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British Literature — page 119
5,898 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 119 of 123.
Sir Hilton's Sin
George Manville Fenn
The social and moral contradictions of a faded aristocrat collide in this tale of sporting obsession, deception, and the quiet, iron-fisted control of a wife who seeks to sanitize her husband’s legacy.
The Caxtons: A Family Picture
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
The future is a landscape that demands more than reading; it requires a temperament forged in the crucible of both ancient wisdom and raw, unvarnished action.
The Court of Chancery: a satirical poem
Reginald James Blewitt
The machinery of the British legal system serves as a grim stage for this biting critique, where the pursuit of justice is exposed as a ruinous, soul-crushing exercise in vanity and greed. It is a work of righteous indignation disguised as verse, transforming a dull subject into a vivid, often brutal, indictment of…
The Eskdale Herd-boy: A Scottish Tale for the Instruction and Amusement of Young People
Mrs. (Martha) Blackford
A young orphan finds his place in the world through steady industry and the guidance of a compassionate mentor. His journey reveals how small acts of perseverance ripple outward to shape a life of quiet integrity.
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 1026, August 26, 1899
Various
This volume serves as a quintessential artifact of Victorian girlhood, blending domestic fiction with the earnest, instructional tone of a late-nineteenth-century advice periodical. It offers a window into an era where moral instruction and practical household management were considered the bedrock of a young…
The Gold that Glitters: The Mistakes of Jenny Lavender
Emily Sarah Holt
The story of a flighty farm girl who mistakes vanity for opportunity, this historical tale follows a young woman’s brief, disillusioned foray into service during the turbulent escape of King Charles II.
The Perjur'd Husband
Susanna Centlivre
A man torn between his duty to a virtuous wife and a ruinous passion for a betrothed woman finds his world collapsing into a nightmare of betrayal and violence. This fast-moving tragedy captures the volatile atmosphere of a Venetian carnival, where masks hide secret desires and the pursuit of pleasure often leads…
Thomas Wingfold, Curate V1
George MacDonald
A curate struggling with the hollow rituals of his office finds his life upended by a skeptic’s cold honesty and his own desperate search for truth.
By Berwen Banks
Allen Raine
A secret marriage, a perilous storm, and a tragic misunderstanding tear two young lovers apart, leading them on a long, arduous journey toward reconciliation among the rugged cliffs and quiet valleys of the Welsh coast.
Catalogue of Messrs Blackwood and Sons' Publications: Published in 1868 as a Part of The Handy Horse-Book by Maurice Hartland Mahon
William Blackwood and Sons
A comprehensive Victorian trade catalog offers a vivid snapshot of nineteenth-century intellectual life, commercial publishing, and cultural priorities.
Christie Redfern's Troubles
Margaret M. (Margaret Murray) Robertson
The burden of life is rarely heavy enough to crush a spirit anchored in faith, yet even the strongest hearts must eventually navigate the quiet, inevitable transitions between earthly duty and eternal rest.
Family Cares: Deep Waters, Part 7
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
A man returns to his hometown after years abroad, only to find that his attempt to lead a quiet, bachelor life is complicated by the persistent matchmaking of his neighbors and his own impulsive lies. This lighthearted tale follows a protagonist who finds himself trapped in a web of his own fabrication, turning to…
Fine Feathers: Ship's Company, Part 1
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
A humble greengrocer’s attempt to escape his own skin by adopting the rigid manners of a gentleman leads to a domestic transformation that proves both ridiculous and impossible to sustain.
Janet McLaren, the Faithful Nurse
William Henry Giles Kingston
A devoted nurse rescues three orphaned children from poverty, guiding them from a cramped Scottish attic to the burgeoning frontier of Canada. Their journey is a testament to the enduring power of faith, familial duty, and the quiet courage of those who sacrifice everything for the next generation.
Lady Car: The Sequel of a Life
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
A woman’s second marriage promised a quiet refuge from a traumatic past, but the children she brought with her become the architects of her final heartbreak.**
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, April 9, 1892
Various
A bustling, satirical snapshot of Victorian life, capturing the era’s frantic social ambitions, political theater, and peculiar obsessions with wit and the river.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 105, November 18, 1893
Various
This Victorian periodical captures the sharp, satirical heartbeat of late 19th-century London, blending political commentary with the absurdities of daily life. It serves as a time capsule of an era when wit was a public duty.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 14, 1917
Various
A satirical window into a nation at war, where humour becomes the ultimate weapon of endurance.
The crime at Vanderlynden's
R. H. (Ralph Hale) Mottram
A weary British officer navigates the absurdities of the Great War, chasing a bureaucratic ghost story across the scarred landscape of Flanders. This is a subtle, grounded study of duty in a world turned upside down.
The Damsel and the Sage: A Woman's Whimsies
Elinor Glyn
A series of philosophical exchanges between a questioning young woman and a reclusive hermit, this collection of fables and aphorisms explores the volatile, often irrational nature of human love, desire, and pride.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 01, July 4, 1840
Various
This inaugural issue establishes a literary bridge between the past and present of Ireland, blending antiquarian research with contemporary social observation to foster national pride and public enlightenment. It serves as a manifesto for a new kind of accessible, culturally grounded journalism.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 383, August 1, 1829
Various
This collection offers a vibrant, eclectic window into the intellectual and social life of 1829, blending historical sketches, literary anecdotes, and the practical curiosities of a rapidly modernizing world.
The Third and Last Part of Conny-Catching. (1592): With the new deuised knauish arte of Foole-taking
Robert Greene
A warning to the unwary, this account unveils the elaborate, predatory stratagems used by London's criminal underworld to strip honest citizens of their purses and possessions.
The Yellow Flag: A Novel. Volume 3 (of 3)
Edmund Yates
HOOK A web of deception unravels as the truth behind a secret life is exposed, forcing those left in the wreckage to choose between their own desires and the salvation of the innocent.
Three Plays: The Fiddler's House, The Land, Thomas Muskerry
Padraic Colum
This collection of three plays captures the early spirit of the Irish National Theatre, examining the friction between personal yearning and the rigid demands of rural tradition and family duty.
When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead: A Thrilling Detective Story
Corbett, George, Mrs.
Determined to clear her fiancé’s name after he is wrongly convicted of a diamond robbery, a young woman assumes a daring undercover identity to hunt down the true culprits.
Wintry Peacock: From "The New Decameron", Volume III
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
A chance meeting in a snow-bound village pulls an observant stranger into the volatile, private battle between a husband and his wife, a struggle centered on a mysterious letter and a pet peacock.
Zoe
Evelyn Whitaker
A stern, solitary man rejects his daughter’s plea for forgiveness, only to find his hardened heart undone by the mysterious appearance of an abandoned infant.
Delaware
G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
A mysterious, composed stranger arrives in a quiet village, weaving his fate into the lives of a noble but impoverished family as they struggle against the machinations of a cold-hearted peer.
Miracle Gold: A Novel (Vol. 2 of 3)
Richard Dowling
HOOK A brilliant but physically distorted inventor claims to create "miracle gold" while a desperate socialite discovers a royal lineage hidden in her family’s past.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, November 11, 1893
Various
This collection serves as a satirical time capsule, capturing the restless, witty, and deeply political spirit of late-Victorian London.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-02-04
Various
The world of 1920, as captured in these pages, is a place of restless reconstruction, where the mundane struggles of post-war life collide with the absurdity of a changing social order. It is a mosaic of satirical observations, fictional sketches, and humorous commentary that reflects a society trying, with varying…
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, January 25th, 1890
Various
This collection offers a window into the late Victorian mind, blending sharp political satire with the lighthearted absurdity of a society obsessed with fashion, public spectacles, and the minor irritations of urban existence. It is a record of a specific moment—January 1890—where high-minded parliamentary debates,…
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, February 5, 1919
Various
This volume serves as a snapshot of British life in the immediate aftermath of the Great War, capturing the weary, eccentric, and hopeful transition from total mobilization to the uncertain realities of peace.
The Fine Lady's Airs (1709)
Thomas Baker
A sharp-witted comedy from the early eighteenth century, this play dissects the marriage market and the vanity of the London beau monde with cynical, fast-paced humor.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 283, November 17, 1827
Various
This volume functions as a curated cabinet of nineteenth-century intellectual curiosities, blending historical reportage, literary commentary, and lighthearted social satire into a vibrant mosaic of the Georgian era.
The Parish Register
George Crabbe
The history of a village is not found in grand monuments, but in the quiet, unrelenting ledger of the parish register, where every birth, marriage, and death marks the passing of a common life.
The Rider in Khaki: A Novel
Nat Gould
A dashing officer swaps the battlefield for the racetrack, navigating the perils of wartime espionage and the complexities of the heart in this quintessential Edwardian adventure.
The Third String: Odd Craft, Part 12
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
The perils of courtship are best navigated by the wary, especially when the object of one’s affection is already spoken for by a local prize-fighter. This wry tale of romantic deception reveals the high price of vanity among the working men of Wapping.
A Great Success
Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
A sudden windfall of literary fame threatens to dismantle a marriage, forcing a quiet, resourceful wife to confront her husband’s new, elite social circle and his dangerous obsession with a powerful, manipulative aristocrat.
Alone in London
Hesba Stretton
A solitary London shopkeeper finds his life transformed when an abandoned child arrives on his doorstep. This poignant narrative follows a quiet, faith-filled redemption, exploring how the most vulnerable among us find belonging in a bustling, indifferent city.
Elegies and Other Small Poems
Matilda Betham
The small, earnest verses of a young woman at the close of the eighteenth century reveal a heart seeking solace in the rhythms of nature, the bonds of family, and the steadying grace of quiet reflection.
Jemmy Stubbins, or the Nailer Boy: Illustrations of the Law of Kindness
Unknown
An American traveller steps inside an English smithy to escape the rain and discovers a child whose youth is being relentlessly consumed by the anvil.
Mohawks: A Novel. Volume 3 of 3
M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
In the glittering, deceitful world of Georgian high society, a dying rake and a resolute young couple navigate the dangerous shadows of hidden parentage, past murders, and unforgiving greed.
Mountain Moggy: The Stoning of the Witch
William Henry Giles Kingston
Cruel village antics burn a helpless woman’s home, but a young boy’s bitter mistake opens a path to unexpected mercy and lost family.
Owen's Fortune
West, Frederic, Mrs.
This is a quiet, earnest story about a young orphan who travels to a bustling port city to make his fortune, only to discover that the most valuable treasures are not those found in a ledger.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105 December 16, 1893
Various
This quintessential snapshot of late-Victorian culture captures a world defined by parliamentary squabbles, theatrical wit, and the restless, satirical spirit of a nation teetering on the edge of the new century.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, March 7, 1891
Various
A dense fog halts a husband and wife in their carriage, setting off a night of blind collisions, missed directions, and comedic misdirection through the streets of Victorian London.