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British Literature — page 118
5,898 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 118 of 123.
The Moon out of Reach
Margaret Pedler
When longing for the unattainable leaves hands empty, fate can still unexpectedly place the tremulous star of love within reach.
A letter to a country clergyman, occasioned by his address to Lord Teignmouth
John Owen
The survival of the British and Foreign Bible Society rests upon a simple, radical premise: that the text of Scripture, shared across denominations, serves as a bridge rather than a weapon of theological division.
A Satyr Against Hypocrites
John Phillips
A biting, ribald, and unflinching verse assault, the work dissects the perceived moral failings of the mid-seventeenth-century Presbyterian establishment with sharp, unforgiving wit.
A visit to the Bazaar
Lover of children
A guided tour of a bustling marketplace becomes an expansive lesson in geography, history, and the value of industry. Through the eyes of a curious family, the world is brought home to a single London square.
Alice, or the Mysteries
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
Caught between a calculating politician she does not love and a brilliant recluse who keeps his distance, a young woman fights to reclaim her freedom.
Diana Trelawny
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
A wealthy, independent woman finds her peaceful life in Italy upended by the encroaching needs and romantic misunderstandings of a small, clingy circle of acquaintances.
Evan Harrington
George Meredith
A young man struggles to outrun his humble origins, only to find that his efforts to act the gentleman are constantly sabotaged by his own family's social ambitions.
Footprints
Annette Lyster
A heavy, uncharacteristic snowfall brings a long-buried secret to light, forcing an elderly man to confront the cowardice that shaped his entire life. This quiet, reflective tale explores the burden of hidden guilt and the grace found in final honesty.
Hocken and Hunken: A Tale of Troy
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Two retired sea captains anchor themselves in a Cornish coastal town, only to find their long friendship tested by a formidable local widow and a series of escalating domestic absurdities.
Ida Nicolari
Eglanton Thorne
HOOK A devoted daughter finds her quiet, artistic world in London upended by the onset of her father’s blindness and the dawning realization of her own spiritual calling.
Jock with Mousie
Agnes Giberne
A sensitive boy finds his courage tested when he is sent away to live with relatives and falls under the sway of a mischievous, strong-willed girl.
Leila or, the Siege of Granada, Book I
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
Besieged by Spain and fractured by internal treason, Granada stands on the brink of ruin as mystic and warrior alike maneuver for its fragile throne.
Married or single?, Vol. 2 (of 3)
B. M. (Bithia Mary) Croker
The secret of a hidden marriage strains against the rigid decorum of Victorian high society, where wealth and station threaten to eclipse the ties of the heart.
Mixed Grill
W. Pett (William Pett) Ridge
Through a series of glimpses into the lives of ordinary Londoners, this collection captures the small triumphs and persistent illusions of the Edwardian era with biting, observational wit.
Notes and Queries, Number 80, May 10, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
In an era of rapid industrialization, a quiet fraternity of scholars and curious readers gathered in print to trade historical clues, solve literary puzzles, and preserve the fading fragments of the past.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, December 2, 1914
Various
This snapshot of December 1914 captures a nation at the onset of the Great War, blending biting political satire with the absurd, daily realities of a society rapidly reorganizing itself for a long struggle.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, January 10, 1891
Various
A riotous blend of Victorian satire, theatrical reviews, and absurd mock-sagas captures the eccentric pulse of late-nineteenth-century London life.
Punch, Or the London Charivari, Volume 102, April 16, 1892
Various
This collection of Victorian journalism captures the pulse of late 19th-century London, blending sharp political satire with the wry, observational humor of a society navigating rapid technological and cultural change.
The Battle of Hexham
George Colman
The fires of civil war burn across the north of England, where a desperate queen and a disguised wife both hunt for the men they love amidst the ruins of a broken kingdom.
The Ghost of Chatham
Anonymous
A spirit of stern constitutional warning rises in the halls of power to rebuke the moral failings of a nation’s leaders. This haunting poetic appeal serves as both a political indictment and a plea for historical redemption.
The Village and The Newspaper
George Crabbe
Harsh, unromantic, and fiercely observant, George Crabbe strips away pastoral illusions to expose the grinding poverty, rough smuggling, and quiet despair of an English coastal village, alongside the shallow distractions of the daily press.
Women of the Country
Gertrude Bone
A solitary countrywoman's quiet life of service is upended by the tragic downfall of a neighbor's pregnant mistress, culminating in an act of profound redemption.
Burgo's Romance
T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight
A disinherited young gentleman finds his fortunes entangled with a mysterious, manipulative aunt and a dangerous conspiracy, forcing him to fight for his uncle’s life and his own future.
Eugene Aram
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A brilliant, reclusive scholar finds his quiet life in a country village shattered when his dark, hidden past—a crime of violence—emerges to confront him.
Mrs. Arthur
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
An ill-matched marriage between a refined young man and a spirited, unpolished woman leads to a painful collision between social worlds. Can two people who lack a common language of taste or upbringing ever truly reach one another?
No Abolition of Slavery: Or the Universal Empire of Love, A poem
James Boswell
HOOK This polemic verse presents a staunch, contrarian defense of the slave trade, framing the institution as an essential component of social order and the "Universal Empire of Love.
Pelham
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A dandy’s wit serves as his sharpest weapon in a world of high-stakes gambling, social artifice, and dangerous secrets. This novel defines the "silver-fork" tradition with elegance and a cynical eye.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-11-03
Various
This collection captures the sharp, satirical pulse of British life in 1920, blending political bite, surreal household mishaps, and the wry absurdity of post-war recovery into a single, enduring voice of wit.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 105, July 15th 1893
Various
A sweltering London summer yields to a sparkling parade of satire, where high-society gossip, parliamentary bickering, and absurd parodies rub shoulders in a single week's print.
The Cornhill Magazine (Vol. IV, No. 2, August 1861)
Various
This August 1861 edition of The Cornhill Magazine serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic window into the Victorian intellectual landscape. It captures a world wrestling with the complexities of social reform, global politics, and the enduring power of narrative.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 270, August 25, 1827
Various
This collection serves as a nineteenth-century digest, weaving together the commerce of cities, the folklore of the Irish countryside, and the somber realities of public justice. It captures the diverse curiosities of a reading public eager for both instruction and light entertainment.
The Temple of Glass
John Lydgate
Trapped in a dream of a crystalline sanctuary, a lonely narrator bears witness to the desperate pleas of lovers seeking mercy from the goddess of love.
Thomas Wingfold, Curate V3
George MacDonald
The journey toward truth is rarely a straight path, often winding through the darkest valleys of personal doubt and human suffering. This narrative explores the quiet, rigorous labor of faith in a world where belief feels increasingly fragile.
Archibald Marshall, a Realistic Novelist
William Lyon Phelps
This critical study serves as an appreciative guide to a master of the realistic English novel, arguing that the true storyteller’s art lies in the quiet observation of the human heart.
At Sunwich Port, Part 3.: Contents: Chapters 11-15
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
The maritime town of Sunwich Port is a place where fathers and sons engage in petty, elaborate schemes, unaware that their own meddling will inevitably orchestrate their undoing.
Blue-Stocking Hall, (Vol. 3 of 3)
William Pitt Scargill
The inner lives of a refined, close-knit family are laid bare through the letters they exchange while navigating the shifting tides of personal loss, moral inquiry, and the hollow expectations of high society.
Dirty Work: Deep Waters, Part 11
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
The night-watchman’s quiet life on the wharf is shattered by a pickpocket, a stolen purse, and a desperate, muddy hunt for a fortune that refuses to stay buried. He learns the hard way that greed and solitude make for a cold, messy business on the river.
Divine Songs and Meditacions (1653)
Collins, An, active 17th century
The life of a soul is a long, arduous climb from the darkness of earthly affliction toward the steady light of divine grace. Through measured verse and prose reflection, a singular voice emerges from a seventeenth-century sickbed to map the terrain of faith.
Doctor Luttrell's First Patient
Rosa Nouchette Carey
A struggle for subsistence in a drab corner of late-Victorian London yields to quiet grace when a young doctor’s wife acts on a flash of sympathy.
Legend of Moulin Huet
Lizzie A. Freeth
A stern miller’s obsession with political purity and a jealous suitor’s malice threaten to destroy a romance, leaving a trail of blood and fire on the crags of a remote island.
Lollingdon Downs, and Other Poems, with Sonnets
John Masefield
This collection of verse grapples with the fragile, flickering nature of human existence, setting the brief vitality of individual life against the vast, indifferent backdrop of the natural world and the passage of time.
Meg of the heather
Evelyn R. Garratt
HOOK A young wanderer finds beauty in the heather, only to be cast into a world of privilege and sudden, cold indifference. She must learn that true belonging is not found in velvet or fine speech.
"My Novel"
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A sprawling exploration of English character and societal change, this expansive work weaves together the lives of rural villagers, displaced aristocrats, and ambitious climbers.
One dialogue, or Colloquye of Erasmus (entituled Diuersoria): Translated oute of Latten into Englyshe: And Imprinted, to the ende that the Judgement of the Learned maye be hadde before the Translator procede in the reste
Desiderius Erasmus
Travelers compare the comforts of the road with the rigorous customs of a foreign culture, debating the merits of hospitality. This short, spirited dialogue offers a window into the expectations of early modern travel, capturing the social friction that occurs when one way of life meets another.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 22, 1916
Various
This volume captures the weary yet resilient spirit of wartime Britain, offering a satirical mirror to the anxieties, absurdities, and official posturing of the spring of 1916.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, November 28, 1891
Various
HOOK This collection captures the biting, satirical pulse of late Victorian London, where the humor is as sharp as a tailor’s shears and the commentary spares neither the politician nor the social climber.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, August 6, 1892
Various
A late-Victorian variety show in print, this single issue captures Londoners sending up their leaders, their high society, their street hawkers, and themselves.
Rhoda Fleming
George Meredith
This is a story of two sisters whose lives diverge when the older, delicate Dahlia leaves their quiet Kentish farm for the deceptive allure of London. Their bond is tested by a devastating secret, challenging the rigidity of Victorian morality and the strength of family pride.