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British Literature — page 34

6,377 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 34 of 133.

Cover of Not Like Other Girls

Not Like Other Girls

Rosa Nouchette Carey

Three gentlewomen face sudden poverty by opening a trade shop in a seaside town, risking social disgrace to preserve their independence and discover genuine love.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of The Altar Steps

The Altar Steps

Compton MacKenzie

A boy raised amid the doctrinal storms of the Victorian Church of England seeks a faith he can live by, pursuing a personal sense of the divine from childhood fear to the threshold of ordination.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Cathedral: A Novel

The Cathedral: A Novel

Hugh Walpole

A grand Victorian cathedral town becomes a battlefield as two ambitious clergymen lock horns for local dominance, turning institutional politics into a tragedy of hubris.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry

The Romance of the Forest, interspersed with some pieces of poetry

Ann Ward Radcliffe

An endangered young woman escapes a treacherous father, only to find herself trapped in a ruined forest abbey alongside a desperate fugitive, a ruthless aristocrat, and the shadowed legacy of a forgotten murder.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Poems By The Way & Love Is Enough

Poems By The Way & Love Is Enough

William Morris

A restless yearning for ideal beauty and human connection drives a journey through love, grief, and political struggle.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Poor Scholar: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of

The Poor Scholar: Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of

William Carleton

On a harsh Irish hillside swept by freezing rain, a peasant father and his teenage son dig for tiny potatoes on a barren, high-rent farm. Driven by filial love and a hunger for learning, the boy sets out on foot toward Munster with a satchel of books strapped to his back.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lord Ormont and His Aminta

Lord Ormont and His Aminta

George Meredith

A boy and girl drawn together in youth discover that the laws of Victorian society matter far less than the laws of their own growth.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Narrative and Lyric Poems (Second Series) for Use in the Lower School

Narrative and Lyric Poems (Second Series) for Use in the Lower School

Unknown

A classic Victorian classroom volume opens a window onto the verse that shaped a generation of young readers.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Great Keinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of Twilight and the Unseen

The Great Keinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of Twilight and the Unseen

Arthur Conan Doyle

An uncanny blend of Victorian rationalism and the supernatural where scientific precision collides headlong with the unknowable world of spirits, ancient curses, and psychological horror.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The O'Donoghue: Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago

The O'Donoghue: Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago

Charles Lever

A ruined estate in wild Kerry, a proud family tumbling into bankruptcy, and a country trembling on the brink of rebellion in the 1790s.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of A Collection of Ballads

A Collection of Ballads

Andrew Lang

A single stray arrow or a broken word at a doorway turns love into murder and loyalty into a burning tower. Across these ancient songs, men and women face fate with cold steel, desperate magic, and absolute resolve.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Gray youth: The story of a very modern courtship and a very modern marriage

Gray youth: The story of a very modern courtship and a very modern marriage

Oliver Onions

This portrait of a restless, self-styled intellectual couple navigating the social and financial anxieties of early twentieth-century London exposes the fragility of their "modern" ideals when confronted with the crushing weight of reality.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Prose Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Vol. 1 [of 2]

The Prose Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Vol. 1 [of 2]

Percy Bysshe Shelley

A visionary mind leaves behind a singular archive of creation, blending the fevered intensity of youth with the refined, sharp-edged intellect of a mature philosopher. These volumes gather the scattered brilliance of a revolutionary spirit.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Vanishing Man: A Detective Romance

The Vanishing Man: A Detective Romance

R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman

A missing man, a bizarre will, and a trail of ancient Egyptian relics draw a physician into a lethal puzzle. This masterfully plotted mystery redefines the boundaries of forensic science.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Catherine: A Story

Catherine: A Story

William Makepeace Thackeray

The tragedy of a life surrendered to vice serves as a stark, uncompromising warning against the romanticization of criminals. This narrative meticulously strips away the veneer of heroism from those who inhabit the fringes of society.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of More William

More William

Richmal Crompton

A perpetually unimpressed eleven-year-old boy navigates the absurdities of the adult world with a mix of fierce independence and accidental chaos. This collection of escapades highlights the timeless collision between childhood imagination and middle-class propriety.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The blood of the vampire

The blood of the vampire

Florence Marryat

A young woman arrives in Europe, unaware that her presence slowly drains the vitality of those around her. She carries an ancestral curse, a biological hunger that marks her as a creature of shadow.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 1

Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 1

William Wordsworth

This collection captures the quiet, profound intensity of a mind observing the natural world and the shifting tides of human history. It invites readers to look closely at the small, often-overlooked wonders of daily life and to carry those observations into the broader, more turbulent arena of duty and political…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06

A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 06

Unknown

This collection of early English dramas serves as a vital historical bridge, capturing the stylistic evolution from the didactic moralities of the Middle Ages to the secular, character-driven stage of the Elizabethan era. These five plays illustrate a transitional period where abstract virtues and vices still share…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Cashel Byron's Profession

Cashel Byron's Profession

Bernard Shaw

A young prize-fighter with the soul of a gentleman and an intellectual heiress collide, challenging the rigid social boundaries of their Victorian world.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Tony Butler

Tony Butler

Charles Lever

A spirited, wayward youth searches for a path in life, oscillating between the quiet comforts of a seaside cottage and the dangerous, shifting alliances of European political intrigue.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Donovan Pasha, and Some People of Egypt

Donovan Pasha, and Some People of Egypt

Gilbert Parker

The world of late nineteenth-century Egypt is a labyrinth of shifting sands, iron-willed officials, and ancient customs. This collection of stories captures the intersection of colonial ambition and the enduring, immutable spirit of the Nile.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Selections from Wordsworth and Tennyson

Selections from Wordsworth and Tennyson

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron

These selections offer a profound meditation on the enduring power of nature and the human capacity for resilience, capturing the distinct voices of two masters of English verse.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of A Double Story

A Double Story

George MacDonald

A spoiled princess and an arrogant shepherd girl find their deepest flaws brought to light by a mysterious, wise woman who seeks to teach them the grace of humility. These two children, each consumed by a different form of self-importance, are led through trials that strip away their pride, revealing the beauty…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Cornelius O'Dowd Upon Men And Women And Other Things In General

Cornelius O'Dowd Upon Men And Women And Other Things In General

Charles Lever

This collection of essays and character sketches captures the wandering spirit of a mid-nineteenth-century observer who has traded the rigid life of a barrister for the observant, often cynical freedom of a "diverting Vagabond." It offers a witty, skeptical, and deeply personal tour through the political and social…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

William Shakespeare

The sea is both a cradle and a coffin in this sprawling, dreamlike adventure where virtue is tested by the caprices of fortune. It is a story of loss, long separation, and the improbable grace of reunion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare

A headstrong woman meets her match in a volatile suitor, leading to a high-stakes battle of wills that tests the boundaries of marriage and social performance.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Betty Vivian: A Story of Haddo Court School

Betty Vivian: A Story of Haddo Court School

L. T. Meade

This story follows a spirited newcomer’s struggle to maintain her integrity while navigating the rigid social hierarchy of an elite boarding school. It is a portrait of schoolgirl loyalties, moral dilemmas, and the burden of secrets.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Two Poems Against Pope: One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope and the Blatant Beast

Two Poems Against Pope: One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope and the Blatant Beast

Anonymous

A collection of vitriolic, anonymous pamphlets, this volume captures the relentless personal and professional warfare that defined the eighteenth-century literary scene. It documents the intense animosity directed toward one of the era’s most celebrated poets by his contemporary rivals.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages

Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages

Unknown

Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages is a collection of narratives exploring the quiet compromises, hidden histories, and unexpected reconciliations that define domestic stability. It examines how people manage the dissonance between their idealized expectations and the realities of long-term…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Brooke's Daughter: A Novel

Brooke's Daughter: A Novel

Adeline Sergeant

HOOK A young woman steps out of a sheltered convent life to confront a father she barely knows, only to find him caught in a web of scandal and false accusation.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Daltons

The Daltons

Charles Lever

A sweeping saga of fortunes lost and found, this narrative follows an Irish family’s wanderings across Europe, where social ambition, reckless debt, and the heavy weight of the past collide.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Death of a hero

Death of a hero

Richard Aldington

This piercing account of a young man caught in the maw of the Great War dissects the suffocating social conventions of the Victorian era and the subsequent, hollow carnage of the trenches. It is a work of fierce, unvarnished honesty that refuses to romanticize either the stifling domesticity of pre-war England or…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Georgian Poetry 1916-1917

Georgian Poetry 1916-1917

Unknown

This anthology preserves a vital moment in early twentieth-century literature, capturing the fragile, introspective voices of a generation standing on the precipice of a changing world. It serves as a somber yet lyrical bridge between the pastoral traditions of the past and the harsh realities of the Great War.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Purcell Papers

The Purcell Papers

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

A haunting collection of Irish folklore and gothic suspense, this volume captures the thin, treacherous veil between the mundane world and the terrifying unknown.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 416, June 1850

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 416, June 1850

Various

This mid-nineteenth-century literary and political miscellany offers a window into the intense ideological battles and cultural preoccupations of 1850, capturing a Britain caught between tradition and a rapidly changing world.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Books and Authors: Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches

Books and Authors: Curious Facts and Characteristic Sketches

Anonymous

A collection of literary curiosities, this volume gathers the eccentric habits, private struggles, and sharp-witted remarks of famous writers to reveal the human fragility behind the canon.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Elene

Elene

James Mercer Garnett

This collection of Old English verse captures the haunting, heroic intensity of early medieval life, weaving together divine visions, legendary battles, and the profound ache of a world in transition.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I

English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I

Unknown

This collection gathers the rhythmic, haunting echoes of a vanishing world, preserving the stories that once lived on the tongues of the common people of England and Scotland. It serves as a rigorous, scholarly anchor for the oral traditions that shaped language and folklore for centuries.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of King Henry VI, Part 1

King Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

As the empire of a warrior king crumbles, internal rivalries and the rise of a visionary French maid herald the bloody twilight of English dominance in France.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Mollie's Prince: A Novel

Mollie's Prince: A Novel

Rosa Nouchette Carey

This is a story of quiet devotion and the unseen threads of history that bind families together. It explores how kindness can rewrite past mistakes, offering a gentle, character-driven look at love, sacrifice, and the redemptive power of forgiveness.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume 3 (of 3): Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs and Other Pieces of Our Earlier Poets Together With Some Few of Later Date

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume 3 (of 3): Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs and Other Pieces of Our Earlier Poets Together With Some Few of Later Date

Unknown

These pages gather the ghosts of old English verse, preserving the ballads, legends, and lyrical fragments that once defined the heartbeat of a culture.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Songs from Books

Songs from Books

Rudyard Kipling

Between the covers of this collection lies a chorus of voices drawn from an entire career of storytelling. It is an assembly of the verses, songs, and chapter epigraphs that once served as anchors for longer tales, now gathered into a standalone treasury of rhythm and observation.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of St. Patrick's Eve

St. Patrick's Eve

Charles Lever

The celebration of a national feast day provides the backdrop for a quiet, unfolding tragedy of displacement and moral reckoning. A landscape defined by both savage beauty and grinding poverty sets the stage for a story about the fragile bonds between the land, those who own it, and those who work it.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Daughters of Danaus

The Daughters of Danaus

Mona Caird

The courage to defy tradition is often a lonely burden, but for those who find themselves living for others’ expectations, the price of silence may be the loss of the self. This narrative explores the quiet, devastating struggle of a woman attempting to reconcile her intellectual ambitions with the rigid social…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 3 (of 3): Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in the Southern Counties of Scotland

Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 3 (of 3): Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in the Southern Counties of Scotland

Walter Scott

These songs of a vanishing frontier capture the raw, violent, and tender pulse of a world where history and legend are woven into a single, haunting tapestry.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Peter Ibbetson

Peter Ibbetson

George Du Maurier

A man imprisoned for life discovers a psychic portal to his own past, where he reconnects with his lost childhood love. This haunting narrative explores the fragile border between memory, madness, and the eternal soul.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of The Major

The Major

Ralph Connor

The sudden, violent intrusion of the Great War into the lives of a close-knit Canadian community tests the moral fiber of a young man and the steadfastness of the woman he loves.

British Literature7 min read