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American Literature — page 73

4,773 public-domain american literature books, summarised. Page 73 of 100.

Cover of The Broadway Anthology

The Broadway Anthology

Edward L. Bernays

Behind the glitter of early twentieth-century New York performance lies an endless gear-work of desperation, calculated hype, and unglamorous labor.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 01, January 1900: The Ten Most Beautiful Buildings in the United States

The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 01, January 1900: The Ten Most Beautiful Buildings in the United States

A. D. F. (Alfred Dwight Foster) Hamlin

Architectural beauty in America is not bound by a single historic dress, but emerges wherever simple, clear concepts are given monumental form.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The congressman's wife, a story of American politics

The congressman's wife, a story of American politics

John D. (John Daniel) Barry

A political career built on private compromises quietly unravels when a devoted wife discovers the corrupt bargain behind her husband’s public triumphs.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Home Mission

The Home Mission

T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

A domestic sphere built on selfish whims quickly crumbles, but intentional patience, self-sacrifice, and quiet moral duty can transform any household into a sanctuary.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Lady of the Decoration

The Lady of the Decoration

Frances Little

HOOK A young widow flees the bitter memories of a failed marriage for the strange, blossoming world of Meiji-era Japan. Amidst the unfamiliarity of mission work, she discovers an unexpected path toward profound personal renewal.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Little Room, and Other Stories

The Little Room, and Other Stories

Madeline Yale Wynne

The boundaries between physical reality and the private, persistent hauntings of the mind remain porous. These stories explore the quiet, unsettling ways our memories and longings take shape in the world.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Song of the Stone Wall

The Song of the Stone Wall

Helen Keller

The ancient stones of New England hold a silent history, and beneath the touch of a sensitive hand, they reveal the epic struggle of a people who carved a nation from the wilderness.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Trawler

The Trawler

James B. (James Brendan) Connolly

A grieving father's quiet judgment gives way to a young fisherman's realization that the captain everyone calls ruthless carries a sacrifice deeper than the sea itself.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Wilt Thou Torchy

Wilt Thou Torchy

Sewell Ford

The fast-talking, irrepressible private secretary to a New York business tycoon finds himself unexpectedly caught up in a high-seas adventure. This breezy, lighthearted tale follows a young man navigating the complex social circles of his boss, his own burgeoning romance, and the improbable discovery of pirate gold.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Change Signals: A Story of the New Football

Change Signals: A Story of the New Football

Ralph Henry Barbour

A newly arrived Maine country boy navigates the social dynamics and rigorous athletic rivalries of Yardley Hall while possessing an unheralded talent for football kicking.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Elsie at Viamede

Elsie at Viamede

Martha Finley

A peaceful plantation setting gives way to detailed historical lectures, family affection, and domestic moral lessons as a devout Southern family travels through coastal Mississippi and Louisiana.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Evered

Evered

Ben Ames Williams

A man’s jealous fury turns inward when the violent tragedy he invited reveals how little he understood his quiet, devoted wife.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Part 7

Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Part 7

Mark Twain

A keen observer of human nature follows the global path of British imperialism, measuring the distance between high-minded ideals and the absurd, mercenary realities on the ground.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Forty-one Thieves: A Tale of California

Forty-one Thieves: A Tale of California

Angelo Hall

A brutal stagecoach murder in the California Sierras sets off a multi-year chain of betrayal, flight, and quiet financial ruin across the American West.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of In colonial days

In colonial days

Nathaniel Hawthorne

A grand Boston mansion becomes a haunted stage where four historical legends unveil the lingering, tragic downfall of British rule in New England.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of Main Street: (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales")

Main Street: (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales")

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Centuries of New England history unspool inside a single room as a determined showman turns the crank of a painted paper panorama.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Marjorie Dean's Romance

Marjorie Dean's Romance

Josephine Chase

A generous, spirited young woman finds her college sanctuary transformed by warm friendships, historical discoveries, and the quiet, persistent dawn of adult romantic feelings.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Bride of Fort Edward: Founded on an Incident of the Revolution

The Bride of Fort Edward: Founded on an Incident of the Revolution

Delia Salter Bacon

The sacrifice of a young woman caught between warring armies becomes a tragic catalyst that rallies a crumbling revolution. This haunting, unconventional narrative explores the intersection of private heartbreak and the inexorable march of history.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Crimson Patch

The Crimson Patch

Augusta Huiell Seaman

Trapped in a stiff hotel suite with her father during the First World War, an observant girl uncovers a hidden nest of international intrigue behind the doors of her quiet temporary home.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Golden Circle: A Mystery Story for Girls

The Golden Circle: A Mystery Story for Girls

Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell

When a young French dancer loses her theatre gig in depression-era Chicago, an antique auction brings her a bizarre brass idol, a circle of fiercely loyal friends, and a mystery that trails her from Maxwell Street to the grand stage.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Spirit of Sweetwater

The Spirit of Sweetwater

Hamlin Garland

In the high air of Colorado, a wealthy miner meets a dying woman whose frail life calls forth his own fierce, hidden capacity for healing and moral grace.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Unforgiving Offender

The Unforgiving Offender

John Reed Scott

A woman with a shadowed past returns to a high-society resort, daring her former peers to cast the first stone.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Yale Literary Magazine (Vol. I, No 1, February 1836)

The Yale Literary Magazine (Vol. I, No 1, February 1836)

Various

Young scholars balance serious reflections on historical progress with personal romantic melodrama, playful regional dialect, and casual classical translations in this initial issue of a collegiate literary periodical.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Vicky Van

Vicky Van

Carolyn Wells

A young woman leads a double life just steps from Fifth Avenue, until a murder in her drawing room forces her into hiding and brings a shrewd detective to unmask the truth.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Who Goes There?

Who Goes There?

Charles H. Davis

Squid-like telepaths search Earth’s ocean depths for intelligent life to save their distant world, only to meet a tragic end from human weapons.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 2, No. 21, June, 1921: America's Magazine of Wit, Humor and Filosophy

Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 2, No. 21, June, 1921: America's Magazine of Wit, Humor and Filosophy

Various

Raucous, irreverent, and unapologetically tacky, this 1921 humor digest offers a unfiltered window into post-World War I American pop culture, Prohibition workarounds, and small-town bawdiness.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Elsie's Friends at Woodburn

Elsie's Friends at Woodburn

Martha Finley

A young girl grapples with her own volatile temper and the complexities of growing up within a deeply affectionate, tradition-bound family. This narrative explores the delicate balance between personal autonomy and the duty of obedience.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Part 3

Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Part 3

Mark Twain

A traveler records his observations of a changing world, blending sharp wit with the somber realities of colonial expansion and the quiet tragedy of lost civilizations.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Goat-Feathers

Goat-Feathers

Ellis Parker Butler

Gathering trivial distractions is the fastest way to turn a promising career into a series of half-finished detours.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of Home Scenes and Home Influence

Home Scenes and Home Influence

T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

A quietly powerful counterweight to nineteenth-century domestic friction.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of India

India

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

In the lush, volatile landscape of the antebellum American South, a man of steadfast integrity navigates the heavy demands of duty and the haunting pull of two very different women. This sprawling, emotive saga tracks the long arc of a hero’s journey from youthful idealism to the quiet, bittersweet wisdom of maturity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Lefty o' the bush

Lefty o' the bush

Burt L. Standish

The diamond is a stage for reputation as much as sport, where a mysterious newcomer must outpitch both his rivals and the rumors threatening to end his career.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Lot & Company

Lot & Company

Will Levington Comfort

A clerk escapes the suffocating grip of a New York office for the open sea, only to find that the true voyage is a radical transformation of the soul.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Mingo, and Other Sketches in Black and White

Mingo, and Other Sketches in Black and White

Joel Chandler Harris

Deeply rooted in the shifting soil of Post-Reconstruction Georgia, these atmospheric tales examine the delicate threads of loyalty, pride, and survival binding Black and white rural southerners together after the Civil War.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of My Year in a Log Cabin

My Year in a Log Cabin

William Dean Howells

A sensitive boy encounters the raw mechanics of nature, hard labor, and sudden grief when his idealist family trades city comforts for an unfinished frontier home.

American Literature13 min read
Cover of Out of the sea

Out of the sea

Leigh Brackett

A jaded reporter finds his cynical worldview shattered when a sudden, subterranean cataclysm unleashes prehistoric monsters upon the California coast. He must confront his own selfishness to save the woman he loves.

American Literature5 min read
Cover of The boys of Columbia High in track athletics

The boys of Columbia High in track athletics

Graham B. Forbes

This story follows a group of high school friends navigating the final challenges of their senior year. Set against the backdrop of athletic rivalries and local mysteries, it captures the transition from adolescence to the responsibilities of young adulthood.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Co-opolitan: A Story of the Co-operative Commonwealth of Idaho

The Co-opolitan: A Story of the Co-operative Commonwealth of Idaho

Zebina Forbush

This utopian fiction imagines a peaceful American revolution, where organized labor and collective economic action transform a single state into a model of shared prosperity and social justice.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Disagreeable Woman: A Social Mystery

The Disagreeable Woman: A Social Mystery

Alger, Horatio, Jr.

Severe, blunt, and secretly charitable, a mysterious boarder upends a New York lodging house, silently dispensing money to the needy while systematically deflating the pretensions of her vanity-stricken companions.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Flying Mercury

The Flying Mercury

Eleanor M. (Eleanor Marie) Ingram

A gifted young driver risks his life on the early dirt tracks, hiding a aristocratic lineage to build a world-class automobile and win the heart of the woman he loves.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Secret Way

The Secret Way

Zona Gale

The veil between the mundane and the miraculous is thinner than we imagine, waiting for the quiet observer to recognize the light hiding in plain sight.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Third Violet

The Third Violet

Stephen Crane

A poor young painter falls in love with an heiress at a summer resort, only to find that winning her heart requires confronting his own fierce pride and the stark realities of his poverty.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Valley of Content

The Valley of Content

Blanche Upright

A modest bungalow in an California town gives way to New York society, exposing how wealth can fracture a family before hard-earned humility leads them back to what truly matters.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of A Sagebrush Cinderella

A Sagebrush Cinderella

Max Brand

This is a story of a lonely girl’s transformation from a neglected hotel drudge into a captivating society belle. It explores the power of self-perception and the romantic fantasies that sustain those living on the fringes of civilization.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of An Idyll of All Fools' Day

An Idyll of All Fools' Day

Josephine Daskam Bacon

A senior student and a spirited young woman embark on a breathless, accidental escapade through the countryside. This whimsical comedy of errors turns a single day of chaos into a lifetime of discovery.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Clark's Field

Clark's Field

Robert Herrick

A young girl is plucked from obscurity when a forgotten, derelict plot of land in her family’s name unexpectedly becomes a fortune. What follows is a quiet, piercing examination of wealth, agency, and the moral vacuum of privilege.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Deer Godchild

Deer Godchild

Marguerite Bernard

A twelve-year-old American boy shovels snow and sells papers to aid a French orphan, sparking an unwitting exchange of mixed signals, cultural collisions, and pure heart.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Ethel Morton at Rose House

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.

American Literature6 min read