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Essays, Letters & Speeches — page 28
1,400 public-domain essays, letters & speeches books, summarised. Page 28 of 30.
The Thread of Gold
Arthur Christopher Benson
A thread of unseen beauty winds through the labyrinth of human existence, linking our deepest sorrows to an ultimate, divine harmony. To find it is to understand the quiet language of the soul.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 441: Volume 17, New Series, June 12, 1852
Various
This mid-Victorian periodical offers a panoramic view of 1852, blending practical advice for the working class with curious scientific inquiries and lighthearted moral tales.
Enfranchisement of women
Harriet Hardy Taylor Mill
A bold and early critique of structural gender inequality, this text transforms private domestic arrangements into a pressing subject of public political justice.
How Members of Congress Are Bribed
J. Hampton (Joseph Hampton) Moore
The corruption of public officials is not merely a matter of secret handshakes; it is an organized, business-like enterprise that treats the machinery of government as a commodity to be bought and sold. This account of Gilded Age political rot serves as a stark, evidence-based exposure of how private monopolies…
State of the Union Addresses
James K. (James Knox) Polk
These collected annual messages offer a direct, unfiltered view of the mid-nineteenth-century American presidency, mapping the expansionist fervor and ideological conflicts that defined a tumultuous era of growth and conflict.
Henry Clay's Remarks in House and Senate
Henry Clay
When executive overreach threatens to dismantle republican norms, the boundary between law and unbridled power depends entirely on the courage of a nation's legislative assembly.
On Handling the Data
M. I. Mayfield
A young biology student notices that unmonitored laboratory experiments yield chaotic results until a known theory is applied, prompting a troubling question: does scientific inquiry discover natural truth, or merely construct it through expectation?
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
A reflective survey of mid-nineteenth-century thought captures a nation emerging from the crucible of civil conflict to examine its domestic character, economic machinery, and moral destiny.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 264, July 14, 1827
Various
A vibrant cross-section of early nineteenth-century British culture captures everything from urban transformations to battlefield drama in a single periodical issue.
Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 19 (of 20)
Charles Sumner
An unyielding senator wages a relentless constitutional battle in post-Civil War Washington, demanding that the United States honor its founding promise of complete, uncompromising equality for every citizen.
Christianity and Problems of To-day: Lectures Delivered Before Lake Forest College on the Foundation of the Late William Bross
John H. (John Huston) Finley
Faith must not retreat into the shadows of personal piety, but step into the light to guide a world fractured by war and economic strain.
The Gamekeeper at Home: Sketches of Natural History and Rural Life
Richard Jefferies
In the quiet coombes and shaded ash woods of nineteenth-century England, a veteran gamekeeper walks his daily rounds, observing the intricate balance between human stewardship and wild nature.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 564, September 1, 1832
Various
A lively panoramic window into 1832, this periodical issue captures a society balancing architectural pride, scientific curiosity, and the cultural shifts of early industrial Britain.
The Three Days' Tournament: A Study in Romance and Folk-Lore: Being an Appendix to the Author's 'Legend of Sir Lancelot'
Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston
A recurring motif in medieval literature—a knight appearing incognito on three consecutive days of a tournament—reveals the deep roots linking chivalric romance to older, oral folk traditions.
Unfinished Rainbows, and Other Essays
George Wood Anderson
A soul's journey toward spiritual completion requires gathering every daily spark of faith, turning quiet daily trials into imperishable moral strength.
Papers from Overlook-House
Frederic W. Beasley
A winter snowfall outside a cozy hearth sets the stage for a family gathering where stories, poems, and personal memories unfold line by line.
Poet-Lore: A Quarterly Magazine of Letters. April, May, June, 1900
Various
A fallen prince wanders through dark forests seeking three magic feathers, unaware that his true redemption lies in accepting the love and responsibilities he leaves behind.
Sermons for the Times
Charles Kingsley
When religion becomes a matter of distant theory, it forfeits its power over everyday human life.
Social Work
Richard C. (Richard Clarke) Cabot
A physician’s vision of healthcare transformed through empathy, rigorous inquiry, and the active partnership of trained humanitarians.
State of the Union Addresses
Herbert Hoover
A president fights a worsening depression by deploying federal aid, cutting government budgets, and pleading for public confidence.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Volume 17, Index: New Series, January-June 1852
Various
A comprehensive index to a 19th-century journal, offering a window into the diverse topics of the time.
The Legacy of Ignorantism
T. H. (Trinidad Hermenegildo) Pardo de Tavera
A scathing critique of religious colonial rule exposes how centuries of enforced superstition crippled a nation's intellectual growth, framing modern secular education as the essential path toward genuine social progress.
Wit and Wisdom of Lord Tredegar
Godfrey Charles Morgan
A lifetime of public duty, military memory, and local affection finds its voice in these witty, self-deprecating speeches.
Addresses by the Right Reverend Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks
This collection captures the enduring power of a singular voice, offering timeless reflections on the nature of human freedom and the architecture of a faithful life. It serves as an intimate encounter with a profound, compassionate mind navigating the complexities of the nineteenth century.
Essays of Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
An wandering mind turns its gaze inward, weighing the peculiarities of human habit against the absolute limits of mortal time.
Life's Enthusiasms
David Starr Jordan
A vital life requires storing up pure passions early, before time and cynicism wear them away.
Notes and Queries, Number 199, August 20, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc
Various
This nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vibrant, communal archive for the Victorian intellectual, where the obscure questions of the day meet the collective memory of an inquisitive public. It functions as a crowdsourced repository of human knowledge.
Poetry for Poetry's Sake: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered on June 5, 1901
A. C. (Andrew Cecil) Bradley
This lecture serves as a thoughtful meditation on the essential nature of art, challenging the reader to abandon the habit of searching for hidden morals or paraphrasable messages within a poem.
Rambles with John Burroughs
R. J. H. (Robert John Henderson) De Loach
The study of a life lived close to the earth, this account traces the intellectual and personal evolution of a celebrated naturalist through his quiet, deliberate habits. It offers a window into the simple, disciplined joys of observation.
The Complete Cynic: Being Bunches of Wisdom Culled from the Calendars of Oliver Herford, Ethel Watts Mumford, Addison Mizner
Ethel Watts Mumford Grant
This collection of sharp-edged, irreverent aphorisms peels back the polite veneer of early twentieth-century society to expose the vanity, greed, and absurdity hiding just beneath the surface.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 10, No. 269, August 18, 1827
Various
A fleeting window into early nineteenth-century British culture, this miscellany captures a world balancing classical architectural elegance with the oddities of everyday life.
The Story of the Innumerable Company, and Other Sketches
David Starr Jordan
The world is a caravan of fleeting lives, yet each soul possesses an intrinsic, enduring value that transcends the brevity of its existence.
The World's Great Sermons, Volume 01: Basil to Calvin
Unknown
These historic sermons map the evolution of Christian thought, offering timeless reflections on suffering, the nature of evil, and the promise of resurrection from figures like Basil and Calvin.
Wanderings in India, and Other Sketches of Life in Hindostan
John Lang
This collection of sketches offers a sharp, unvarnished look at the social frictions and absurdities of nineteenth-century colonial India, written by an observer who found more truth in the margins than in the official record.
Wit and Humor of the Bible: A Literary Study
Marion D. (Marion Daniel) Shutter
The Bible is a book of deep human experience, and its pages are filled with moments of wit, irony, and drollery that reveal the multifaceted nature of the ancient world. This study explores those often-overlooked literary elements to show how they ground sacred texts in the lived reality of humanity.
"America for Americans!": The Typical American, Thanksgiving Sermon
John Philip Newman
The United States stands uniquely positioned, a nation of profound wealth and liberty, yet currently threatened by unchecked immigration and the loss of its distinct moral character.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 425: Volume 17, New Series, February 21, 1852
Various
This collection offers a panoramic view of the Victorian world, blending travelogue, industrial history, geopolitical critique, and scientific inquiry into a single, vibrant record of mid-nineteenth-century life.
French Ways and Their Meaning
Edith Wharton
A portrait of a nation shaped by centuries of tradition, this exploration reveals the deep, often misunderstood underpinnings of the French character through the lens of a country enduring the profound trials of the First World War.
Said the Observer
Louis J. (Louis John) Stellman
An inveterate critic of modern life, the Observer offers a wry, smoke-filled commentary on the absurdities of the early 1900s, turning the lens of humor onto everything from the telephone to the criminal justice system.
Shadows and sunbeams: Being a second series of Fern leaves from Fanny's portfolio
Fanny Fern
This collection of mid-19th-century essays offers a sharp, witty, and deeply empathetic look at the domestic and social tensions of American life. It is a portrait of a society caught between rigid expectations and the persistent, often humorous, reality of human nature.
This and That and the Other
Hilaire Belloc
This collection of essays offers a spirited, opinionated, and highly personal tour of the world, ranging from the rugged landscapes of Europe to the peculiarities of English social life. It serves as a defiant defense of tradition, local observation, and the importance of human motive in historical understanding.
A Bundle of Letters from over the Sea
Louise B. Robinson
A record of a late nineteenth-century journey, this volume serves as a personal travelogue for those who cherish the romantic and often humorous perspective of an American abroad. It captures the essence of a bygone era in European tourism through the observant, frank eyes of a traveler discovering the Old World.
A discourse concerning ridicule and irony in writing (1729)
Anthony Collins
Wit is not a polite social ornament but a vital, often dangerous, instrument of truth. Using irony to dismantle pretense, this defense of laughter argues that mockery is the ultimate check against institutional corruption.
Addresses by Henry Drummond
Henry Drummond
HOOK This collection of spiritual talks argues that love, rather than dogma, is the essential force of a meaningful life. It invites the reader to move beyond abstract theology into a practical, daily application of kindness.
Modern Fiction
Charles Dudley Warner
This incisive inquiry into the state of literature argues that the highest calling of the novel is not the mere mechanical recording of life, but the artistic transformation of it. It serves as a stern yet hopeful manifesto for the power of the storyteller’s craft.
Notes and Queries, Number 43, August 24, 1850
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century periodical functions as a bustling intellectual crossroads, where Victorian scholars and curious amateurs trade obscure facts, solve literary puzzles, and preserve disappearing fragments of folklore.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
This volume captures the urgency of a nation in conflict, blending topographical observation with the fevered political discourse of the mid-nineteenth century. It stands as a vivid, diverse archive of a society grappling with its own survival.
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 4, March, 1836
Various
This collection serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic window into the intellectual and social preoccupations of the mid-1830s American South. It captures a moment where high-minded classical pedagogy collides with the burgeoning regional identity of a young nation.