Brighton Boys in the Radio Service
James R. Driscoll
Three young telegraphers leave their quiet lives in Brighton to join the Signal Corps, finding themselves at the center of espionage and combat during the First World War.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II
Jules Lermina
A sprawling, high-stakes sequel, this adventure traces the desperate struggles of a new generation living in the shadow of a legendary father’s immense, complicated legacy.
The Curlytops and Their Playmates
Howard Roger Garis
A group of spirited children and their eccentric uncle find themselves swept up in a series of winter adventures that lead from the excitement of the first snowfall to a joyful Christmas homecoming.
Rollo on the Atlantic
Jacob Abbott
Young travelers embark on a nineteenth-century transatlantic crossing, navigating the complexities of ocean life, social decorum, and the moral choices that arise during their journey. This instructional narrative serves as a practical, fact-based guide to a bygone era of steamship travel.
New Treasure Seekers
E. (Edith) Nesbit
The Bastable children navigate the tangled intersections of childhood imagination and adult reality, proving that even the most well-intended schemes often lead to unintended, humbling, and hilarious consequences.
Tarzan of the Apes
Edgar Rice Burroughs
A human infant is adopted by a great ape in the African jungle, growing to become the apex predator of his wild domain before discovering his true lineage and the complex demands of civilized society.
Work and Win
Oliver Optic
The journey from a reckless, uneducated orphan to a man of substance is paved with trial, tragedy, and the quiet dignity of honest labor. A boy finds his moral compass not through lectures, but through the harsh, transformative realities of a life at sea.
Tam o' the Scoots
Edgar Wallace
This collection of linked short stories captures the high-stakes, surreal atmosphere of the Great War’s early aerial combat. It follows the exploits of a singular Scottish aviator whose technical mastery and wry, philosophical outlook make him an unlikely legend among his peers.
Witch-Doctors
Charles Beadle
A professor of anthropology finds himself thrust into a collision of cultures, where he must adopt the role of a god to survive in the heart of colonial Africa.
Panther Eye
Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell
A young miner’s quest for gold in the frozen North spirals into a desperate struggle against mysterious saboteurs and the chaos of post-revolutionary Russia. This adventure blends rugged exploration with the intrigue of a high-stakes detective mystery.
Walter and the Wireless
Sara Ware Bassett
An energetic teenager discovers that mastering the mysterious technology of the air is the key to saving his family from financial ruin and recovering a prized stolen dog.
The Adventures of Piang the Moro Jungle Boy: A Book for Young and Old
Florence Partello Stuart
A Moro boy navigates the wild jungles and treacherous waters of the Philippines, relying on his wits, his heritage, and an unwavering belief in his own destiny as a "charm boy.
The Lady and the Pirate: Being the Plain Tale of a Diligent Pirate and a Fair Captive
Emerson Hough
This is a story of a man who attempts to win the woman he loves by kidnapping her, a desperate gamble that reveals the fragile boundary between romantic obsession and the genuine search for connection.
Labrador Days: Tales of the Sea Toilers
Grenfell, Wilfred Thomason, Sir
In the unforgiving reaches of the Labrador coast, the sea demands everything from those who dare to harvest its bounty. These stories capture the quiet courage of people living on the knife-edge of survival.
Fred Fenton on the Crew
Allen Chapman
This story follows the earnest, athletic Fred Fenton as he navigates the social and competitive waters of his town, balancing the demands of a high-stakes rowing team against local mysteries and school-yard rivalries.
Far Past the Frontier
James A. (James Andrew) Braden
Two boys from Connecticut leave behind a future of farm labor to pursue wealth and independence in the untamed Ohio wilderness. Driven by ambition and a longing for adventure, they face the perils of the frontier and the complicated politics of the indigenous tribes.
The Book of All-Power
Edgar Wallace
A young engineer is drawn into a perilous web of Russian revolution and superstition, where a mysterious, fabled tome becomes the ultimate prize for those desperate to survive the collapse of an empire.
The Telegraph Messenger Boy
Edward Sylvester Ellis
The story of a young man who climbs from humble beginnings to professional success, this narrative serves as a testament to the virtues of diligence, integrity, and physical courage in a challenging world.
Virginia of Elk Creek Valley
Mary Ellen Chase
The mountains of Wyoming offer a sanctuary for young hearts seeking adventure and self-discovery. In this gentle tale, city-bred friends find that the vast, open West is the ultimate classroom for courage and character.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness
HOOK A fop by day and a savior by night, a mysterious English hero risks his life to snatch doomed aristocrats from the blade of the French Revolution.
Perils and Captivity: Comprising The sufferings of the Picard family after the shipwreck of the Medusa, in the year 1816
Pierre-Raymond de Brisson
The expeditions in which it is attempted to explore unknown and distant oceans are usually those most pregnant with disaster. Yet, land possesses its own perilous forms of suffering, as revealed in these accounts of survival.
Rollo in Scotland
Jacob Abbott
HOOK A young boy travels through the rugged, storied landscapes of Scotland with his uncle, learning the delicate balance between youthful independence and the responsibilities of a well-behaved traveler.
Steve and the Steam Engine
Sara Ware Bassett
A teenager’s secret act of rebellion becomes a journey through the history of steam power, blending the mechanical marvels of the nineteenth century with the moral challenges of growing up.
Boy Scouts in the North Sea
G. Harvey (George Harvey) Ralphson
Four American Boy Scouts find themselves adrift in a war-torn North Sea, navigating a captured submarine while pursued by spies and enemy patrols.
The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island
Edward Stratemeyer
A group of spirited boarding-school students trade the classroom for a winter adventure, only to find themselves embroiled in a tense mystery involving an embittered hermit and his hidden treasure.
Ben Comee
M. J. (Michael Joseph) Canavan
The quiet of a colonial childhood in Lexington abruptly shatters as war calls young men into the brutal, snowy wilderness, where survival requires more than just courage; it demands a transformation into something altogether colder.
Dave Darrin on Mediterranean Service
H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
Two young American ensigns navigate the perils of espionage and international intrigue while serving on a U.S. warship stationed in the Mediterranean during the Great War.
The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 2: Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave
George Augustus Sala
A sprawling, picaresque life unfolds across the eighteenth century, following a restless protagonist whose survival depends on his quick wit and moral elasticity. This narrative captures the grime and grandeur of a world defined by empire, rebellion, and social upheaval.
The Motor Maids at Sunrise Camp
Katherine Stokes
A group of spirited young women embarks on a summer camping trip to the Adirondack mountains, only to find themselves entangled in a web of local mountain mysteries and long-forgotten secrets.
Our Home in the Silver West: A Story of Struggle and Adventure
Gordon Stables
A family of Scottish settlers seeks a new beginning in the untamed Argentine frontier, facing the harsh realities of pioneer life, violent conflict, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure
William Bowen
A curious boy finds a doorway to wonder within the smoke and relics of a local merchant’s shop. What follows is a dreamlike journey into the extraordinary, bridging the gap between the mundane and the magical.
The Big Brother: A Story of Indian War
George Cary Eggleston
This story of survival follows three children and a young companion who, separated from their families during the violence of the Creek War, must build a hidden life within the wilderness to stay alive. It is a taut, earnest adventure centered on the ingenuity and devotion required to protect the vulnerable when…
Rollo's Museum
Jacob Abbott
A young boy discovers the wonders of the natural world and the complexities of human cooperation when he decides to build a home collection of curiosities.
Great Pirate Stories
Unknown
This collection presents an unflinching gallery of maritime outlaws, documenting their brutal careers from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. It serves as a stark reminder that the history of the sea is paved with as much violence as discovery.
Rollo in Geneva
Jacob Abbott
A young boy travels through Switzerland with his family, learning practical lessons about safety, observation, and the wonders of the European landscape.
Hunters Out of Space
Joseph E. (Joseph Everidge) Kelleam
Hunters Out of Space follows an Earth doctor and his allies into the cavernous depths of an alien world and across the stars to stop a genocidal tyrant. It is a pulpy adventure that blends classic science fiction motifs with the primal rhythms of an epic quest.
The Flight of Pony Baker: A Boy's Town Story
William Dean Howells
A restless boy finds the suffocating affection and strict rules of his home unbearable, leading him into a series of increasingly elaborate, doomed attempts to run away from his small town.
Gold Out of Celebes
Aylward Edward Dingle
Jack Barry is a master mariner adrift in Batavia, looking for a job and finding instead a high-stakes hunt for gold in the treacherous wilds of Celebes. He soon discovers that the true treasure is far more complex than the dust he seeks.
The Rover Boys on a Hunt
Edward Stratemeyer
A group of spirited schoolboys find their winter hunting trip transformed into a dangerous investigation when they stumble upon a clandestine nest of enemy agents hidden deep in the woods.
Bloom of Cactus
Robert Ames Bennet
HOOK A desert engineer and a resilient woman navigate a brutal landscape of canyons, bootleggers, and vengeful outlaws to save a young girl from a dark fate.
The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
Margaret Vandercook
Four young American nurses find their commitment to duty tested as they navigate the shifting, dangerous landscapes of the Russian front during the First World War.
Frank Merriwell's Cruise
Burt L. Standish
The allure of the open sea and the thrill of a summer escapade define this classic tale of adventure. It captures the quintessential spirit of turn-of-the-century youth, where every horizon promises a mystery waiting to be solved.
A Voyage with Captain Dynamite
Charles Edward Rich
After their small yacht is accidentally struck by a mysterious steamer, three boys are swept into a dangerous, high-stakes mission to liberate a captive in Cuba during the height of the Spanish-American tensions.
The Fighting Edge
William MacLeod Raine
The courage to face a bully is not always found in the fist, but in the slow, agonizing mastery of one's own fear. A young man’s journey from self-doubt to self-possession unfolds against a backdrop of lawless frontiers and hard-won redemption.
The Young Alaskans
Emerson Hough
HOOK Three boys navigate the raw, unforgiving Alaskan coastline after drifting off course, relying on their wits and an unlikely native guide to survive the wilderness.
All Adrift
Oliver Optic
A talented, restless boy navigates the treacherous waters of Lake Champlain while evading a mysterious pursuer and his own troubled reputation. This nautical adventure chronicles a young man's quest for independence and moral character.