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British Literature — page 61
4,240 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 61 of 89.
Bye-Ways
Robert Hichens
The boundaries between sanity and madness, and between the self and the "other," dissolve in this haunting collection of tales. These stories explore the volatile intersection where obsession meets the limits of human identity.
For Love of the King: A Burmese Masque
Oscar Wilde
The story of a king who finds solace in a forbidden love, only to discover that the demands of a throne are as relentless as the passage of time.
More About Peggy
Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
HOOK A determined young woman navigates the complexities of Victorian social life, balancing the demands of managing a household with the unpredictable stirrings of her own heart.
O'Flaherty V.C.: A Recruiting Pamphlet
Bernard Shaw
A returning war hero finds that the peace of his Irish village is far more chaotic and demanding than the trenches he escaped.
Quicksilver: The Boy With No Skid to His Wheel
George Manville Fenn
A retired country doctor decides to adopt a boy from a local orphanage, only to find that transforming a "wild" foundling into a polished gentleman is far more complicated than his theories suggest. This Victorian tale explores the friction between social classes, the endurance of childhood spirit, and the…
Scarhaven Keep
J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher
A theater professional vanishes near a crumbling coastal fortress, pulling a casual acquaintance into a dark web of impostors, hidden inheritances, and maritime intrigue. This brisk mystery navigates the intersections of class, reputation, and the dangerous secrets buried within a remote English village.
The Little Cryptogram: A Literal Application to the Play of Hamlet of the Cipher System of Mr. Ignatius Donnelly
Joseph Gilpin Pyle
This sharp-witted critique satirizes the Baconian theory of Shakespearean authorship by applying its own convoluted mathematical logic to the play of *Hamlet*, ultimately revealing the "hidden" prophecies of a nineteenth-century politician.
The Little Schoolmaster Mark: A Spiritual Romance
J. H. (Joseph Henry) Shorthouse
This evocative, meditative work explores the collision between aesthetic beauty and spiritual sincerity in an eighteenth-century German court, examining whether art and holiness can ever truly reconcile.
The Simple Adventures of a Memsahib
Sara Jeannette Duncan
A young woman leaves the comforts of England for the stifling, sun-drenched social hierarchies of colonial Calcutta, discovering that domestic life in the tropics is a delicate, often absurd negotiation with custom and climate.
The Vanity Girl
Compton MacKenzie
Ambition is a mirror that reflects only what we desire to see, and for those born outside the gates of aristocracy, the climb toward the summit often demands a cost that cannot be repaid.
A Man from the North
Arnold Bennett
An aspiring writer leaves his provincial home to conquer London, only to discover that the metropolis is a cold mirror reflecting his own mediocrity.
In the Roar of the Sea
S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould
A young woman’s desperate struggle for independence pits her against a ruthless, enigmatic smuggler in the windswept isolation of the Cornish coast.
Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Volume 2
William Wordsworth
This collection of pastoral poems explores the quiet, profound intersections between the rugged natural world and the delicate, often tragic lives of those who dwell within its shadow.
Mr. Pim Passes By: A Comedy in Three Acts
A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne
HOOK A well-meaning, muddled traveler accidentally shatters the tranquil domesticity of a traditional country household with news that turns a respectable marriage into a scandal.
Out in the Forty-Five: Duncan Keith's Vow
Emily Sarah Holt
The quiet depth of a young woman’s soul serves as the witness to a nation in turmoil, where the cost of loyalty is measured not in kingdoms, but in the sacrifice of one life for another.
Precaution: A Novel
James Fenimore Cooper
A cautionary tale of love and social standing, where the heavy weight of hidden secrets and the danger of delayed truth threaten to undo the happiness of a virtuous family.
Stories of Red Hanrahan
W. B. (William Butler) Yeats
A hedge schoolmaster wanders the Irish countryside, forever chasing the elusive, haunting beauty of the Sidhe. His path is a cycle of inspiration, exile, and inevitable, lonely decline.
The Adventures of Harry Revel
Arthur Quiller-Couch
A young boy escapes the suffocating walls of a foundling hospital, only to tumble into a world of smugglers, soldiers, and secret loves. This rollicking tale follows his transformation from an anonymous orphan into a brave young man caught in the machinery of the Napoleonic Wars.
![Cover of The Book of Ballads, edited by Bon Gaultier [pseud.]](https://cdn.myebooksbuy.com/c/the-book-of-ballads-edited-by-bon-gaultier-pseud-martin-theodore-sir.webp)
The Book of Ballads, edited by Bon Gaultier [pseud.]
Martin, Theodore, Sir
A collection of sharp-witted literary parodies, this volume captures the playful, satirical spirit of Victorian magazine culture through the collaborative genius of two lifelong friends. It remains a masterclass in affectionate mockery of the poets, novelists, and fashions of the mid-nineteenth century.
The Gully of Bluemansdyke, and Other stories
Arthur Conan Doyle
The rugged frontier and the quiet shadows of the nineteenth century collide in these tales, where sudden violence and desperate bravery define the boundaries of human endurance.
The Landleaguers
Anthony Trollope
A gripping, somber portrait of a society unravelling, this final novel captures the raw anxiety of Ireland during the violent land disputes of the early 1880s. It is a work of deep, troubled observation.
The Woman in the Bazaar
Alice Perrin
A man burdened by the wreckage of a previous marriage finds his second attempt at domestic happiness threatened by the same possessiveness that destroyed his past. This story traces the quiet, suffocating pressures of colonial life and the personal costs of a rigid, controlling nature.
White Heather: A Novel (Volume 3 of 3)
William Black
A young man from the Scottish Highlands struggles to find his footing in the cold, crowded streets of Glasgow, all while holding onto a secret promise of love that spans miles and social divides.
Auld Licht Idyls
J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
The winters in the glen of Quharity are long and silent, but the village of Thrums lives in the memory of the narrator as a place of fierce character, stubborn pride, and deep-seated habit.
Bay: A Book of Poems
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
These poems capture the heavy, luminous atmosphere of a world irrevocably altered by conflict, grounding personal grief in the landscape of a vanishing England. They map the internal geography of an observer caught between a fading past and a hollow, mechanical present.
Children of men
Eden Phillpotts
A man’s jealous heart and a woman’s quiet dignity collide amidst the unforgiving beauty of the Dartmoor landscape. This is a study of love, domestic friction, and the slow, often painful, evolution of the human spirit.
Days with Sir Roger De Coverley
Steele, Richard, Sir
A gentle and observant companion visits a country estate, finding in the quirks of a benevolent baronet the quiet joys of an older, slower England. These sketches offer a window into a vanished social world.
Dora Thorne
Charlotte M. Brame
The consequences of an impulsive marriage across class lines ripple through generations, turning a romantic rebellion into a long, sorrowful test of pride and truth. A single act of youthful defiance ultimately demands a lifetime of reckoning for both the parents and their children.
Letters to Dead Authors
Andrew Lang
This volume presents a series of spirited, intimate, and often whimsical addresses to the great literary figures of the past. It offers a unique bridge between the Victorian world and the giants of classical and modern letters, serving as both a tribute and a critical dialogue.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
This is a devastating, surgical portrait of a woman whose relentless pursuit of "goodness" slowly strips away her humanity, leaving her isolated in the hollow shell of a life.
Patsy
S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett
The coast of Scotland is a wild stage for the high-spirited Patsy, a young woman who defies societal expectations and outruns the press-gangs of her time to forge her own destiny.
Prefaces to Four Seventeenth-Century Romances: Roger Boyle, Lord Broghill, preface to Parthenissa (1655) Sir George Mackenzie, "Apologie for romances," prefixed to Aretina, the serious romance (1660) Nathaniel Ingelo, preface to Bentivolio and Urania (1660) Robert Boyle, preface to Theodora and Didymus (1687)
Boyle, Roger, Earl of Orrery
HOOK This collection captures the seventeenth-century struggle to define the novel, as writers wrestled with the tension between imaginative invention and the moral duty to provide readers with "serious" truth.
Res Judicatæ: Papers and Essays
Augustine Birrell
This collection offers a series of sharp, conversational reflections on the lives and works of major English writers, blending scholarly insight with the informal charm of a well-read friend.
The Double-Dealer: A Comedy
William Congreve
A web of calculated deceit threatens to ruin a young couple’s future, but the very architect of the chaos may hold the key to their salvation. This sharp, cynical satire dissects the fragile nature of trust in a world governed by appearances.
The Lighter Side of English Life
Frank Frankfort Moore
This observation of English life explores the peculiar, often absurd social rituals of provincial towns, where the arrival of a stranger or the installation of a shop window becomes a matter of grave public importance.
The MS. in a Red Box
John A. (John Arthur) Hamilton
A young man is hunted through the marshlands of seventeenth-century England by a powerful, jealous rival who seeks to claim his life and the woman he loves.
The Peace Egg and Other tales
Juliana Horatia Ewing
Christmas carries weight beyond the season’s merriment, grounding family bonds and childhood imagination in the enduring traditions of play, performance, and the simple act of belonging.
The White Room
Fergus Hume
A corpse in a locked suburban house leads a web of lovers and suspects through hidden lives, false identities, and quiet suburban rot.
A Siren
Thomas Adolphus Trollope
This mystery set in the fading grandeur of 19th-century Ravenna weaves a intricate web of social ambition, unrequited passion, and the shadow of a violent crime. It offers a slow-burning look at how the secrets of the aristocracy and the desperation of the working class collide during the final, frantic days of…
Christopher Quarles: College Professor and Master Detective
Percy James Brebner
A retired academic with an unconventional mind unravels complex crimes from the quietude of his London home. He mentors a younger detective, guiding him through a series of baffling puzzles that test both logic and human empathy.
Gladys, the Reaper
Anne Beale
The quiet strength of an outcast girl transforms a fractured Welsh community, proving that even the most rigid hearts can soften under the weight of genuine humility.
In the Whirl of the Rising
Bertram Mitford
This is a tale of resilience and redemption, following a man unjustly branded a coward who finds his true measure amidst the brutal chaos of a colonial uprising. It explores the friction between social reputation and character, set against the backdrop of the rugged South African frontier.
Loyalties
John Galsworthy
The social veneer of England’s landed gentry cracks when a young officer is accused of theft, forcing those around him to choose between their private codes of honor and the harsh mandates of the law.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, December 29, 1920
Various
This collection captures the sharp, cynical, and weary wit of post-war London, where the end of 1920 is met not with grand idealism, but with dry humor and a longing for normalcy.
The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home
Charles Dickens
A humble hearthside spirit watches over a gentle carrier and his spirited young wife, weaving a domestic tapestry of hidden identities, youthful promises, and the quiet resilience of love amidst potential misunderstanding.
The Defeat of Youth, and Other Poems
Aldous Huxley
This collection of early verse captures the feverish transition from intellectual detachment to the raw, messy business of living. It serves as a candid record of a young mind struggling to reconcile the purity of art with the physical demands of human desire.
The Duke of York's steps
Henry Wade
A prominent London banker dies suddenly of natural causes, but a sharp-eyed investigator suspects a calculated murder hidden behind a facade of high-finance respectability.
The Guinea Stamp: A Tale of Modern Glasgow
Annie S. Swan
A young woman’s journey from the shadows of a harsh, industrial Glasgow childhood to the refined halls of the wealthy reveals the enduring truth that human worth is measured by character, not by social standing.