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American Literature — page 63
3,373 public-domain american literature books, summarised. Page 63 of 71.

Margaret Smith's Journal: Part 1 from Volume V of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
A young English woman arrives in the seventeenth-century Massachusetts Bay Colony, documenting her observations of the harsh landscape, the local religious fervor, and the complex social tensions of a nascent society.

Nelly's Silver Mine: A Story of Colorado Life
Helen Hunt Jackson
A resilient young girl finds more than just mineral wealth when her family moves west. This story captures the rugged hope and honest adjustments of frontier life in 19th-century Colorado.

Out of Mulberry Street: Stories of Tenement life in New York City
Jacob A. (Jacob August) Riis
These collected sketches offer a visceral, unvarnished look at the tenement districts of 19th-century New York, where the struggle for survival is punctuated by moments of unexpected grace.

Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 04, April 23, 1870
Various
This periodical offers a sharp, satirical snapshot of American life in 1870, blending biting commentary on politics, theater, and social trends with the earnest commercial advertisements of its era.

Senator North
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
The heavy, hidden machinery of the American Senate grinds against the personal desires of those who walk its halls, forcing a choice between public duty and private longing.

The Arm-Chair at the Inn
Francis Hopkinson Smith
The warmth of a crackling hearth and the company of seasoned travelers provide the backdrop for a collection of tales that celebrate the enduring power of human connection and the quiet dignity of a life well lived.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 40, February, 1861: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
This volume captures the intellectual pulse of early 1861, blending rigorous cultural criticism with the urgent, unfolding anxieties of a nation on the brink of civil war.

The cabin on the prairie
C. H. (Charles Henry) Pearson
A pioneer family seeks a new beginning on the untamed Minnesota frontier, only to find their desperate struggle for survival against nature and hostile forces tests the very limits of their faith and endurance.

The Christmas Miracle: 1911
Charles Egbert Craddock
A man searching for a divine sign amid the rugged peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains encounters a literal miracle, yet struggles to reconcile the profound reality of human grace with his desire for a supernatural display.

The golden whales of California, and other rhymes in the American language
Vachel Lindsay
The American landscape transforms into a mythic stage where gold-crazed pioneers and biblical figures collide in a riotous, rhythmic spectacle. This collection captures the restless, booming energy of a nation finding its own jagged voice.

The Politician Out-Witted
Samuel Low
A young man returns from abroad to win his beloved, only to find his own father meddling in city affairs and attempting to secure a young bride for himself.

The Soldier of the Valley
Nelson Lloyd
A man returns to his secluded mountain home after the chaos of war, seeking peace in a quiet valley, only to find that life—and love—refuse to remain stagnant in his absence.

Winner Take All
Larry Evans
A young drifter with a moral code as unyielding as the Western plains finds himself pitted against the corrupt, cynical machinery of the Eastern boxing world. His journey is a collision between grit and greed, where the only prize worth winning is his own integrity.

Young Lucretia and Other Stories
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
These stories capture the quiet, often stern, and deeply resonant lives of children in rural New England. They offer a poignant look at the small dramas that occupy a child’s world.

Atchoo! Sneezes from a Hilarious Vaudevillian
George Niblo
A vaudevillian takes the stage to share a rapid-fire collection of jokes, anecdotes, and observations from his life on the road. This performance captures the restless, observational humor of turn-of-the-century American stage comedy.

Burnham Breaker
Homer Greene
A young boy, trapped in a burning coal mine, must summon the courage of his true heritage to survive. This is a story of identity, greed, and the quiet heroism found in the dark.

Christmas Eve at Swamp's End
Norman Duncan
A lonely girl finds her deepest wish granted by a rough-hewn minister in the heart of a frozen, unforgiving wilderness.

Every Soul Hath Its Song
Fannie Hurst
The struggle for human connection in the modern city is a relentless, high-stakes performance. Amidst the shifting landscapes of a rapidly industrializing America, fragile lives collide, trade secrets, and seek a moment of genuine grace.

His "day in court": 1895
Charles Egbert Craddock
HOOK In the rugged shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, a bitter, long-standing family feud collapses under the weight of a young woman’s divided heart and the unpredictable bonds of parenthood.

In League with Israel: A Tale of the Chattanooga Conference
Annie F. (Annie Fellows) Johnston
A young woman’s journey toward faith and reconciliation weaves through the lives of those she meets at a national religious gathering, where the boundaries between tradition, prejudice, and personal conviction begin to dissolve.

Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things
Josh Billings
The world’s best education is often just the slow, painful process of forgetting what we have already learned. A man who jumps three hundred feet ahead will certainly make a good try, even if he falls short.

Julia The Apostate
Josephine Daskam Bacon
The quiet, resolute reclamation of a life cast aside is the heart of this tale. A woman long treated as a background fixture finally chooses her own comfort over the expectations of others.

No. 13 Washington Square
Leroy Scott
A formidable New York socialite orchestrates an elaborate, secret disappearance from her own home, only to find her sanctuary invaded by an impish con artist who mistakes her for a fellow criminal.

Oliver October
George Barr McCutcheon
HOOK A child is born under a dark prophecy in a small town, and the weight of that predestined hanging shadows his entire life, even as he grows into a man and a soldier.

Pandora
Henry James
A young German diplomat’s rigorous worldview is challenged by an energetic, self-made American woman whose social ascent defies the rigid hierarchies of his experience.

Peace in Friendship Village
Zona Gale
The quiet rhythms of a small town hold the seeds of a global transformation, revealing how neighborly kindness can reshape the wider world. These stories find the extraordinary tucked within the ordinary lives of villagers.

See America First
Orville O. Hiestand
A traveler’s call to abandon the allure of European landscapes in favor of the overlooked majesty found in the hills, forests, and historic reaches of the American countryside.

Sube Cane
Bellamy Partridge
A twelve-year-old boy attempts to grow a mustache with hair restorer, sparking a series of imaginative and increasingly chaotic schemes in his small town.

The Delafield Affair
Florence Finch Kelly
This is a story of a young man’s crusade for justice in the American West, where the pursuit of a long-buried secret tests the bonds of love, political power, and personal honor.

The Lifted Bandage
Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
A grieving judge faces the devastating verdict that his son died a murderer, only to find a sudden, inexplicable peace in the wake of despair. This brief narrative explores the collision between rigid rationalism and the profound, transformative power of subjective experience.

The Lost Guidon: 1911
Charles Egbert Craddock
The sergeant who once led a doomed cavalry charge finds his only remaining battle is against the emptiness of postwar life. He discovers that some ghosts can only be laid to rest by the people who helped create them.

The Path to Home
Edgar A. (Edgar Albert) Guest
The simple, earnest joys of domestic life form a sanctuary against the world's sorrows. These poems celebrate the quiet heroism found in family devotion and the enduring bonds of a well-lived home.

The Sagebrusher: A Story of the West
Emerson Hough
In this rugged Western, a displaced city woman and a simple-hearted homesteader navigate a marriage born of a ruse, finding redemption against the backdrop of a changing, violent frontier.

The Starbucks
Opie Percival Read
A rugged tale of mountain pride and sudden romance, this story follows the collision between an isolated Appalachian family and the encroaching world of federal law.

Whispering Wires
Henry Leverage
A wealthy magnate lies dead in a sealed room, yet no killer can be found. A tenacious detective must untangle a web of malice woven through the city's telephone lines to reveal the impossible truth.

A Christmas Accident and Other Stories
Annie Eliot Trumbull
Sometimes the smallest shift in perspective—a chance encounter or a change of heart—is enough to dismantle the walls we build between ourselves and the world.

A Soldier's Trial: An Episode of the Canteen Crusade
Charles King
The fragile honor of a soldier is tested when a seductive stranger infiltrates a remote frontier post, threatening the integrity of a widower’s home and the reputation of his fellow officers.

An Everyday Girl: A Story
Amy Ella Blanchard
A young girl, orphaned and adrift, finds her footing in a quiet community where hard work, music, and the discovery of a family legacy reveal that an "everyday" life is anything but ordinary.

Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars
Lester Chadwick
A young boy finds his footing on the pitcher’s mound, balancing the pressures of a small-town baseball rivalry with a dangerous mystery threatening his father’s work.

Ethel Morton at Rose House
Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke) Smith
Ethel Morton and her friends discover that the greatest community service is not found in grand gestures, but in the practical, daily work of creating a home for those who have none.

Helen Ford
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
This story follows a young woman’s determined struggle to support her aging, visionary father while they live in obscurity, eventually uncovering a deep-seated betrayal that restores their rightful place in the world. It is a classic narrative of integrity prevailing over avarice, set against the backdrop of…

Hooking Watermelons: 1898
Edward Bellamy
Arthur Steele returns to his quiet childhood home expecting a peaceful vacation, only to find himself entangled in a small-town drama that forces him to confront the complexities of class, reputation, and the impulsive nature of youth.

Joy in the Morning
Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
The Great War casts a long, transformative shadow over these narratives, where the courage of ordinary people illuminates the darkness of global conflict. Through tales of sacrifice and spirit, the weight of the night finally gives way to the promise of morning.

Madeline
Mary Jane Holmes
The path to happiness is rarely straightforward, as a young woman discovers when her aspirations for a better life entangle her with a wealthy, complex benefactor and a series of profound family losses.

Mrs. Balfame: A Novel
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
A woman’s long-simmering resentment toward her boorish husband crystallizes into a deadly resolve, leading to a trial that tests the loyalties and moral boundaries of an entire town.

Porgy
DuBose Heyward
In the shadow of a crumbling Charleston tenement, a disabled man finds a brief, transcendent love that defies the crushing weight of his surroundings.

Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 20, August 13, 1870
Various
This illustrated weekly periodical serves as a vibrant, satirical snapshot of American life in 1870, blending sharp political commentary with lighthearted literary parody.

Sheppard Lee, Written by Himself. Vol. 1 (of 2)
Robert Montgomery Bird
A man discovers he possesses the singular, supernatural ability to shed his own skin and inhabit the bodies of others, embarking on a turbulent odyssey through the varied lives of those around him.