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British Literature — page 103

5,719 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 103 of 120.

Cover of The Impending Sword: A Novel (Vol. 3 of 3)

The Impending Sword: A Novel (Vol. 3 of 3)

Edmund Yates

HOOK A devoted wife faces the sudden, violent murder of her husband, only to discover that the killer is a figure from her own shadowed past.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Isles of Sunset

The Isles of Sunset

Arthur Christopher Benson

The Isles of Sunset is a collection of allegorical tales that explore the quiet, often painful, intersections of human ambition, spiritual longing, and the search for peace. It serves as a meditation on the necessity of sacrifice and the ultimate futility of earthly pride.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The mill house mystery

The mill house mystery

Florence Warden

A companion finds her life at a remote estate unraveling as she discovers her employer’s wife is entangled in a dangerous web of theft, betrayal, and violence.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 330, September 6, 1828

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 330, September 6, 1828

Various

This collection serves as a vibrant, multifaceted snapshot of 1828, offering a curious reader a window into the intellectual appetites, artistic anxieties, and social pastimes of early nineteenth-century London.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 574, November 3, 1832 Title

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 574, November 3, 1832 Title

Various

A nineteenth-century miscellany of history, natural curiosities, and personal anecdotes, offering a window into the intellectual pursuits and curiosities of the late Georgian era.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Scaring off of Teddy Dawson: A Comedy in One Act

The Scaring off of Teddy Dawson: A Comedy in One Act

Harold Brighouse

A protective mother discovers her young daughter is courting a local ne'er-do-well and decides that the best way to end the romance is not with a belt, but by welcoming the suitor with suffocating enthusiasm.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Second Honeymoon

The Second Honeymoon

Ruby M. (Ruby Mildred) Ayres

The story of a young, impulsive man who realizes too late that his marriage was a mistake, only to find that true love requires more than just a change of heart.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A godly medytacyon of the christen sowle, concerninge a loue towardes God and hys Christe

A godly medytacyon of the christen sowle, concerninge a loue towardes God and hys Christe

Marguerite, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of Navarre

This earnest devotional work offers an intimate, lyrical portrait of a soul struggling to reconcile its own frailty with the overwhelming, unearned love of Christ.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of A Great Emergency and Other Tales

A Great Emergency and Other Tales

Juliana Horatia Ewing

A collection of four Victorian tales explores the turbulent inner lives of children as they navigate jealousy, pride, and the deep desire to prove their courage.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of An Act in a Backwater

An Act in a Backwater

E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

In a quiet English town, the pompous delusions of a local blowhard spark a social comedy that eventually gives way to unexpected depths of human crisis and quiet, resilient grace.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Ara vus prec

Ara vus prec

T. S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot

The modern soul finds itself drifting through a landscape of fractured memories and dry, urban decay. These poems capture the precise moment when the weight of history becomes too heavy to carry, yet too familiar to discard.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Bulldog And Butterfly: From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray

Bulldog And Butterfly: From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray

David Christie Murray

A persistent, steady-hearted man and a lively, mercurial youth compete for the hand of a thoughtful young woman in a quiet, rural corner of England. Their rivalry forces each man to reveal his true character under pressure.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon

Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon

Caine, Hall, Sir

A rough Manx sailor returns from sea with a fortune, marries his childhood sweetheart, and promptly loses her to the wedge of her newly acquired upper-class refinement.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Far above rubies (Vol. 1 of 3)

Far above rubies (Vol. 1 of 3)

Riddell, J. H., Mrs.

A faded estate and a family struggling to preserve their dignity against the encroaching tide of Victorian industrialism define this intricate portrait of social decline and moral fortitude.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lady Lucy's secret

Lady Lucy's secret

Lucy Ellen Guernsey

HOOK A young girl trapped in a cold, fearful household learns the heavy weight of a lie and the quiet, steadying power of mercy.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Oxford Days

Oxford Days

F. E. (Frederic Edward) Weatherly

The pursuit of an Oxford degree in the late nineteenth century is a disciplined, often humorous test of character, where youthful ambition meets the rigid weight of tradition and academic expectation.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, May 6, 1914

Punch, or the London Charivari, May 6, 1914

Various

A snapshot of Edwardian satire, this magazine issue skewers everything from global politics to upper-class pretension with sharp, polite irreverence.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, May 20, 1914

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, May 20, 1914

Various

A weekly issue of Edwardian satirical journalism captures the anxiety, absurdity, and artistic clashes of a nation unknowingly standing on the precipice of world war.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10

Various

A satirical portrait of Victorian life, this collection captures the wit, political maneuvering, and social anxieties of late nineteenth-century London through the lens of a legendary humor magazine.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 107, December 8th, 1894

Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 107, December 8th, 1894

Various

This collection captures the sharp-tongued spirit of Victorian London, blending satirical commentary on social climbing and political friction with the inventive whimsy of a magazine defined by its legendary wit.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Adventures of Harry Richmond

The Adventures of Harry Richmond

George Meredith

A young man’s coming-of-age is inextricably tangled with his father’s relentless, performative ambition to see him wed into European royalty. This vibrant, sprawling novel navigates the volatile intersection of romantic idealism and the cold machinery of social climbing.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The battle of life

The battle of life

A. L. O. E.

The "battle of life" is the inward and outward struggle to live with consistent faith, a challenge that transforms ordinary days into profound tests of character. This collection of linked vignettes examines what it truly means to be a Christian in the nineteenth century, tracing the lives of diverse…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Covent Garden Theatre, or Pasquin Turn'd Drawcansir

The Covent Garden Theatre, or Pasquin Turn'd Drawcansir

Charles Macklin

A self-appointed censor arrives at the theater to judge the public, only to find that the audience is the true spectacle and the harshest critic of all.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 986, November 19, 1898

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 986, November 19, 1898

Various

The Victorian era’s spirit of industrious refinement and domestic tutelage comes alive in this curated archive of weekly guidance and fiction. It serves as a window into the intellectual and practical concerns of young women at the turn of the century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Happy Foreigner

The Happy Foreigner

Enid Bagnold

At the close of the Great War, a young Englishwoman navigates the strange, suspended reality of postwar France, finding an unexpected, transient life behind the wheel of an army car. She learns that the most profound adventures are those discovered within oneself.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Manoeuvring Mother (vol. 2 of 3)

The Manoeuvring Mother (vol. 2 of 3)

Bury, Charlotte Campbell, Lady

A relentless mother orchestrates the marriages of her daughters, only to find that the wealth and status she so desperately craves fail to provide the happiness she promised them.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The snow man

The snow man

Laurence Housman

A weary peasant mother’s life is transformed when a mysterious, frozen visitor arrives during a winter storm, bridging the gap between her desperate reality and the husband who abandoned her.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Unjust Steward

The Unjust Steward

Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

A man of the cloth faces a crisis of conscience when the informal debts of his past threaten to bankrupt his family and destroy his peace. This quiet, observant drama explores the heavy weight of secret financial burdens within a respectable Scottish household.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Timid Lucy

Timid Lucy

Sarah S. (Sarah Schoonmaker) Baker

HOOK A shy girl learns to shed her paralyzing fears by embracing faith and responsibility, transforming her quiet home into a space of genuine affection and mutual support.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Yorkshire Tales. Third Series: Amusing sketches of Yorkshire Life in the Yorkshire Dialect

Yorkshire Tales. Third Series: Amusing sketches of Yorkshire Life in the Yorkshire Dialect

John Hartley

This collection of sketches captures the spirited, often calamitous rhythm of working-class life in Victorian-era Yorkshire. Through a series of humorous vignettes, it offers an intimate, dialect-rich window into the domestic trials, social blunders, and romantic entanglements of a tight-knit community.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Poached Peerage

A Poached Peerage

Magnay, William, Sir

When an Australian fortune-hunter is mistaken for a missing English nobleman, a web of fraudulent titles, absurd duels, and eager heiresses threatens to ensnare everyone involved.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of For Better or Worse: Ship's Company, Part 10

For Better or Worse: Ship's Company, Part 10

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

The long-lost husband returns to find his wife, but discovers that his own past, his threadbare appearance, and a clever game of cat-and-mouse stand in the way of a reunion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Legend Land, Vol. 4: Being a Further Collection of Some of the Old Tales Told in Those Nearer Western Parts of Britain Served by the Great Western Railway

Legend Land, Vol. 4: Being a Further Collection of Some of the Old Tales Told in Those Nearer Western Parts of Britain Served by the Great Western Railway

G. Basil (George Basil) Barham

The English landscape hides ancient, restless spirits in its folds, waiting for travelers to look beyond the modern rail lines. These tales transform quiet hills and forgotten ruins into haunted stages of history and myth.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Leonore Stubbs

Leonore Stubbs

Lucy Bethia Walford

HOOK A young widow returns to her father’s house only to find herself trapped in a web of family greed and a forbidden, unspoken attraction to her sister’s fiancé.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Mrs. Dorriman: A Novel. Volume 3 of 3

Mrs. Dorriman: A Novel. Volume 3 of 3

Chetwynd, Henry Wayland, Mrs.

This introspective Victorian drama follows a web of sisters and dependents navigating the wreckage of past secrets and the crushing weight of social expectation. It is a quiet study of how guilt, illness, and the elusive nature of happiness shape domestic life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of "My Novel"

"My Novel"

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

This sprawling Victorian narrative interweaves the lives of English aristocrats, Italian exiles, and ambitious social climbers, exploring how the weight of the past shapes the pursuit of power and love.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 107, September 8, 1894

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 107, September 8, 1894

Various

This collection of late-Victorian satire captures the frantic, witty, and often cynical spirit of London’s high-society life and professional anxieties at the end of the nineteenth century. It serves as both a cultural mirror and a humorous critique of a class preoccupied with its own status, manners, and the…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 148, February 10, 1915

Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 148, February 10, 1915

Various

This collection of late-Victorian and Edwardian satire captures the frantic, fearful, and absurd atmosphere of London during the early months of the First World War. It is a chronicle of a society attempting to maintain its composure through biting wit while the world burns around it.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, November 13, 1841

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, November 13, 1841

Various

This inaugural collection of a legendary satirical periodical serves up a biting, irreverent chronicle of 1841 London. Through sharp wordplay and relentless mockery, it exposes the absurdities of the Victorian establishment with unsparing precision.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 10, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 10, 1917

Various

A nation under stress meets crisis with a wink, transforming the hardships of war into sharp, persistent laughter.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Stories and Tales of the Irish: A Linked Index to the Project Gutenberg Editions

Stories and Tales of the Irish: A Linked Index to the Project Gutenberg Editions

William Carleton

A sweeping chronicle of nineteenth-century Ireland, these narratives capture the desperate struggles, fervent beliefs, and rugged resilience of a society caught between ancient tradition and the crushing weight of systemic upheaval.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of "The Liberry"

"The Liberry"

Ian Hay

An illiterate man sustains a lifelong deception, curating a library of hollow props to perform the role of a learned sage for his neighbors, only to find redemption through the very community he fooled.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 282, November 10, 1827

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 282, November 10, 1827

Various

This periodical captures the intellectual pulse of late 1827, blending architectural criticism, travelogue, and fiction into a singular snapshot of Victorian-era curiosity. It serves as a window into a time when the world felt both vast and newly cataloged.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Obstacle Race

The Obstacle Race

Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell

The courage to endure life’s tests is a quiet, steadfast fire. To face the race with grace is the only victory that truly matters.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Rainbow and the Rose

The Rainbow and the Rose

E. (Edith) Nesbit

The human heart is a garden of thorns and blossoms, forever caught between the fragile beauty of what we love and the inevitable winter that claims it.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of The Undefeated

The Undefeated

J. C. (John Collis) Snaith

The story of a provincial town caught in the gears of the First World War, this novel traces the moral awakening of a man who discovers his own courage in the shadow of a changing society.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Coin of Edward VII: A Detective Story

A Coin of Edward VII: A Detective Story

Fergus Hume

A mysterious coin and a string of anonymous threats pull a young squire into a web of murder, hidden identities, and long-buried family secrets.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Dog with a Bad Name

A Dog with a Bad Name

Talbot Baines Reed

The shadow of a single impulsive act follows a boy into adulthood, testing whether a man can ever outrun the reputation he earned in his youth. This is a story of redemption, hidden identities, and the quiet weight of conscience.

British Literature6 min read