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American Literature — page 29
3,373 public-domain american literature books, summarised. Page 29 of 71.
Sinners and Saints: A Tour Across the States and Round Them, with Three Months Among the Mormons
Phil Robinson
A nineteenth-century travelogue that captures the raw, burgeoning energy of the American West, punctuated by sharp, worldly observations and a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of the Mormon community in Utah.
The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton: A Novel: Founded on Fact
Hannah Webster Foster
The life of a young woman unravels as she balances the stability of a respectable suitor against the intoxicating, perilous charm of a known libertine. This epistolary tragedy serves as a cautionary map of the social dangers facing women in the early American republic.
The Precipice: A Novel
Elia Wilkinson Peattie
A call to professional independence and personal fulfillment, this narrative follows a woman navigating the treacherous, exhilarating edge between traditional domestic expectations and a modern career. It is a portrait of a spirited mind refusing to be diminished by the "precipice" of public life.
James Fenimore Cooper: American Men of Letters
Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury
A towering literary reputation is forged not in the comfort of success, but in the relentless, often bitter fires of public controversy and unyielding personal conviction.
My Boyhood
John Burroughs
A naturalist reflects on his origins, capturing the rhythm of a vanished rural life while grappling with the complex legacy of his family’s hard-won, mountain-bound existence.
The Agony Column
Earl Derr Biggers
A chance encounter in a hotel leads a young American to initiate a daring, long-distance courtship via a newspaper's personal column. As he spins a tale of mystery and murder to capture the woman's attention, he finds himself ensnared in a genuine, high-stakes international conspiracy.
The Boss of Little Arcady
Harry Leon Wilson
A man of grandiloquent spirit and questionable character descends upon a small, unsuspecting community, sparking a battle of wits that tests the town’s collective patience and the ingenuity of its self-appointed leader.
The Poor Little Rich Girl
Eleanor Gates
A lonely child, trapped within the sterile, gilded confines of her parents' mansion, discovers that the only way to reach those she loves is to cross the borders of a dream.
Marching Men
Sherwood Anderson
The rhythm of thousands of feet moving in unison holds a strange, hypnotic power, offering a sense of order to souls exhausted by the chaos of modern industrial life.
Stories by American Authors, Volume 1
Bayard Taylor
This collection of mid-to-late nineteenth-century short fiction offers a window into an era of American ambition, where the boundaries between professional duty, romantic yearning, and moral compromise were often tested by the sudden arrival of fortune or disaster.
The Eyes of the World
Harold Bell Wright
The mountains serve as a sanctuary for the soul, a place where the pretense of high society dissolves under the gaze of the eternal.
The Great God Success: A Novel
David Graham Phillips
The ascent to power is a lonely, hollow climb where the currency is one’s own integrity. This study of a journalist’s compromise asks what remains of a man when he has traded his ideals for influence.
The Kempton-Wace Letters
Jack London
HOOK Two thinkers trade letters across the Atlantic, dissecting the nature of love and the human condition as one man prepares for a marriage he approaches with scientific detachment.
The Open Question: A Tale of Two Temperaments
Elizabeth Robins
This story of two cousins whose lives are entwined by family inheritance and forbidden desire is a quiet, atmospheric exploration of the costs of idealism. It follows the pair from childhood through a tragic, inevitable conclusion.
Baby Mine
Margaret Mayo
The shadow of a single white lie grows until it threatens to consume two households, transforming a simple misunderstanding into a frantic, farcical race to procure enough babies to satisfy a suspicious husband.
Dulcibel: A Tale of Old Salem
Henry Peterson
A quiet village descends into madness as fear and suspicion dismantle the bonds of community. This story explores the human cost of a hysteria that once gripped the heart of colonial New England.
Medusa's coil
H. P. (Howard Phillips) Lovecraft
A traveler in the Missouri lowlands seeks shelter at a decaying plantation, only to discover that the estate hides a grotesque, supernatural inheritance. The house, and those who occupy it, are bound by a curse that transcends mortal life.
Merton of the Movies
Harry Leon Wilson
The wide-eyed dreamer from a small town ventures into the heart of the burgeoning film industry, only to discover that the silver screen is not the noble stage he imagined, but a house of mirrors.
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.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Pansy
A young woman’s earnest, unconventional ministry transforms the lives of neglected city boys, proving that persistent faith creates a legacy far beyond a single lifetime.
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.