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British Literature — page 110

5,719 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 110 of 120.

Cover of All for a Scrap of Paper: A Romance of the Present War

All for a Scrap of Paper: A Romance of the Present War

Joseph Hocking

Honor and duty collide with deep personal conscience when a young Cornishman finds his pacifist beliefs tested by the sudden onset of the First World War.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Brought Forward

Brought Forward

R. B. (Robert Bontine) Cunninghame Graham

The shadow of a great global conflict falls across distant lands and quiet Scottish shores, binding the fate of restless wanderers, gauchos, and humble workers to an unforgiving age.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Colombine

Colombine

Reginald Arkell

On an ancient downland beacon, two rustic labourers and a timeless fairy circle provide the unlikely stage where traditional theatrical figures debate love, war, and the passage of time.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Hetty Gray

Hetty Gray

Rosa M. (Rosa Mulholland) Gilbert

An orphaned village girl with an artist’s heart is thrust into a life of cold luxury, only to discover that her true identity lies buried in the secrets of a tragic shipwreck.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Holiday House: A Series of Tales

Holiday House: A Series of Tales

Catherine Sinclair

Left to their own devices, two rambunctious Scottish children turn their home into a chaotic test ground for every absurd idea that enters their heads.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lady Maclairn, the victim of villany

Lady Maclairn, the victim of villany

Mrs. (Rachel) Hunter

A resolute young woman navigates guardianship, unwelcome marriage designs, and domestic intrigue at a remote English estate while holding fast to her childhood love.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Mabel Wynn

Mabel Wynn

Faye Huntington

A quiet faith and a resolute spirit guide a young woman as she transforms a reluctant circle of village youths into devoted followers.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Odeyne's marriage

Odeyne's marriage

Evelyn Everett-Green

When a humble country girl marries into wealthy, high-society splendor, she little knows that financial ruin and reckless gambling threaten to destroy everything they hold dear.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, April 9, 1919

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, April 9, 1919

Various

A satirical cross-section of British life in the immediate wake of the Armistice, capturing a nation navigating the absurdities of peace with weary humor.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The adventures of a black coat

The adventures of a black coat

Anonymous

Witness the bustling streets, scandalous deceptions, and hidden miseries of eighteenth-century London through the observant, threadbare fabric of a deeply traveled garment.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts

The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts

Arthur Wing Pinero

An idealistic author and a disillusioned socialite wrestle with pride, publicity, and the heavy price of social ambition in Edwardian London.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Blind Mother, and The Last Confession

The Blind Mother, and The Last Confession

Caine, Hall, Sir

A parent’s desperate love and the crushing weight of a hidden crime collide in these two haunting tales of moral crisis. They explore how the deepest human attachments can drive individuals to the edge of sanity and beyond.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Chaperon

The Chaperon

Henry James

A young woman defies Victorian society by taking her ostracized, scandal-tainted mother under her wing to restore her to the world.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Dancing Faun

The Dancing Faun

Florence Farr

In a world where society demands rigid falsehoods, a cynical charmer weaves a web of secret shames, card-sharping, and unrequited desires that ends in a fatal gunshot.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Feather Bed

The Feather Bed

Robert Graves

Trapped in a misty upland, a weary traveler wrestles with a failed romance and a procession of religious ghosts.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Making of Mona

The Making of Mona

Mabel Quiller-Couch

A young girl learns that character is built in the quiet, unglamorous moments of daily duty, not in the daydreams of a storybook life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Misses Mallett (The Bridge Dividing)

The Misses Mallett (The Bridge Dividing)

E. H. (Emily Hilda) Young

Beneath a brilliant spring sky, the quiet lives of women in a tight-knit English community mask complex currents of longing, duty, and quiet rebellion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Twickenham Peerage

The Twickenham Peerage

Richard Marsh

When a notorious long-lost peer is supposedly found, a web of imposture, financial scheming, and unexpected domestic devotion reshapes high and low London society.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Trevethlan: A Cornish Story. Volume 1 (of 3)

Trevethlan: A Cornish Story. Volume 1 (of 3)

William Davy Watson

A tale of ancient stones, ancestral grudges, and the fragile intersection of two Cornish families, this narrative explores the heavy cost of pride and the persistence of the past.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Waiting for sailing orders

Waiting for sailing orders

Gladstone, George, Mrs.

As a ninety-year-old Cornish veteran awaits his final summons, a tight-knit fishing family navigates daily hardships, local folklore, and the agonizing absence of a runaway son.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Brave Bessie Westland

Brave Bessie Westland

Emma Leslie

Brave Bessie Westland stands firm as her Quaker family is torn apart by persecution under Charles II, finding refuge and purpose in London before a new life across the Atlantic.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Luke's wife

Luke's wife

Evelyn R. Garratt

This Victorian-era portrait of a young woman’s devotion explores the quiet, often painful sacrifices required to maintain a marriage under the heavy expectations of clerical life.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Mr. Waddington of Wyck

Mr. Waddington of Wyck

May Sinclair

A self-important Cotswold landlord mistakes his own pomposity for youth and magnetism, oblivious to the quiet laughter of every woman around him.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Phemie Keller

Phemie Keller

Riddell, J. H., Mrs.

A lonely traveller finds a hidden Cumberland valley and marries its impoverished, sharp-witted beauty, setting off a quiet struggle over class, identity, and the weight of a single choice.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-09-15

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-09-15

Various

A sharp-witted snapshot of British life in 1920, this collection captures a nation finding its footing in the awkward, weary aftermath of the Great War. It is a mosaic of satire, observation, and light-hearted absurdity.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, June 20, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, June 20, 1917

Various

In the shadow of a devastating global war, daily survival is met not with despair, but with a relentless, biting levity. Laughter becomes a vital mechanism for enduring food shortages, political blunders, and the mud of the trenches.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, December 19, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, December 19, 1917

Various

Amid the severe rationing and grim anxieties of the First World War, Britain's premier satirical weekly finds stubborn, sparkling humor in everyday absurdities.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Teddy: The Story of a Little Pickle

Teddy: The Story of a Little Pickle

John C. (John Conroy) Hutcheson

An irrepressible young truant sets off on a series of daring escapades, moving from snowy country lanes to perilous ocean voyages, before finally finding his true footing.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The End of Elfintown

The End of Elfintown

Jane Barlow

Seduced by a vision of human industry, the Elfin King drives his folk to build a stone city of toil, only to abandon the earth forever when they discover the bitter cost of progress.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Price of Things

The Price of Things

Elinor Glyn

Set against the brutal backdrop of the First World War, this stark psychological drama explores the heavy toll exacted when individuals break human and divine laws.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The subaltern

The subaltern

G. R. (George Robert) Gleig

A vivid, unvarnished account of a young officer’s life during the Peninsular War, capturing the grim reality of the battlefield and the quiet, strange camaraderie of the camp.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Was I right?

Was I right?

Walton, O. F., Mrs.

A quiet country girl chooses her faith over a brilliant but sceptical childhood friend, only to find her steadfast path weaving unexpectedly into the grand and troubled lives of those she serves.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Alice, or the Mysteries

Alice, or the Mysteries

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

The social currents of 19th-century Europe collide with the inner lives of those seeking purpose in a changing world. This sweeping narrative traces the weight of reputation, the burden of ambition, and the quiet pursuit of redemption.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of An open verdict

An open verdict

M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

This Victorian mystery balances the quiet, suffocating atmosphere of a secluded estate with the moral weight of a community gripped by suspicion. It is a dense, character-driven inquiry into the nature of innocence, professional duty, and the long shadows cast by family secrets.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Delaware

Delaware

G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

A noble family’s unraveling under the weight of debt and treachery unfolds in this intricate tale of provincial mystery. It captures the precariousness of social standing when held by the hands of a ruthless creditor.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Farewell

Farewell

F. W. (Frederick William) Harvey

This collection of verse and prose serves as a quiet, lyrical testament to a life deeply rooted in the English countryside and irrevocably altered by the experience of war. It captures the tension between an enduring love for the natural world and the haunting, often bitter, realities of human mortality.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Jaunty Jock, and Other Stories

Jaunty Jock, and Other Stories

Neil Munro

This collection of short stories captures the shifting spirit of the Scottish Highlands and the faded elegance of old Edinburgh, where the boundaries between reality, performance, and memory are perpetually blurred.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lucretia

Lucretia

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

A web of cold-blooded manipulation entangles a wealthy household, where legacy and greed drive characters toward ruin in this chilling portrait of 19th-century social climbing.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Midnight Webs

Midnight Webs

George Manville Fenn

This collection of short stories captures the Victorian spirit of adventure, duty, and sudden calamity, told through the perspectives of men navigating extraordinary crises. It offers a window into the era’s fascination with military discipline, colonial anxieties, and the redemption of the human heart in the face…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Odd Charges: Odd Craft, Part 13

Odd Charges: Odd Craft, Part 13

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

A traveling conjurer descends upon a quiet English village tavern, turning local skepticism into total chaos through a series of increasingly explosive tricks.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, October 29, 1887

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, October 29, 1887

Various

Satirical verse, political parody, and biting commentary on Victorian unrest collide in this sharp snapshot of late-nineteenth-century London life.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98 February 15, 1890

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98 February 15, 1890

Various

This late Victorian periodical offers a kaleidoscopic view of London’s intellectual and social life, captured through the sharp, satirical lens of a legendary cultural institution. It is a vibrant, restless collection of wit, political commentary, and theatrical reviews that defines the pulse of the city in early 1890.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, November 14, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, November 14, 1891

Various

A caustic letter opens a showcase of Victorian social hypocrisies, political theater, and absurd suburban ambitions.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, August 18th, 1920

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, August 18th, 1920

Various

In this snapshot of post-war British life, wit serves as a survival mechanism against a world of bureaucratic absurdity, political theater, and the lingering, unsettled ghosts of the Great War.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 6, 1872

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 6, 1872

Various

The world of 1872 London arrives in these pages, captured with a sharp, satirical wit that mocks the pretensions of the powerful and the absurdities of the age. It is a portrait of a society bracing itself for the future while clutching its traditions.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Tenterhooks

Tenterhooks

Ada Leverson

A comedy of manners set in the rarified air of London’s social elite, where the delicate, unspoken boundaries of marriage and friendship are navigated with sharp, ironic precision.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The great inquiry

The great inquiry

Hilaire Belloc

This satire dissects the absurdity of early 20th-century political obsession with tariff reform. Through the lens of a farcical government committee, the text mocks the circular, contradictory logic of politicians trapped in their own rhetoric.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 340, Supplementary Number (1828)

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 340, Supplementary Number (1828)

Various

This collection offers a curated glimpse into the opulent world of 1829’s "Annuals," those gilded, silk-bound literary gift books that defined the height of Regency-era popular culture and sentiment.

British Literature6 min read