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British Literature — page 87

4,240 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 87 of 89.

Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, May 26, 1920

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, May 26, 1920

Various

A satirical chronicle of post-war British life, this collection captures the wit, absurdity, and anxieties of a society adjusting to the uneasy peace of 1920.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, January 9, 1892

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, January 9, 1892

Various

This quintessential artifact of late-Victorian culture captures the pulse of 1892 London, blending satirical wit, social commentary, and the peculiar anxieties of an empire standing on the precipice of a new century.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, August 1, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, August 1, 1917

Various

This collection offers a satirical snapshot of life in 1917, capturing the absurdities of wartime London through short, biting humor, parliamentary sketches, and whimsical poetry. It acts as a mirror to a society straining under the pressures of conflict.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Russian essays and stories

Russian essays and stories

Maurice Baring

Encountering a foreign land with equal parts ironical distance and deep curiosity, a perceptive visitor captures the living pulse of a society on the brink of dramatic upheaval.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Sarah's School Friend

Sarah's School Friend

May Baldwin

HOOK A young woman struggles to reconcile her own moral compass with the rigid, class-bound expectations of her industrialist father. This story explores how a sudden crisis tests the loyalties of an estranged family.

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 Countess of Lowndes Square, and Other Stories

The Countess of Lowndes Square, and Other Stories

E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

A collection of tales that peer into the quiet, often darker corners of English life, where blackmail, supernatural obsession, and the thin line between reality and invention collide.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The End of a Coil

The End of a Coil

Susan Warner

A young woman finds her devotion to faith tested by her father’s unraveling life, discovering that true strength lies in quiet endurance and moral courage.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Flower of the Flock, Volume 1 (of 3)

The Flower of the Flock, Volume 1 (of 3)

Pierce Egan

The sun illuminates both the gilded monuments of London and the desperate, soot-stained garrets of the poor. Amidst this bustling city, the lives of the proud, the desperate, and the devoted collide in a tangled web of inheritance and longing.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Man of Taste

The Man of Taste

James Bramston

This poem is a sharp, satirical monologue that skewers the self-important affectations of the 18th-century social climber. It serves as a mock-autobiographical confession from a man who believes his expensive, shallow whims define true cultural sophistication.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Marriages

The Marriages

Henry James

Adela Chart, a fiercely devoted daughter, takes it upon herself to protect her late mother’s legacy from her father’s impending remarriage. Her desperate interference sparks a complex chain of family secrets, personal betrayals, and unexpected consequences.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Nest Egg: Captains All, Book 3

The Nest Egg: Captains All, Book 3

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

This is a tale of sailors, schemes, and the unintended consequences of trying to outsmart one's own life. It turns a sharp, observant eye on the small-stakes dramas of the London docks, where a single clever plan can unravel everything.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The vigil [Night watches, Part 8.]

The vigil [Night watches, Part 8.]

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

The path to true love rarely runs smoothly, especially when a young man must outwit a blustering, self-important future father-in-law who believes courage is measured only by military grit and the absence of superstition.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Vixen, Volume III

Vixen, Volume III

M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

Caught between the suffocating expectations of a new stepfather and the loss of her childhood friend, a young woman finds herself exiled to a distant manor, only to discover the path back to her own life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Well, After All--

Well, After All--

Frank Frankfort Moore

The truth behind a tragic death and a long-deferred romance unfolds in this elegant, suspenseful Victorian drama. A woman’s quiet life is upended by the sudden return of a lover she waited for, only to find he has fallen for someone else.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of William Jordan, Junior

William Jordan, Junior

J. C. (John Collis) Snaith

A frail, visionary youth attempts to reconcile his poetic soul with the harsh, practical demands of London office life. His journey is a quiet, devastating study of the cost of dreams in a cold world.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Ballades & Rhymes from Ballades in Blue China and Rhymes a la Mode

Ballades & Rhymes from Ballades in Blue China and Rhymes a la Mode

Andrew Lang

A delicate, erudite collection, this volume invites readers to step away from the noise of the modern world into a quiet, finely crafted sanctuary of verse. It offers a graceful meditation on how the elegance of the past can persist within the rhythms of the present.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Between the Dark and the Daylight

Between the Dark and the Daylight

Richard Marsh

A collection of quick-witted, dark, and lively short stories unveils the chaotic underbelly of late-Victorian society through bizarre legal scrambles, unexpected spectral encounters, and high-stakes social embarrassments.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Blood Royal: A Novel

Blood Royal: A Novel

Grant Allen

A family's belief in its royal lineage sustains them through poverty, only to unravel under the weight of truth.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Captains All: Captains All, Part 1

Captains All: Captains All, Part 1

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

Three aging sailors find their shore leave turned into a frantic, competitive courtship, discovering too late that a domestic prize often comes with a much larger crew than anticipated.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Diana of the Crossways

Diana of the Crossways

George Meredith

A brilliant, mercurial woman navigates the treacherous social landscape of Victorian England, striving to maintain her independence while battling the constraints of a stifling marriage and the weight of public scandal.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Fires - Book 3: The Hare, and Other Tales

Fires - Book 3: The Hare, and Other Tales

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

A young man saves a terrified runaway girl on the high moors, only to find their shared future hinges on loosening his own desperate grip.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Harold : the Last of the Saxon Kings

Harold : the Last of the Saxon Kings

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

The weight of a crown hangs upon the breaking of a vow, trapping a noble leader between his loyalty to his people and the cold, encroaching machinery of a rival’s ambition.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Joan Haste

Joan Haste

H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

A dark, sacrificial storm of secret parentage, class barriers, and tragic devotion in Victorian East Anglia.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Locrine

Locrine

Unknown

A father’s dying bequest splits an ancient kingdom among his sons, unleashing a torrent of foreign invasions, secret subterranean affairs, and bloody dynastic revenge.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lucinda

Lucinda

Anthony Hope

A woman jilts her steady suitor on the morning of their London wedding, fleeing into a web of continental intrigue, hidden debts, and shifting devotions.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Manners & Cvstoms of ye Englyshe: Drawn from ye Qvick

Manners & Cvstoms of ye Englyshe: Drawn from ye Qvick

Richard Doyle

A bumbling Victorian diarist wanders through London’s high society and lower depths, blundering into crowded flower shows, noisy political rants, and chaotic stock meetings.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Misunderstood

Misunderstood

Florence Montgomery

A spirited, misunderstood boy yearns for his widowed father’s approval, but his restless energy is constantly mistaken for a heartless, mischievous nature.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Mount Royal: A Novel. Volume 2 of 3

Mount Royal: A Novel. Volume 2 of 3

M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

An unhealed past and a reluctant marriage collide along the rugged Cornish coast when a woman's former lover unexpectedly re-enters her domestic sphere.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Notwithstanding

Notwithstanding

Mary Cholmondeley

A desperate young woman on the brink of a Parisian bridge is swept into a secret, ill-fated affair, only to find that the quiet English village where she seeks refuge is bound to the very past she left behind.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 29, 1914

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, April 29, 1914

Various

A mirror held up to a nation on the brink of profound transformation, this volume captures the anxieties, absurdity, and high-spirited levity of early twentieth-century British society.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 2, 1841

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 2, 1841

Various

Satirical periodicals thrive on sharp-edged parodies of Victorian high society, ruthless political ribbing, and mock-journalistic absurdities.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, June 6, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, June 6, 1891

Various

Through a thick fog of Victorian coal-smoke and parliamentary posturing, a weekly snapshot of 1891 London emerges with sharp-edged affection. The issue captures a confident empire mildly exasperated by its own eccentricities—from local curates stumbling through magic-lantern slides to politicians squabbling over…

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, June 18, 1919

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, June 18, 1919

Various

This collection captures the wry, exhausted, and oddly hopeful pulse of London in the immediate aftermath of the Great War. It is a snapshot of a nation struggling to balance solemn remembrance with the absurdity of daily life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Beauty Of The Village

The Beauty Of The Village

Mary Russell Mitford

A vain young woman’s beauty draws the wrong kind of admiration, leading her down a perilous path of self-will until an unexpected calamity reshapes her life and character.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Blotting Book

The Blotting Book

E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

A young man stands accused of a brutal murder, his fate hanging on a chain of incriminating evidence that seems impossible to break. Beneath the surface of his trial, a cold, calculated deception waits to be unraveled.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Girls of St. Wode's

The Girls of St. Wode's

L. T. Meade

Behind the bright gloss of Victorian women’s higher education lies a world where high ideals constantly collision with the harsh realities of debt, deception, and family sacrifice.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The inner house

The inner house

Walter Besant

When a brilliant scientist abolishes natural death, humanity trades art, ambition, and love for a gray, uniform eternity.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The making of a bigot

The making of a bigot

Rose Macaulay

A young idealist who loves every point of view finds that to act, to marry, and to belong in the world, he must learn the uncomfortable art of taking sides.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Middle of Things

The Middle of Things

J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher

An accidental witness to a murder is thrust into a labyrinthine conspiracy involving stolen heirlooms, a missing nobleman, and a fortune-seeking criminal syndicate.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 582, December 22, 1832

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 582, December 22, 1832

Various

A lively mix of urban reporting, tragic romance, antiquarian lore, and natural wonders captures the varied appetite of early nineteenth-century English popular print.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Poacher

The Poacher

Frederick Marryat

A young boy takes the blame for a fatal shooting committed by his father, fleeing his Devonshire village to wander 19th-century Britain and Europe under assumed names while building a new life.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Servant in the House

The Servant in the House

Charles Rann Kennedy

The air of a hypocritical household clears only when a stranger forces every relative to face the brother they cast aside.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Starvel Hollow tragedy

The Starvel Hollow tragedy

Freeman Wills Crofts

A lonely house on a dreary moor burns to the ground, leaving behind three charred bodies and a vanished fortune. When a stolen bank note surface in London, Inspector French must untangle a web of arson, murder, and body-snatching.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Templeton case

The Templeton case

Victor L. (Victor Lorenzo) Whitechurch

A coastal murder mystery unfolds with quiet precision through the sleepy estuaries and cathedral shadows of Sussex.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Ukridge

Ukridge

P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

A man of towering ambition and zero capital cycles relentlessly between brilliant schemes and immediate, catastrophic ruin.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Under Lock and Key: A Story. Volume 1 (of 3)

Under Lock and Key: A Story. Volume 1 (of 3)

T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight

A young woman cast off by her family, a dark mansion burdened with secrets, and a stolen gem carrying an ancient curse draw a circle of greed and mystery around Dupley Walls.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of A Frontier Mystery

A Frontier Mystery

Bertram Mitford

An English border trader is drawn into a dark web of Zulu magic, colonial tension, and a missing woman's desperate rescue.

British Literature6 min read
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