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Essays, Letters & Speeches — page 23
1,906 public-domain essays, letters & speeches books, summarised. Page 23 of 40.
The Colour of Life
Alice Meynell
The true colour of life is found in the modest, secret blood—not the violent red of display, but the soft, pale hues that define our common existence. This collection of essays invites readers to look past the obvious and attend to the nuances of the world.
The Old Humanities and the New Science
Osler, William, Sir
A celebrated physician argues that the bridge between classical scholarship and modern science is the essential, often overlooked foundation for a truly liberal education.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 65, No. 402, April, 1849
Various
A sophisticated literary review from 1849, this collection offers a window into the intellectual climate of Victorian Britain through critical essays, scientific appreciation, and serialized fiction.
The Balladists
John Geddie
The Scottish ballad is a voice without a name, a vessel of history and folklore that reveals the heart of a people through song. It survives as a testament to the enduring power of oral tradition.
The Little Review, January 1915 (Vol. 1, No. 10)
Various
This periodical serves as a vibrant, combative arena for early twentieth-century modernism, gathering poetry, social critique, and theatrical dialogue into a single, defiant manifesto for the avant-garde.
A Residence in France During the Years 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, Part I. 1792: Described in a Series of Letters from an English Lady: with General and Incidental Remarks on the French Character and Manners
Charlotte Biggs
A sharp-eyed witness chronicles the crumbling of French society from 1792 to 1795, providing a harrowing, intimate look at the daily anxieties of living under the shadow of the guillotine.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 364, February 1846
Various
This collection offers a kaleidoscopic view of the mid-Victorian intellectual landscape, blending sharp political analysis, historical retrospection, and the serialized fiction that defined the era’s literary appetite.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 392, June, 1848
Various
This collection offers a visceral window into the political anxieties and cultural preoccupations of the mid-nineteenth century, capturing a world in the throes of seismic change. It is a vital primary record of how a prominent British periodical viewed the volatile landscape of 1848, from the collapse of European…
Letters Concerning Poetical Translations: And Virgil's and Milton's Arts of Verse, &c
William Benson
An articulate defense of the English language’s inherent musicality, this work argues that the secret to great poetry lies not in mere meaning, but in the sophisticated architecture of sound and rhythm.
Reflections of a Bachelor Girl
Helen Rowland
The path to a man’s heart is a winding, treacherous road; fortunately, the guide to navigating it is as sharp as a tailor’s needle. This collection of cynical, witty observations serves as a satirical manual for surviving the skirmishes of courtship and the long, wearying stalemate of marriage.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 34, August, 1860: A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, multifaceted snapshot of the intellectual landscape on the eve of the American Civil War, blending literary criticism, scientific inquiry, and historical narrative.
The Heart of the Wild: Nature Studies from Near and Far
S. L. (Samuel Levy) Bensusan
These accounts of birds and beasts navigate the thin, often violent border between the natural world and the intrusions of humanity.
A Residence in France During the Years 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, Part II., 1793: Described in a Series of Letters from an English Lady: with General and Incidental Remarks on the French Character and Manners
Charlotte Biggs
A sharp-eyed witness to the French Revolution captures the unraveling of a society, documenting the terror, hypocrisy, and sudden domestic instability of life under the shadow of the guillotine.
By-paths in Hebraic bookland
Israel Abrahams
This collection of essays explores the quiet corners of Jewish literature and history, offering a scholarly yet accessible invitation to wander through the lives and works that often fall outside the traditional canon.
Mediæval Byways
L. F. (Louis Francis) Salzman
This exploration of medieval life sidesteps kings and battles to uncover the eccentric, gritty, and often humorous realities buried within ancient legal records and forgotten administrative archives.
Notes and Queries, Number 182, April 23, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
A vibrant, mid-nineteenth-century repository of curious knowledge, this periodical serves as a vital bridge for Victorian scholars, antiquaries, and early photographic pioneers to share their discoveries and solve obscure intellectual puzzles.
Divorce versus Democracy
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
The preservation of the family bond is not merely a private affair, but a vital democratic bulwark against the encroachment of the wealthy and powerful.
English Pharisees, French Crocodiles, and Other Anglo-French Typical Characters
Max O'Rell
This collection of social commentary offers a sharp, witty, and deeply subjective comparison of the English and French characters, written by an author who spent a lifetime observing both.
The Patchwork Papers
E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston
This collection of essays offers a contemplative look at the small, often overlooked moments that define the human experience. It serves as a gentle reminder that beauty is not a distant ideal but an inevitable part of everyday life.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 369, July 1846
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, multifaceted window into the intellectual and cultural preoccupations of 1846, capturing the diverse interests of the Victorian reading public through essays, travelogues, literary criticism, and historical reflection.
Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
Thomas De Quincey
The universe expands, and with it, the mind’s capacity for both scientific wonder and deep, melancholic reflection. These essays bridge the gap between the cold precision of the stars and the warmth of a human life.
The Women of Tomorrow
William Hard
Modernity has dismantled the traditional home, leaving women to navigate a new landscape where domestic labor is no longer a full-time occupation and personal autonomy is a complex, hard-won reality.
Theological Essays and Other Papers
Thomas De Quincey
The subtle, invisible influence of faith acts upon the grand machinery of history with the quiet persistence of a forest’s growth or the movement of a watch’s hand.
Untimely papers
Randolph Silliman Bourne
War is the health of the State, a cold truth that transforms a nation’s culture into a machinery of coercion. This collection of essays documents the sudden, painful collapse of democratic ideals during the First World War.
A Year in a Lancashire Garden: Second Edition
Henry Arthur Bright
A quiet, year-long meditation on a private Lancashire estate, this work records the seasonal rhythms of a traditional garden through the eyes of a thoughtful, poetry-loving observer.
Freedom Through Disobedience
Chitta Ranjan Das
A clarion call for Indian self-rule, this text argues that true liberation is not granted by colonial powers but forged through the disciplined, non-violent refusal to participate in an unjust system.
On the Significance of Science and Art
Tolstoy, Leo, graf
The pursuit of intellectual refinement is often a mask for human vanity, masking a profound betrayal of the fundamental obligation to labor for one’s own existence.
Parts of Speech: Essays on English
Brander Matthews
The English language belongs to the people who speak it, not to the grammarians who attempt to police its borders or freeze its evolution. This collection of essays serves as a spirited defense of linguistic freedom and a meditation on the American character.
The Evolutionist at Large
Grant Allen
This collection of essays invites readers to view the natural world through the lens of evolutionary biology, turning everyday hedgerow discoveries into windows onto deep time. It bridges the gap between casual observation and scientific inquiry with warmth and clarity.
The works of Richard Hurd, volume 4 (of 8)
Richard Hurd
This collection of intellectual dialogues and letters serves as a rigorous inquiry into the foundations of English governance, the merits of European travel, and the historical evolution of chivalric literature. It invites the reader to engage with the refined, often contentious debates of the eighteenth-century…
Tropical nature, and other essays
Alfred Russel Wallace
Tropical environments teem with complex, interconnected life that defies simple explanation. These essays illuminate the mechanics of nature, from the habits of foraging ants to the intricate plumage of birds.
Wondrous Love, and other Gospel addresses
Dwight Lyman Moody
A collection of urgent evangelical sermons, this volume offers a direct, unadorned invitation to embrace faith as a simple act of trust rather than an intellectual or emotional struggle.
About The Holy Bible: A Lecture
Robert Green Ingersoll
The Bible is frequently cited as a divine guide, yet a closer, critical examination of its history, morality, and internal contradictions suggests it is a human product of a long-vanished, primitive age.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
This collection of mid-nineteenth-century essays and reviews captures the Victorian intellectual appetite for global travel, literary critique, and the burgeoning mysteries of the human mind. It serves as a window into the era’s diverse and often conflicting cultural obsessions.
Defenders of Democracy: Contributions from representative men and women of letters and other arts from our allies and our own country, edited by the Gift book committee of the Militia of Mercy
Militia of Mercy (U.S.). Gift Book Committee
This collection of voices stands as a historical testament to a singular moment, gathering the era’s most prominent literary figures to champion a cause of international solidarity. It serves as both a cultural artifact of the First World War and a heartfelt call to action for the home front.
Readers and Writers (1917-1921)
A. R. (Alfred Richard) Orage
Cultural judgment requires the same disciplined continuity as political criticism, grounded in a tireless quest for an ideal prose style that harmonizes the full vitality of the English tongue.
The Price of a Soul
William Jennings Bryan
To lose one’s integrity for material gain is the ultimate folly, a transaction that leaves a person bankrupt in every way that truly matters. This work explores how the soul is weighed in the balance of daily life, profession, and national character.
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 10 (of 32)
John Wesley
A catastrophic disaster shatters worldly complacency, forcing the human heart to confront its own mortality and seek an unshakeable foundation beyond time.
Willis's Current Notes, No. 13, January 1852
Unknown
This slim 1852 issue of an antiquarian journal captures mid-nineteenth-century literary life through subscriber queries, historical discoveries, and trade announcements.
Children in Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life
Oscar Wilde
Cruelty in prison stems not from individual malice, but from a rigid, unthinking system that mistake routine for righteousness.
Goose-Quill Papers
Louise Imogen Guiney
A collection of lightweight, polished essays wanders through the quietly eccentric corners of everyday life, blending classical erudition with a defense of small, forgotten pleasures.
Lessons in Life
J. G. (Josiah Gilbert) Holland
A collection of calm, sensible essays offers a practical guide to everyday human behavior, urging readers to choose self-awareness over pride and balance over ideological extremes.
Library Ideals
Henry Eduard Legler
A vision of universal access to books unfolds across early twentieth-century America, proposing that public libraries serve as essential tools for self-education, social equality, and democratic progress.
Roma beata
Maud Howe Elliott
A vibrant mosaic of daily life and quiet wonders unfolds through an artist's eyes across the light-drenched squares of turn-of-the-century Italy.
A Letter to American Workingmen, from the Socialist Soviet Republic of Russia
Vladimir Il'ich Lenin
A revolutionary message sent across the globe calls upon laboring people to join an international struggle against capitalist exploitation and imperialist war.
Ancient Rome in the English novel: a study in English historical fiction
Randolph Faries
Scholarly rigor and artistic imagination converge to determine how the ancient Roman world is reconstructed within the boundaries of modern prose fiction.
Medical Women: Two Essays
Sophia Jex-Blake
Knowledge must be granted based on capacity rather than custom.
Musical Studies
Ernest Newman
An analytical exploration of the tensions between music and literature, this collection examines how composers like Berlioz, Strauss, and Wagner redefined the boundaries of their art.