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American Literature — page 29
4,848 public-domain american literature books, summarised. Page 29 of 101.
Nedra
George Barr McCutcheon
HOOK A runaway couple seeking adventure finds themselves ship-wrecked on a remote island, only to discover that the tragedy of their survival has forged a new, profound, and unexpected destiny.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 99, January, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics
Various
This collection captures the intellectual pulse of post-Civil War America, weaving together fiction, political commentary, and personal reflection in a portrait of a nation grappling with its own reconstruction.
The Blue-Grass Region of Kentucky, and Other Kentucky Articles
James Lane Allen
This collection of essays offers a detailed, affectionate portrait of late nineteenth-century Kentucky, capturing the state’s distinct landscape, social customs, and shifting industrial identity. It serves as an evocative time capsule of a singular American region.
The Confession
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The mystery centers on a secluded country home, where a woman and her servant are haunted not by ghosts, but by a quiet, mounting dread and the bizarre confession of a local spinster. This atmospheric tale explores the psychological weight of secrets and the strange ways in which guilt can manifest in the lives of…
The erratic flame
Ysabel De Teresa
The erratic flame of genius flickers between brilliance and ruin, pulling two women into the orbit of a man whose music is as enchanting as his spirit is volatile.
The Other Girls
A. D. T. (Adeline Dutton Train) Whitney
Seeking beauty and purpose in a shifting world, several young women find their lives unexpectedly upended and ultimately reclaimed through acts of service and genuine human connection.
Kildares of Storm
Eleanor Mercein Kelly
HOOK A devoted mother stakes her reputation and her life’s work on the redemption of the man who framed her husband’s death, all while raising two daughters in the shadow of a Kentucky family secret.
Legends and Tales
Bret Harte
This collection of stories captures the shifting, often surreal spirit of the California frontier, where the mundane realities of pioneer life collide with myth, spectral visitations, and the looming ghosts of history. It serves as a bridge between the earnest missionary past and the frantic, gold-obsessed future.
Lifted Masks
Susan Glaspell
A tapestry of twentieth-century American lives, these stories catch people in the quiet, piercing moments when they realize their own limitations. It is an honest, compassionate look at the distance between what we dream and what we settle for.
The Builders
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow
A nurse’s professional dedication becomes a crucible for her own heart when she is drawn into the stifling, tragic orbit of a deeply unhappy marriage.
The Greene murder case
S. S. Van Dine
An isolated, decaying mansion becomes a claustrophobic stage for a series of unnatural deaths that baffle the police but invite the scrutiny of a brilliant, aristocratic amateur.
The heart of Happy Hollow
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Happy Hollow is a collection of short stories capturing the rhythms, struggles, and quiet dignity of African American life at the turn of the twentieth century. It portrays a world where, amidst both hardship and joy, human character remains the ultimate measure of worth.
The Landlord at Lion's Head
William Dean Howells
A volatile young man struggles to escape his humble origins as a hotel landlord, only to find that his true character remains tethered to the very roots he desperately tries to outgrow.
The Tempering
Charles Neville Buck
The mountain boy who yearns for a life beyond his isolated cabin must forge his identity in the fires of political intrigue, personal loss, and the global upheaval of the First World War.
The Valley of Vision
Henry Van Dyke
This collection of stories and dreams navigates the moral landscape of the First World War, finding that the deepest insights into human nature often emerge from the darkest valleys of suffering.
The War Terror
Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
A scientific detective navigates the paranoia of the First World War, using laboratory instruments to expose spies, radicals, and criminals hiding behind the masks of modern society.
An American Girl Abroad
Adeline Trafton
The world is wide and waiting for the intrepid soul. This lighthearted travelogue captures the wonder, mishaps, and quiet observations of a young woman discovering the historical and cultural landscapes of Europe in the late nineteenth century.
Beneath an Umbrella (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
A solitary observer ventures into a stormy New England night to find comfort in the shared fragility of his fellow townspeople. He discovers that even in the darkest weather, the human spirit persists.
Biographical Stories: (From: "True Stories of History and Biography")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
A young boy, confined to a dark room while recovering from an eye injury, learns to see the world through the vibrant, remembered lives of famous historical figures.
Edward MacDowell: A Study
Lawrence Gilman
This intimate portrait chronicles the life and creative evolution of an American musical pioneer, blending biographical detail with a critical analysis of his most significant compositions. It remains a foundational text for understanding the composer’s artistic struggle and his lasting legacy in early…
Emma McChesney and Co
Edna Ferber
The professional life of a savvy traveling saleswoman takes center stage in this spirited portrait of early 20th-century American business. Through a series of interconnected stories, the narrative follows a woman who navigates the complexities of the petticoat industry with sharp wit, deep industry knowledge, and…
The Metropolis
Upton Sinclair
The gilded promise of a new life in New York quickly dissolves into a moral labyrinth for a naive newcomer navigating the treacherous, decadent world of the ultra-wealthy.
The Restless Sex
Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
The restless nature of the human spirit—and the specific, often turbulent ways it manifests in the young—drives this portrait of lives in transition. It is a story of how we search for meaning through art, love, and the pursuit of independence.
Wyandotté
James Fenimore Cooper
Amidst the encroaching chaos of the American Revolution, an isolated colonial family finds their precarious peace shattered by divided loyalties, hidden enemies, and the shifting allegiances of the frontier.
Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto
Abraham Cahan
A man caught between his Old World marriage and his desire for an American identity struggles to reconcile his past with his new, fast-paced life in the crowded immigrant tenements of New York City.
Cool air
H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft
A lingering chill haunts a narrator who has witnessed the impossible, leaving him forever terrified by the subtle, unnatural bite of cold air. This atmospheric tale captures the dread of a man who must endure the warmth of the living world, lest the secret he guards should melt away.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Street is a quiet, unassuming place where a man hides from his past, only to find himself drawn into the messy, urgent lives of his neighbors. It is a story of quiet redemption and the unexpected ways we are called to serve one another.
The Eternal Boy: Being the Story of the Prodigious Hickey
Owen Johnson
In the hallowed, hyper-competitive halls of an American preparatory school, a group of irrepressible boys wages a perpetual, comedic war against the rigid authority of their masters.
The Maid-At-Arms: A Novel
Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
In the brutal, unforgiving light of the American Revolution’s northern frontier, a young soldier and a resolute woman navigate a fractured world of shifting loyalties and savage warfare.
The Postmaster
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
A retired sea captain trades the salt spray of the Atlantic for the quiet life of a rural postmaster, only to find that small-town commerce and local politics are far more treacherous than the open ocean.
The Rangers
Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce) Thompson
The American Revolution plays out in the rugged heart of Vermont, where loyalties are tested by fire and the fight for independence transforms neighbors into bitter enemies.
West Lawn, and The rector of St. Mark's
Mary Jane Holmes
A woman’s diary becomes the map of her heart as she navigates the quiet, stifling expectations of 19th-century domestic life. Through tangled engagements and hidden histories, the truth finally comes to light.
A Tramp Abroad
Mark Twain
A wanderer’s grand expectations for a continental walking tour collide with the absurdities of travel, resulting in a journey less about the destination and more about the hilarious friction of being a stranger in a strange land.
A Traveler from Altruria: Romance
William Dean Howells
A visitor from a distant land arrives in America, his gentle innocence serving as a mirror to the contradictions and social inequities of the Gilded Age. Through polite, persistent questioning, he forces his hosts to confront the reality of their own ideals.
Polly of the Circus
Margaret Mayo
HOOK A young circus performer and a small-town pastor find their worlds colliding when a tragic accident forces them to confront the boundaries between their disparate lives.
The Black Lion Inn
Alfred Henry Lewis
A weary traveler finds sanctuary in a rustic tavern, where a circle of colorful characters spins sprawling, irreverent tales of the American frontier.
The Deserter, and Other Stories: A Book of Two Wars
Harold Frederic
The echoes of ancient armor and the stark, cold reality of the American frontier find a common heartbeat in this collection of tales. War is never an abstract concept here, but a visceral, life-altering presence for the young and the old alike.
The Group: A Farce
Mercy Otis Warren
This biting colonial satire strips away the pretensions of the powerful, exposing the moral rot behind the gilded doors of Boston’s Loyalist elite. It serves as a sharp, unapologetic indictment of those who chose political convenience over liberty.
The Portion of Labor
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
A young woman grapples with the crushing weight of industrial labor and the call of her own heart in a changing New England town. This is a story of resilience, defiance, and the quiet dignity found in the struggle to survive.
The Potiphar Papers
George William Curtis
This sharp-eyed satire exposes the hollow ambitions of the American nouveau riche, where the desperate pursuit of social status serves as a gaudy mask for a lack of true culture.
Walt Whitman, Yesterday & Today
Henry Eduard Legler
This study chronicles the turbulent life and enduring legacy of Walt Whitman, tracing his transformation from a scandal-ridden outcast into an essential architect of American poetry. It is a portrait of a man who wrote as he lived: in the open air, with total, unapologetic candor.
Captain January
Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
The beacon of a lonely lighthouse serves as a sanctuary for a retired mariner and the young girl he rescued from the sea, until the inevitable tide of her past arrives to claim her.
Half Portions
Edna Ferber
A collection of observant, tender portraits captures the quiet intersections of ordinary lives in early twentieth-century Wisconsin. These stories reveal the hidden depths of people standing at the crossroads of change.
The Streets of Ascalon: Episodes in the Unfinished Career of Richard Quarren, Esqre
Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
A man of the world, long resigned to a life of superficial amusement, discovers that his own capacity for genuine feeling remains intact when he meets a woman trapped by the same empty expectations.
Two Men of Sandy Bar: A Drama
Bret Harte
In a rough-and-tumble California landscape, two men—one a desperate gambler, the other a disowned son—find their identities tangled in a web of deceit, legal maneuvering, and long-delayed family reckoning.
A Dutch Boy Fifty Years After
Edward William Bok
This is a memoir of an immigrant’s rise from poverty to the pinnacle of American publishing. It chronicles how a young boy’s relentless curiosity and work ethic transformed him into an influential editor of the nation’s most popular women’s magazine.
A Maid of the Kentucky Hills
Edwin Carlile Litsey
A disillusioned man retreats from city life to a cabin in the Kentucky mountains, seeking solitude only to find a mysterious, untutored woman who challenges his understanding of love, class, and human potential.
Kitty's Class Day and Other Stories
Louisa May Alcott
True character is often found in the quiet, unheralded acts of service that take place behind the scenes of a grand life. These stories bridge the gap between romantic longing and the sturdy realities of duty.