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British Literature — page 108
5,719 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 108 of 120.
Plays
John Galsworthy
This collection of dramas explores the collision between rigid class expectations and the raw, unpredictable currents of human emotion. These plays examine how quickly the veneer of civilization cracks when pride and social standing are challenged.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-07-28
Various
A satirical slice of post-World War I British life captures the absurdities, social anxieties, and everyday trivialities of a nation attempting to rebuild its normal routine.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 9, 1841
Various
In a bustling London powered by steam and satire, a collective of razor-sharp wits turns its gaze on the absurdities of Victorian society, political hypocrisy, and theatrical melodrama.
St. George and St. Michael, Volume 1
George MacDonald
Amidst the gathering storm of the English Civil War, a young woman’s loyalties and a nobleman’s genius collide within the walls of a castle that stands as a fortress of tradition.
Stick to the raft
Gladstone, George, Mrs.
A young orphan finds purpose and friendship in the mountains of Bavaria, learning that the strength to hold on—both to a physical log raft and to his Christian faith—is the only way to navigate life's currents.
The Fifteen Comforts of Matrimony: Responses From Women
Various
The world of these verses is a volatile, biting, and intensely public debate, played out in the broadsides and pamphlets of early eighteenth-century London. It is a war of words where the perceived "comforts" and "plagues" of marriage, maidenhood, and the life of a courtesan are traded like volleys in a pamphlet war.
The Heir Presumptive and the Heir Apparent
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
A tale of inheritance, family rivalry, and the psychological weight of expectation, this work explores how a quiet life is upended by the sudden arrival of an heir.
The purple sickle murders
Freeman Wills Crofts
A Scotland Yard investigator pursues a ruthless criminal syndicate that exploits young cinema cashiers in a deadly game of financial coercion and systemic murder.
The Red Lodge: A Mystery of Campden Hill
Victor Bridges
A young surgeon finds himself caught in the lethal web of a criminal conspiracy after accepting a mysterious position as an assistant to a reclusive professor.
The Spring Song
Forrest Reid
An introspective boy finds his quiet summer in the Irish countryside haunted by strange, atmospheric forces and a sinister, mysterious neighbor.
The Widow Barnaby. Vol. 3 (of 3)
Frances Milton Trollope
In early nineteenth-century England, a scheming, grandiloquent widow finds her pursuit of rank checked by unpaid debts, while her gentle, ill-used niece discovers that quiet integrity draws both noble defenders and true love.
Thereby Hangs a Tale. Volume One
George Manville Fenn
A young man loses his ancestral estate to a scheme of social maneuvering, forcing him to confront the fragility of fortune and the hidden complexities of the people surrounding him.
Watch—Work—Wait
Sarah A. (Sarah Ann) Myers
The orphan boy who remains faithful amidst poverty and harsh treatment ultimately discovers that true success lies in integrity rather than worldly station. His journey serves as a quiet testament to the sustaining power of prayer.
An Isle in the Water
Katharine Tynan
Remote, wind-battered, and tightly bound by faith and gossip, an Irish island community unfolds through its stark joys, secret sins, and enduring tragedies.
Christian Melville
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
A life defined by quiet strength and unwavering faith faces the storms of grief, betrayal, and the loss of those dearest to the heart. This portrait of endurance explores how a steadfast soul navigates the shifting tides of mortality and redemption.
Fashionable Philosophy, and Other Sketches
Laurence Oliphant
This collection of sketches employs biting wit to lampoon the intellectual fads of Victorian London, exposing the absurdity of those who trade genuine human connection for hollow, fashionable philosophies.
Heart: A Social Novel
Martin Farquhar Tupper
This social novel explores the tension between material wealth and spiritual integrity, suggesting that the true value of a life is measured not by financial holdings, but by the warmth and kindness of the heart.
Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Tobias Smollett
T. (Tobias) Smollett
This collection serves as a primary bibliographical gateway to the diverse literary and historical output of an influential eighteenth-century Scottish writer. It organizes an extensive body of work, ranging from picaresque fiction to sweeping national chronicles, providing a structured map for navigating the…
Nineteen hundred? A forecast and a story
Marianne Farningham
This visionary narrative imagines a transformation of English society through the application of radical Christian ethics and collective moral reform. It serves as a fervent manifesto for those who believe the future belongs to the young.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 25, 1893
Various
An irreverent skewering of late-nineteenth-century British politics, academia, and popular theater through sharp satirical skits.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, June 6, 1891
Various
Through a thick fog of Victorian coal-smoke and parliamentary posturing, a weekly snapshot of 1891 London emerges with sharp-edged affection. The issue captures a confident empire mildly exasperated by its own eccentricities—from local curates stumbling through magic-lantern slides to politicians squabbling over…
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, August 2, 1890
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, satirical snapshot of Victorian life, capturing the anxieties, politics, and social absurdities of the late 19th century through a lens of biting wit. It offers a rare, unfiltered look at the preoccupations of the era, from the trivialities of garden-party etiquette to the…
Quotations from the Project Gutenberg Editions of the Collected Works of George Meredith
George Meredith
Spanning the breadth of a storied literary career, this collection gathers the distilled wisdom and sharp observations of a master stylist. It serves as a profound, if challenging, map of the human condition in the nineteenth century.
Rhoda Fleming
George Meredith
The tangled lives of two sisters and their social superiors unravel in a landscape where reputation is a currency and marriage is a business transaction. This is a story of how the crushing weight of class expectations collides with the fierce, often misguided, loyalty of the human heart.
Sylvia's Lovers
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
A young woman’s life is shattered by the false news of her lover’s death, leading her into a marriage that becomes a prison of regret and secrets. This is a story of how a single act of deception can echo across a lifetime, haunting both the deceiver and the deceived.
The Englishman from Paris
Arthur Murphy
A young man returns from abroad with absurd continental affectations, only to face the harsh judgment of his skeptical countrymen. This rare comedy explores the clash between performative vanity and the desire for grounded character.
The Osbornes
E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson
A newly wealthy industrialist family moves into London’s elite social sphere, finding that the most difficult obstacles to navigate are not their own manners, but the subtle, shifting currents of their son’s marriage.
The Quiet Heart
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
A portrait of quiet endurance and the tempering of youthful pride, this narrative traces the maturation of a young woman’s heart as she navigates the complexities of love, ambition, and personal integrity.
Willy's travels on the railroad
Mrs. (Jane Haldimand) Marcet
The modern world, with all its mechanical wonders and complex social exchanges, is a garden waiting to be understood by a curious child. This narrative transforms the daunting scale of Victorian industry into a series of manageable, heart-warming discoveries.
A Sweet Girl Graduate
L. T. Meade
An earnest small-town girl enters an elite women's college, where she must navigate fiscal hardship, campus snobbery, and a damaging theft to find her true voice.
Dead-sea fruit, Vol. 1 (of 3)
M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
This is a sweeping Victorian narrative of hidden parentage, the bitter fruit of class disparities, and the precarious lives of those orbiting London’s literary and theatrical worlds. It explores how the shadows of a previous generation’s secrets inevitably darken the prospects of the next.
Elsie's scholarship
Emma Leslie
When a young girl earns a life-changing scholarship, she discovers that true character is often measured not by what we gain, but by what we are willing to sacrifice for those we love.
Fairy Gold: Ship's Company, Part 4
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
A husband’s scheme to reclaim his wife’s secret savings quickly devolves into a farce of misplaced trust and chimney-side deception.
Memoirs of a London doll
R. H. (Richard H.) Horne
HOOK Born in a dusky attic and traded for a pastry, a resilient doll navigates the shifting fortunes of Victorian London, from the heights of a grand opera house to the streets of a bustling city.
Probation
Jessie Fothergill
Amid the deafening roar of Lancashire looms, a young man faces a test of character that transcends social divides. This is a story of personal transformation set against the backdrop of the devastating cotton famine.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, May 25, 1895
Various
The mid-nineties in London were a period of sharp social transition, and this collection of weekly dispatches captures the city’s pulse with a mix of biting parliamentary satire and lighthearted domestic absurdity. It is a snapshot of an empire navigating the tensions between tradition and progress, played out on…
Sir Thomas Browne and his 'Religio Medici': An Appreciation
Alexander Whyte
The seventeenth-century physician Sir Thomas Browne invites readers into a quiet, profound dialogue with his own soul. This exploration serves as a timeless meditation on the harmony between scientific curiosity and Christian faith.
Sketches by Seymour
Robert Seymour
A series of cautionary, observational, and often darkly comedic vignettes captures the absurdities and perils of early nineteenth-century English life.
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel
George Meredith
A young man is raised under a rigid, experimental "System" designed by his father to shield him from the world's corruption, only to find that love and human nature cannot be contained by philosophy.
A Rich Man's Relatives (Vol. 3 of 3)
Robert Cleland
A tangled web of financial ruin, long-buried secrets, and matrimonial maneuvering converges in this sprawling tale of provincial life and personal redemption.
La Mere Bauche: From Tales of All Countries
Anthony Trollope
In a remote Pyrenean valley, a domineering hotelier maneuvers to break her son’s engagement to an orphan, setting in motion a tragic collision between maternal ambition, fragile romance, and cold social convention.
Missing
Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
The echoes of a vanishing world tremble in the quiet of the Lake District as a young woman grapples with the devastating, hidden cost of a war that has reached into the heart of her home.
Mitchelhurst Place: A Novel. Vol. 2 (of 2)
Margaret Veley
The ghosts of Mitchelhurst Place refuse to stay buried, weaving a web of unrequited longing and quiet tragedy around those who dare to seek a future within its shadow. This somber, lyrical novel explores the fragile intersection of memory, pride, and the inexorable currents of human fate.
Old Songs
Unknown
These verses hum with the rhythms of a vanished England, capturing the bittersweet ache of fleeting romance and the simple, robust pleasures of rural life.
Pastoral Poems by Nicholas Breton, Selected Poetry by George Wither, and Pastoral Poetry by William Browne (of Tavistock)
Nicholas Breton
A tapestry of rural song, courtly longing, and fierce independence weaves through these three early modern voices as they praise the quiet countryside and defend the integrity of the mind.
Poems
Robert Southey
This collection offers a candid look at the early development of a major Romantic voice, charting a path from youthful idealism to a more weary, reflective maturity. It serves as both a poetic record and a deliberate act of self-curation.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98 January 11, 1890
Various
The London of 1890 is a theater of stark contrasts, where the grinding exhaustion of the working class unfolds in the shadow of a glittering, self-indulgent society. This collection captures the pulse of a city divided between the midnight oil of the shop-serf and the champagne-soaked wit of the elite.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, May 9, 1891
Various
This volume captures the irreverent pulse of late Victorian London, offering a satirical snapshot of a society obsessed with status, politics, and the theater. It serves as a lively, biting guide to the preoccupations of 1891.