Free summaries
Biographies — page 23
1,257 public-domain biographies books, summarised. Page 23 of 27.
The Story of Slavery
Booker T. Washington
The first enslaved people arrived in Virginia in 1619, setting in motion a complex, centuries-long history that fundamentally shaped the American landscape and the lives of millions.
The doctor looks at biography
Joseph Collins
A discerning medical eye turns toward the literary record, examining how famous lives are captured, distorted, and understood through the pages of biography.
The female-impersonators: : A sequel to the autobiography of an androgyne and an account of some of the author's experiences during his six years' career as instinctive female-impersonator in New York's underworld
Ralph Werther
A life lived in the shadows finds its voice, offering a candid, defiant record of a hidden existence within the urban landscape. This account provides a rare, unfiltered look at the intersection of personal identity and social survival in early twentieth-century America.
The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Volume 30: Old Age and Death
Giacomo Casanova
A legendary libertine faces his final act, trading a life of reckless European adventure for the bitter, claustrophobic seclusion of a Bohemian library.
Rudyard Kipling
John Palmer
A literary critic examines the early works of a celebrated storyteller, seeking to separate his technical mastery and artistic vision from the political controversies that have long obscured his reputation.
The life of Pasteur
René Vallery-Radot
A man of fierce intellect and boundless humanity, he fundamentally changed how the world understands the invisible battles for life and health.
Heroes of To-Day
Mary Rosetta Parkman
Heroes of To-Day offers a collection of biographical sketches that redefine heroism for the modern age, moving away from ancient myths of conquest toward quiet, persistent service to humanity. It argues that the most profound adventures are found in science, exploration, and social reform.
Memoirs of the Empress Josephine, Vol. 2 of 2
Madame de (Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Vergennes) Rémusat
A firsthand account of Napoleon’s inner circle, this work captures the atmosphere of a court dominated by a man who treated his closest associates as clerks and his empire as a stage for his own glory.
The Age of Erasmus: Lectures Delivered in the Universities of Oxford and London
P. S. (Percy Stafford) Allen
A vivid reconstruction of the Northern Renaissance, these lectures bridge the gap between abstract history and the intimate, messy lives of the scholars who lived through a world in transition.
The Story of Cole Younger, by Himself
Cole Younger
This narrative offers a measured, firsthand account of a life defined by the Border War, the notoriety of the post-Civil War West, and a quarter-century of imprisonment. It is a sobering reflection on the consequences of political violence and the long shadows cast by reputation.
Memories of the Kaiser's Court
Anne Topham
An English governess finds herself at the heart of the Prussian monarchy, observing the daily rituals and private eccentricities of the Kaiser’s family during the final, glittering years before the Great War.
Modern Skepticism: A Journey Through the Land of Doubt and Back Again: A Life Story
Joseph Barker
A zealous young preacher loses his faith to hard study and church conflict, slides into radicalism, and spends decades wandering through debate halls and distant towns before discovering that what he sought was always in the Gospel.
Quotes and Images from the Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
Giacomo Casanova
Wealth, wit, and the pursuit of pleasure define this expansive chronicle of a life spent traveling the corridors of eighteenth-century Europe, where every encounter is a gamble and every vanity a potential folly.
Maxims and Opinions of Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington, Selected From His Writings and Speeches During a Public Life of More Than Half a Century
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of
Behind decades of tactical command lies a governing philosophy rooted in cold realism, administrative order, and an unwavering commitment to public duty above personal sentiment.
The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent
Emily Edson Briggs
A capital city in the wake of war reveals itself not in state documents, but through the watchful eyes of a woman writing at her desk.
Critical Miscellanies, (Vol. 3 of 3), Essay 2: The Death of Mr Mill
John Morley
An intellectual life is defined not by rigid adherence to dogma, but by the quiet, stubborn courage to continually revise one's own mind in pursuit of truth.
Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam
John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
This chronicle traces the rise and fall of New Amsterdam, painting a vivid portrait of the final Dutch governor whose fierce, unyielding rule defined the birth of a global city.
Rupert, Prince Palatine
Eva Scott
The life of a prince is often seen through the gilded lens of romance, but the reality of this soldier-scholar was a long, bruising collision between high-minded idealism and the brutal friction of civil war.
The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV
Charles Greville
Behind the closed doors of early nineteenth-century British power, statecraft is shaped as much by personal grudges, midnight notes, and drawing-room gossip as by formal parliamentary debate.
Collections and Recollections
George William Erskine Russell
An observant insider leads a lighthearted journey through nineteenth-century British society, trading solemn historical commentary for the lively wit, absurd eccentricities, and memorable voices of a bygone era.
Old Times in Dixie Land: A Southern Matron's Memories
Caroline E. (Caroline Elizabeth) Merrick
A Southern woman’s lifelong journey carries her from plantation childhood through wartime upheaval into the vanguard of Louisiana’s suffrage movement.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 6: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
Unknown
Individual greatness rarely springs from isolated genius; it is forged through relentless devotion, sudden revolutions, and the quiet persistence that reshapes human society.
How They Succeeded: Life Stories of Successful Men Told by Themselves
Orison Swett Marden
A collection of firsthand interviews reveals how late-nineteenth-century icons converted sheer persistence, strict self-discipline, and focused mental effort into extraordinary American fortunes and careers.
My Brother, Theodore Roosevelt
Corinne Roosevelt Robinson
An intimate sisterly window onto the life of Theodore Roosevelt, this memoir traces a fragile, nature-obsessed boy as he grows into a formidable leader through sheer grit and deep familial love.
The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent
Samuel Murray Hussey
An outspoken Irish estate manager looks back over eighty years of agrarian conflict, offering a rare, highly personal window into nineteenth-century Ireland’s land wars from the side of the landlords.
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
A young civil servant in Restoration London records every detail of his daily existence, balancing the high politics of the Navy Office with his private domestic quarrels, theatrical outings, and midnight anxieties over money.
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Every day, a mid-level bureaucrat records his ambitions, indiscretions, and quiet terrors as a devastated metropolis burns, starves, and bleeds around him.
Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln: A Book for Young Americans
James Baldwin
Four early leaders rise from wilderness roads and humble firesides to forge and protect a united American nation.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 5: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History
Unknown
A grand gallery of human ambition, grit, and folly, where figures from myth and history stride through concise accounts of their triumphs and falls.
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 2: With His Letters and Journals
Thomas Moore
He returns to England a battle-tested wanderer, only to find that literary glory, political ambition, and personal loss fail to cure his deep-seated isolation.
Bible Stories and Religious Classics
Philip P. (Philip Patterson) Wells
Ancient sacred narratives, moral allegories, and devotional verse converge in this sweeping anthology designed to nurture young minds through timeless literature, bridging the simple wonder of childhood with the enduring spiritual heritage of humanity.
Eighteenth Century Waifs
John Ashton
A colorful gallery of eighteenth-century rogues, zealots, and eccentrics emerges from the dusty archives of the British Museum.
My adventures as a spy
Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron
A charmingly eccentric military memoir reveals how a sketchbook full of hand-drawn butterflies, a plumber's fake goatee, and an innocent stroll with a shotgun can gather critical intelligence on the eve of global conflict.
Pictures of the old French court
Mrs. (Catherine Mary Charlton) Bearne
Intrigue, devotion, and sudden violence shape the lives of three royal women who navigate the treacherous court of Valois France.
The Life and Letters of Maria Edgeworth, Volume 2
Maria Edgeworth
Sharp observations, quick intellect, and deep devotion to family animate this intimate, wide-ranging record of a famous nineteenth-century Irish novelist's later years.
Voltaire
John Morley
An intellectual fury meets an oppressive age, forging modern freedom through relentless speech, sharp wit, and unyielding practical action.
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 6, part 2: Andrew Johnson
Unknown
A tailored orphan's rise from poverty to the presidency culminates in a bitter, high-stakes constitutional war over the limits of executive power during Reconstruction.
"Crumps", The Plain Story of a Canadian Who Went
Louis Keene
A young Canadian artist drops his paintbrushes in the summer of 1914, steps into uniform, and finds himself tossed into the muddy, shell-shattered chaos of the Western Front.
Lives of John Donne, Henry Wotton, Rich'd Hooker, George Herbert, &c, Volume 2
Izaak Walton
A quiet devotion to study and duty forms the bedrock of a life spent serving the English Church.
Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous
Sarah Knowles Bolton
A boy who carries bread in street baskets may yet endow an orphanage, just as a penniless printshop apprentice can reshape a nation’s laws.
Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Volume 2
Aaron Burr
A brilliant, controversial founder navigates the ruthless politics of a young republic, fighting for his legacy through factional warfare, electoral ties, treason charges, and crushing personal tragedy.
Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 2: November 1863-June 1865
Jacob D. (Jacob Dolson) Cox
Two rival armies fight through the mud, mountains, and broken railroads of the Deep South, driven toward an inevitable end by the unforgiving math of total war.
The Mentor: Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 6, Num. 7, Serial No. 155, May 15, 1918
Albert Bushnell Hart
An early American statesman and self-taught philosopher uses the simple memory of an overpriced childhood whistle to illustrate the costly human folly of sacrificing virtue, health, and peace of mind for fleeting worldly ambitions.
The Note-Book of an Attaché: Seven Months in the War Zone
Eric Fisher Wood
A quiet American architecture student in Paris is suddenly drafted into the frantic diplomatic work of a continent plunging into total war.
Autobiography of Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Fröbel
An isolated childhood spent under clear mountain skies breeds a lifelong quest to uncover the interconnected harmony governing nature, humanity, and education.
Chaucer and His Times
Grace E. (Grace Eleanor) Hadow
Geoffrey Chaucer stands as a towering figure of English literature, yet his work remains tethered to the complex, shifting social landscape of the fourteenth century. This concise study illuminates how the poet bridged the medieval and the modern.
Life and Military Career of Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman
P. C. (Phineas Camp) Headley
A relentless union of grand strategy and total war moves across the Southern heartland, tearing up iron tracks and redefining the American continent.
A Story of the Red Cross
Clara Barton
A quiet leader marshals voluntary aid to heal communities shattered by war, pestilence, and the unbridled forces of nature.