Free summaries
Adventure — page 91
5,516 public-domain adventure books, summarised. Page 91 of 115.
A frontier knight
Amy Ella Blanchard
A spirited, romanticized portrait of early Texas, this narrative follows a group of young settlers as they navigate the perils and social complexities of the frontier during the Mexican War.
A Waif of the Mountains
Edward Sylvester Ellis
A grieving father carries his motherless daughter into a harsh mountain mining camp, where the child’s innocent presence slowly transforms a community of rough, hardened men.
And we sailed the mighty dark
Frank Belknap Long
A gambling burnout and a mysterious drifter salvage a derelict ship, only to find themselves haunted by memories and a creature that pulls phantoms from the void.
Boy Scout Explorers at Headless Hollow
Don Palmer
A group of young explorers must reconcile a promise made to a dying prospector with the dangerous greed of a man who will stop at nothing to claim a hidden fortune. This classic adventure follows a path of mystery and mountain peril, where loyalty is tested by the rugged wilderness of the American West.
Cato, the creeper
Frederick H. Dewey
A determined frontiersman and a courageous young woman battle for survival against a ruthless outlaw leader within the dark, treacherous depths of an Arkansas swamp.
Dave Porter and His Double
Edward Stratemeyer
The story follows a resourceful young man who, having recently graduated, moves to Texas to begin a career in civil engineering, only to find himself hunted by a deceptive lookalike who threatens his reputation and his family’s peace.
Dorothy Dale's engagement
Margaret Penrose
HOOK Two young friends navigate the complexities of early adulthood, balancing a blossoming romance with a Westerner against the social expectations of their time.
From Jungle to Java: The Trivial Impressions of a Short Excursion to Netherlands India
Arthur Louis Keyser
An exhausted British colonial official leaves his isolated post in the Malay Peninsula for a brief excursion across 1890s Java, trading jungle solitude for Dutch colonial society, scenic volcanoes, and native village life.
Harper's Young People, December 7, 1880: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
A young boy runs away to join the circus, trading the monotony of his home life for the promise of adventure and an endless supply of peanuts.
Harper's Young People, November 14, 1882: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
This collection of stories, factual sketches, and interactive correspondence offers a window into the structured, inquisitive, and occasionally rigid world of late nineteenth-century childhood. It captures the rhythm of an era defined by Victorian moral instruction and earnest play.
Hawtrey's Deputy
Harold Bindloss
A man embarks on a desperate, near-fatal voyage to the Arctic, leaving behind a woman caught between his quiet, unselfish strength and the persistent, flawed man she previously promised to marry.
Jack Straw, Lighthouse Builder
Irving Crump
Two boys find adventure and unlikely reconciliation while working at a rugged Maine construction site. It is a story of grit, engineering, and the deep bonds formed under the shadow of a lighthouse.
Narrative of the shipwreck of the brig Betsey, of Wiscasset, Maine, and murder of five of her crew, by pirates,: on the coast of Cuba, Dec. 1824
Daniel Collins
This harrowing account details the survival of a maritime disaster, capturing the stark transformation of a routine merchant voyage into a brutal encounter with piracy in the Caribbean. It serves as a grim testament to the lawlessness of the high seas in the early nineteenth century.
Paul Gerrard, the Cabin Boy
William Henry Giles Kingston
Conscripted by family ruin, an English boy confronts ocean storms, hostile French gunners, mutinous shipmates, and the high-born rival who inherits his stolen legacy.
Shepherds of the Wild
Edison Marshall
A jaded city dweller finds his humanity in the rugged Idaho wilderness, transforming from a bored socialite into a protector of the wild.
Sparrows
Marie Coolidge-Rask
The story follows a group of neglected children trapped on a desolate farm, where their courage and bond become their only sanctuary against a cruel captor.
The Circus Boys on the Mississippi
Edgar B. P. Darlington
This is a classic tale of two resilient youths navigating the perils and triumphs of the traveling circus life, proving that wit and courage are the best equipment for any adventure.
The Courage of Captain Plum
James Oliver Curwood
Set against the backdrop of the mid-19th-century Great Lakes, this historical adventure follows an independent sea captain who finds himself drawn into the dangerous, isolated kingdom of a charismatic religious autocrat. It is a story of rescue, revenge, and the fight for individual freedom against a coercive,…
The Cruise of the "Scandal", and other stories
Victor Bridges
A series of lighthearted escapades and clever schemes unfolds through a collection of stories that capture the breezy, often preposterous spirit of early twentieth-century English life.
The God of Civilization: A Romance
Pittock, M. A., Mrs.
A restless socialite trades her dull life of parties for a fateful Pacific voyage, only to find herself shipwrecked and forced to choose between the rigid expectations of her homeland and the untamed sincerity of island life.
The History and Romance of Air Mail Stamps
Emil Bruechig
The history of human flight is mirrored in the delicate, intricate art of postal stamps, capturing the daring and the dreams of those who conquered the air. This work serves as both a historical record and a guide for the dedicated collector.
The Little Washingtons' Travels
Lillian Elizabeth Roy
A rambunctious group of children transform their family vacation into an elaborate, historical crusade, treating every city landmark as a battlefield and every passerby as a potential opponent in a lifelong game of make-believe.
The Lonesome Trail and Other Stories
B. M. Bower
An affection-tested cowboy's misadventures in love and loyalty reveal how high-spirited range hands navigate the quiet terrors of their own tender hearts.
The Man with the Iron Hand
John Carl Parish
A legendary explorer and his iron-handed lieutenant navigate the vast, untamed wilderness of the Mississippi River valley, caught between shifting tribal loyalties and the relentless, often fatal, pursuit of imperial discovery.
The Military Sketch-Book, Vol. 2 (of 2): Reminiscences of seventeen years in the service abroad and at home
William Maginn
These collected reminiscences offer a gritty, unvarnished window into the life of a soldier in the early nineteenth century, moving from the bloody fields of the Peninsular War to the lawless frontiers of Van Diemen’s Land.
The non-stop stowaway
Clayton Knight
A young boy stows away on a daring transatlantic flight, only to cross the threshold into a mysterious, ethereal realm where lost aviators find their final, eternal landing.
The Story of Frithiof the Bold: 1875
Anonymous
A man of peerless strength and unshakable devotion, Frithiof the Bold navigates the treacherous currents of Norse duty, love, and vengeance to reclaim his destiny.
The White Mail
Cy Warman
The son of a section boss rises from a lowly, mule-tending bridge guard to become the visionary president of a major railroad, navigating personal loss, corporate intrigue, and the relentless evolution of American travel.
Their Mariposa Legend: A Romance of Santa Catalina
Charlotte B. (Charlotte Bronte) Herr
A historical echo links two women separated by centuries, as a modern artist discovers that the haunting, unfinished romance of a native princess is not merely history, but a recurring destiny.
Youth, Vol. I, No. 3, May 1902: An Illustrated Monthly Journal for Boys & Girls
Various
This monthly journal captures the spirit of early 20th-century youth culture, weaving together patriotic historical fiction, nature lore, and the practical hobbies that defined childhood in 1902.
Captain Carey
Lionel Lounsberry
A daring young army officer disguises himself as an Indian medicine man to rescue an abducted heiress and thwart a dangerous frontier uprising.
Catty Atkins, Sailorman
Clarence Budington Kelland
Summer bring two small-town boys aboard a private yacht, where a casual cruise quickly turns into a midnight game of tracking suspicious strangers along the New England coast.
Copper Streak Trail
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
This is a story about the stubborn, dry-witted resilience of the American West, where a man’s word and a sharp mind are the only currency that counts. It follows a wily prospector named Peter Johnson who, along with his partner Stanley Mitchell, fights to secure a rich copper strike against a web of urban bankers…
Harper's Round Table, April 7, 1896
Various
Life far from a desk beckons to those who possess the stamina to face it, yet true adventure turns out to be equal parts rigorous training, unexpected peril, and quiet domestic return.
Harper's Young People, January 6, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly
Various
A vibrant slice of late-nineteenth-century American childhood unfolds through nature lessons, historical lore, adventurous fiction, and lively letters from young readers.
Harper's Young People, November 16, 1880: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
A quiet winter night in rural New Hampshire, a narrow escape from a poisoned meal in Arizona, and a living-room theater performance show the many ways nineteenth-century children learn about the world.
Hunted Down
Harry Granice
A young man in nineteenth-century California shoots his mother's defamer, then flees a corrupt sheriff and a bloodthirsty mob through five days of freezing valley fog.
In Kentucky with Daniel Boone
John T. (John Thomas) McIntyre
Across the pine-scented Yadkin valley, the boundary between wilderness and settlement hinges on who can handle a flintlock rifle and who can read a footprint in the mud.
Memoir of an Eventful Expedition in Central America: Resulting in the Discovery of the Idolatrous City of Iximaya, in an Unexplored Region
Pedro Velasquez
An adventurous expedition traverses the unexplored Central American wilderness to uncover a legendary, hidden city, only to discover a civilization trapped by its own isolation and the weight of an ancient, fading legacy.
Polaris and the Goddess Glorian
Charles B. (Charles Billings) Stilson
From the polar ice to the lost, heated valleys of the far south, an orphaned son of the wilderness is swept into the ancient feuds, mythical beasts, and dynastic wars of a forgotten continent.
Snythergen
Hal Garrott
A boy who is too tall for his own good runs away to live among the trees, only to find himself in a world of talking animals, magical toys, and Santa Claus.
The Coming of the Law
Charles Alden Seltzer
Driven by a conviction that a community can only heal when it chooses rules over violence, an idealist inherits a failing frontier newspaper and sets out to replace mob rule with steady, lawful justice.
The Girls of Central High on Lake Luna
Gertrude W. Morrison
A group of spirited high school friends navigates local mysteries and competitive rowing on a beautiful lake. This story celebrates the camaraderie and determination of young women testing their limits through sport and adventure.
The Hound From The North
Ridgwell Cullum
In the unforgiving cold of the northern Rockies, a tangled web of false accusations and hidden sins threatens to destroy a community’s sense of justice.
The Hunters of the Hills
Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander) Altsheler
Two young wilderness couriers and a wise hunter race against French intrigue to hold the allegiance of the powerful Six Nations as a continent-spanning war erupts.
The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Volume 29: Florence to Trieste
Giacomo Casanova
A restless traveler navigates the shifting social hierarchies of 18th-century Europe, moving through a landscape of political intrigue, vanity, and the pursuit of fleeting pleasures.
The Messenger of the Black Prince
Thomas A. H. Mawhinney
A youth caught in fourteenth-century feudal warfare carries a secret message through hostile territory to save his family estate from a ruthless usurper.
The Phantom Rider
Maro O. (Maro Orlando) Rolfe
A skeleton on a white horse sweeps through the storm-swept Dakota forest, carrying off captives and striking terror into the hearts of red and white men alike.