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British Literature — page 88

4,240 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 88 of 89.

Cover of A Ioyfull medytacyon to all Englonde of the coronacyon of our moost naturall souerayne lorde kynge Henry the eyght: (A Joyful Meditation of the Coronation of King Henry the Eighth)

A Ioyfull medytacyon to all Englonde of the coronacyon of our moost naturall souerayne lorde kynge Henry the eyght: (A Joyful Meditation of the Coronation of King Henry the Eighth)

Stephen Hawes

With the ascension of a new monarch comes the promise of political renewal, spiritual unity, and cultural elevation.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Mysterious Disappearance

A Mysterious Disappearance

Louis Tracy

A fine, heavy London fog swallows a high-society wife, setting off a quiet, inexorable pursuit through city flats, Riviera gambling dens, and the dark underbelly of the Thames.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Christmas Penny Readings: Original Sketches for the Season

Christmas Penny Readings: Original Sketches for the Season

George Manville Fenn

A collection of Victorian hearthside tales offers a vibrant tapestry of mid-century London life, blending seasonal hardship, whimsical misadventures, and heartwarming redemption.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Doctor Luttrell's First Patient

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.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Esther

Esther

Rosa Nouchette Carey

A girl with an awkward name and an ordinary face discovers that the smallest life, faithfully lived, can bear extraordinary light.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Fly Leaves

Fly Leaves

Charles Stuart Calverley

Victorian domestic life, literary pretension, and poetic romance are dismantled with effortless, dry precision across these light-hearted verse satires.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Four Pigeons: Captains All, Book 7

Four Pigeons: Captains All, Book 7

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

A cunning poacher turns a disastrous shooting accident into a lucrative insurance racket, exploiting the local landlord's wealthy guests and outmaneuvering his own neighbors at every turn.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Into the Highways and Hedges

Into the Highways and Hedges

F. F. (Frances Frederica) Montrésor

An uncalculated marriage between a headstrong young woman and an itinerant open-air preacher turns a rash blunder into a quiet, transformative test of devotions.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Jonah

Jonah

Louis Stone

A deformed street urchin builds an empire of cheap shoe stores in Edwardian Sydney, only to find that money cannot buy the life he wanted.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Power, piety, and political maneuvering collide in this theatrical portrait of Tudor England, where fortunes vanish overnight and royal desires rewrite national destiny.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Melbourne House, Volume 1

Melbourne House, Volume 1

Susan Warner

A lonely, thoughtful girl on a wealthy Hudson Valley estate faces the quiet cruelty of her fashionable family when she decides to live out her Christian faith.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of "No. 101"

"No. 101"

Wymond Carey

In the glitter and shadow of Louis XV's court, a phantom secret agent shifts shapes while empires wager their armies on his betrayal.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Pearl-Fishing

Pearl-Fishing

Charles Dickens

In nineteenth-century England and across its far-flung imaginings, ordinary human lives turn on single decisions, sudden temptations, and silent, enduring loyalties.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 12, 1916

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 12, 1916

Various

War transforms the ordinary rhythms of daily life into an absurd, tedious, and profoundly human struggle for endurance.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 9, 1841

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 9, 1841

Various

In a bustling London powered by steam and satire, a collective of razor-sharp wits turns its gaze on the absurdities of Victorian society, political hypocrisy, and theatrical melodrama.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, March 21, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, March 21, 1891

Various

A Victorian satirist eyes the modern street, where an unstoppable runner collides with terrified citizens while the municipal authorities debate whether to arrest the athlete or ignore the chaos.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, July 4, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, July 4, 1891

Various

A bustling cross-section of late Victorian society opens its doors, exposing the ridiculous anxieties of politicians, artists, and aristocrats through relentless satire.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, July 25, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, July 25, 1917

Various

Darkly funny, defiant, and deeply human, this wartime volume captures a society keeping its chin up through bureaucratic absurdities, mud-soaked trenches, and daily ration struggles.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 7, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 7, 1917

Various

An autumn week in wartime London comes alive through short jokes, topical verses, and dry editorial observations.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 10, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 10, 1917

Various

A nation under stress meets crisis with a wink, transforming the hardships of war into sharp, persistent laughter.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, October 11, 1890

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, October 11, 1890

Various

Late Victorian society glides through its high-society drawing rooms and legal halls entirely unaware of how absurd its self-serious rituals appear to a keen observer.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Sir Noel's Heir: A Novel

Sir Noel's Heir: A Novel

May Agnes Fleming

An ancient family name is tied to a secret that threatens to strip a young man of his home, his fortune, and his very identity.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Bastonnais: Tale of the American Invasion of Canada in 1775-76

The Bastonnais: Tale of the American Invasion of Canada in 1775-76

John Lespérance

An American officer who rides north into frozen French Canada carries more than military ambition; he carries a heart that will split its loyalties between a cause, a friend, and a woman.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Cheyne mystery

The Cheyne mystery

Freeman Wills Crofts

A stolen scrap of paper, a drugged drink, and a missing fortune set a quiet English gentleman on a perilous track across sea and shore.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Furnace

The Furnace

Rose Macaulay

A pair of young English expatriates scrape together a living on the margins of Naples, test their easygoing bond against rigid British tourists, and face the sudden disruption of an erupting Vesuvius.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Marriage of Elinor

The Marriage of Elinor

Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

A fiery young woman marries a charming scoundrel against every warning, only to spend the next two decades shielding her son from the bitter truth of his father's disreputable past.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 274, September 22, 1827

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 274, September 22, 1827

Various

A nineteenth-century cabinet of curiosities offers a window into an era's mind, capturing its architectural debates, comic verse, military martyrdom, and medical eccentricities in a single weekly gathering.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 548, May 26, 1832

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 548, May 26, 1832

Various

A curious snapshot of Georgian life, this miscellany captures a society straddling ancient tradition and industrial momentum with quiet charm and restless intellect.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Yellow Dove

The Yellow Dove

George Gibbs

A suspected slacker risks everything high above the battlefields of Europe to prove his devotion to country and the woman he loves.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Wild Oats

Wild Oats

John O'Keeffe

An impulse of generous goodwill can transform a wandering stranger's fate before the sun goes down.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Adela Cathcart, Volume 1

Adela Cathcart, Volume 1

George MacDonald

A dark winter depression claims a young woman until a circle of friends gathers around her hearth to cure her through the quiet magic of storytelling.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Amusement Only

Amusement Only

Richard Marsh

A eccentric stranger with a boyish charm demands money to prevent a noblewoman from losing a limb, setting the tone for a world of absurd predicaments and cunning rogues.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of In Honour's Cause: A Tale of the Days of George the First

In Honour's Cause: A Tale of the Days of George the First

George Manville Fenn

A father's sudden fall from royal favor forces a young page to choose between absolute courtly obedience and the fierce, dangerous demands of family honor.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of John Ingerfield, and Other Stories

John Ingerfield, and Other Stories

Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

Money, duty, and quiet tragedy interweave across nineteenth-century London and desolate foreign landscapes, where pride continuously wars with human warmth.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Mornings at Bow Street: A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports which Have Appeared in the 'Morning Herald'

Mornings at Bow Street: A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports which Have Appeared in the 'Morning Herald'

J. (John) Wight

A vibrant window into London's nineteenth-century underworld captures the petty crimes, absurd squabbles, and unvarnished humanity passing daily before the magistrate's bench.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Norman Vallery

Norman Vallery

William Henry Giles Kingston

A spoiled boy returned from India terrorizes his gentle sister until harsh lessons, a quiet Scottish landscape, and patient love reshape his cruel nature into genuine kindness.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, November 21, 1891

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, November 21, 1891

Various

Satirical verse, political parodies, and polite social commentary collide in a nineteenth-century Victorian periodical issue that turns the absurdities of daily London life into effortless entertainment.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, September 6, 1890

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, September 6, 1890

Various

A satirical Victorian journal offering witty commentary on society, politics, and culture.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Representative British Orations Volume 4 (of 4): With Introductions and Explanatory Notes

Representative British Orations Volume 4 (of 4): With Introductions and Explanatory Notes

Unknown

These speeches chart a century of British debate, capturing the exact momentum where legal argument hardens into imperial policy and moral conviction.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Round About a Great Estate

Round About a Great Estate

Richard Jefferies

A quietly resonant study of the English countryside captures the delicate tipping point where centuries of rural tradition yield to the swift march of modern industrial progress.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The amateur crime

The amateur crime

Anthony Berkeley

A set of well-meaning friends stage a fake murder to shock a set bachelor into living life, only for their elaborate prank to completely unravel into real police investigations and unexpected romance.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Beautiful Miss Brooke

The Beautiful Miss Brooke

Louis Zangwill

A young man's comfortable ideals crumble when he encounters a fiercely independent woman who refuses to play the part he has scripted for her.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Cottage on the Fells

The Cottage on the Fells

H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole

A severed head in a black leather bag, a shattered marble bust, and a trail of unexplained murders connect a wealthy London banker to an impossible crime on the desolate Cumberland fells.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Dumpling

The Dumpling

Coulson Kernahan

An insane idealist wages open war against the British Empire, leaving a young investigator to unravel a vast, chaotic conspiracy.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany. Part 1

The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany. Part 1

Hurlothrumbo

A tavern window scratched with a diamond ring captures the fleeting wit, romantic longings, and earthy humor of eighteenth-century England.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of The Serf

The Serf

Guy Thorne

A man born to the dirt strikes back at the masters who treat his people like beasts, setting off a brutal chain of blood, sanctuary, and eventual reckoning.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 40, April, 1894: An Illustrated Monthly

The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 40, April, 1894: An Illustrated Monthly

Various

A Victorian hearth fires up against the winter dark, setting the stage for tales of desperate strikes, high-society charity, and shadowed crimes.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of What will they say at Brompton? A Comedetta, in One Act

What will they say at Brompton? A Comedetta, in One Act

J. Stirling (Joseph Stirling) Coyne

An anxious husband's feverish nightmare of Italian brigands and bigamy reveals the quiet dread lurking beneath respectable suburban life.

British Literature6 min read
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