Free summaries
Historical Novels — page 9
424 public-domain historical novels books, summarised. Page 9 of 9.
Alvira: The Heroine of Vesuvius
A. J. (Augustine J.) O'Reilly
A young woman flees her home in male attire, commits a desperate act of violence in the Alps, and ends up leading a double life as a decorated military officer before finding redemption.
Aucassin & Nicolette, and Other Mediæval Romances and Legends
Eugene Mason
A pair of lovers separate under hostile eyes, taking to the forest and distant lands before fate brings them safely together.
In the Far North: 1901
Louis Becke
Where heat-waves dance over the wastes of North Queensland, drought and financial ruin press a lonely cattleman to the absolute brink of despair until an unexpected act of past mercy returns to him in his darkest hour.
The Sorceress: A Drama in Five Acts
Victorien Sardou
In sixteenth-century Toledo, a Moorish healer and a Christian captain fall into a forbidden romance, only to be torn apart by the ruthless machinery of the Inquisition.
The White Morning: A Novel of the Power of the German Women in Wartime
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
A vision of desperate resistance in wartime, this dramatic narrative imagines the ultimate domestic uprising against tyrannical authority.
Jovinian: A Story of the Early Days of Papal Rome
William Henry Giles Kingston
A gripping tale of faith, corruption, and resilience in early Christian Rome.
Archag, the Little Armenian
Charles H. Schnapps
The story of a young boy coming of age in the shadow of historical catastrophe, this account captures the fragile beauty of a culture poised on the brink of profound, violent transformation.
King Eric and the Outlaws, Vol. 2
Bernhard Severin Ingemann
This sweeping historical narrative captures a kingdom fractured by treachery, where the crown, the church, and the common people collide in the shadow of the Middle Ages. It is a tale of shifting loyalties, dark political intrigue, and the desperate struggle to preserve order against those who would tear it down.
The Eve of All-Hallows
Matthew Weld Hartstonge
The stormy tides of the seventeenth century collide with the intimate lives of Irish nobility, tracing the fateful intersection of personal devotion and national upheaval.
The Scarlet Banner
Felix Dahn
Amid the shifting sands of Vandal-ruled North Africa, a once-invincible kingdom faces its twilight as the Roman Empire maneuvers to reclaim its lost glory.
Walladmor, Vol. 1 (of 2): "Freely Translated into German from the English of Sir Walter Scott." And Now Freely Translated from the German into English
Willibald Alexis
A strange, meta-literary puzzle emerges from the fog of the Welsh coast, where a lost traveler wanders into a landscape filled with smugglers, secret identities, and the heavy atmosphere of a counterfeit masterpiece.
Between Sun and Sand: A Tale of an African Desert
W. C. (William Charles) Scully
The vast, unforgiving expanses of the South African desert serve as both a stage and a silent character in this vivid portrait of life on the cultural and physical fringes of civilization.
Gustavus Vasa: and other poems
William Sidney Walker
A young poet reimagines the rise of a Swedish hero, crafting an epic vision of national liberation where celestial forces and earthly tyranny collide in the frozen North.
Old Ninety-Nine's Cave
Elizabeth H. Gray
HOOK Set against the backdrop of the New York mountains, this novel weaves together local folklore, industrial ambition, and a journey toward healing after a mysterious, life-altering illness.
The Centurion's Story
David James Burrell
An aging Roman soldier recounts the day he oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus, describing his journey from a detached instrument of the state to a believer in the divinity of the man on the cross.
The Jester
LM (Leslie Moore)
A wanderer seeks peace in a world of illusion, tracing a path from the gilded cages of nobility to the dark mysteries of the occult. This journey of the heart tests the boundaries between obsession and grace.
The Justice of the King
Hamilton Drummond
HOOK A young courtier finds himself caught in the lethal, shadow-filled games of a dying King, where the only currency is absolute loyalty and the only reward for failure is the hangman’s noose.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 18
Unknown
This volume gathers a diverse collection of tales set against the rugged backdrop of the Scottish Borders, weaving together threads of folklore, historical tragedy, and the domestic struggles of the nineteenth century.
Henry of Guise
G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
In the shadow of the French Wars of Religion, a young nobleman grapples with the crushing weight of his own honor while caught between a dangerous political conspiracy and the woman he loves.
The Ruinous Face
Maurice Hewlett
HOOK The legend of the world’s most beautiful woman finds a harrowing, intimate conclusion when she realizes that her face is not a blessing, but a cage.
Two Royal Foes
Eva Annie Madden
A young girl’s flight across a war-torn landscape mirrors the crumbling of a kingdom, as the quiet dignity of a besieged Queen stands against the crushing ambition of a conqueror.
Gabriel: A Story of the Jews in Prague
S. (Salomon) Kohn
A man returns to the shadows of the Prague ghetto to settle a haunting debt of honor and love, only to find the threads of his past woven into a wider, tragic tapestry of war and betrayal.
Klytia: A Story of Heidelberg Castle
Adolf Hausrath
HOOK Set against the looming, fortress-like backdrop of Heidelberg Castle, this historical drama navigates the collision between rigid religious zealotry and the desperate, flickering endurance of human love.
Saul of Tarsus: A Tale of the Early Christians
Elizabeth Miller
This novel weaves the grand, turbulent history of the early Church into the intimate, high-stakes lives of those caught in the shadow of imperial Rome and religious zeal. It is a story of faith, vengeance, and the transformative power of forgiveness.
An Easter Disciple: The Chronicle of Quintus, the Roman Knight
Arthur Benton Sanford
The Roman Empire and the nascent Christian faith collide in the personal awakening of a young knight. A historical reimagining of the first Easter, this narrative traces the journey of a man who exchanges the uncertainty of pagan philosophy for a conviction in the resurrection.
Marie Gourdon: A Romance of the Lower St. Lawrence
Maud Ogilvy
A young man abandons his true love and his humble roots for the promise of inheritance, only to find that prosperity offers no shelter from the ghosts of his past.
A Monk of Fife: Being the Chronicle Written by Norman Leslie of Pitcullo, Concerning Marvellous Deeds That Befell in the Realm of France, in the Years of Our Redemption, MCCCCXXIX-XXXI
Andrew Lang
A young Scottish exile finds his destiny intertwined with the miraculous rise and tragic fall of Joan of Arc, serving as her faithful companion through the perils of the Hundred Years' War.
I Will Maintain
Marjorie Bowen
The rise of a solitary leader and the violent collapse of a republic collide in this sweeping portrait of a nation at war. A young, cold-blooded prince and a weary, principled statesman battle for the soul of the Dutch people.
Mary of Burgundy
G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
The high-stakes political maneuvers of 15th-century Flanders provide the backdrop for this tale of a young man caught between his humble origins and his undeniable influence over the fate of a duchess.
Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Francesca da Rimini
George H. (George Henry) Boker
This tragedy reimagines the iconic doomed romance of the Inferno, transforming Dante’s fleeting, ethereal vision into a visceral, earthbound exploration of jealousy and honor. It is a work that captures the grand, sweeping cadence of mid-19th-century American verse drama.
A King of Tyre: A Tale of the Times of Ezra and Nehemiah
James M. (James Meeker) Ludlow
Ancient Tyre stands as a shimmering, perilous island of commerce and crushing religious orthodoxy, where a restless king seeks to break the chains of tradition. A sweeping narrative of displacement, shifting faith, and the dangerous pursuit of personal freedom unfolds across the fractured landscape of the fifth…
The Duchess of Trajetto
Anne Manning
The life of a sixteenth-century Italian noblewoman serves as the backdrop for this historical narrative, which explores the tension between worldly aristocratic duty and the quiet, dangerous pursuit of spiritual truth during the Reformation.
Hebrew Heroes: A Tale Founded on Jewish History
A. L. O. E.
Sacrificed to Syrian tyranny, the martyrs of Judea leave behind a shattered remnant of believers who must choose between deadly apostasy and armed resistance, finding in the house of Mattathias the faith to ignite a revolution.
King Eric and the Outlaws, Vol. 1
Bernhard Severin Ingemann
In a land fractured by church spires, outlawed nobles, and royal ambition, a young king tries to build an empire while his kingdom burns from within.
The Truce of God
Mary Roberts Rinehart
A stubborn feudal lord risks his marriage and his soul over his desperate longing for a heir, until a quiet Christmas miracle leads him back to the family he cast aside.
Yolanda of Cyprus
Cale Young Rice
In a sixteenth-century Cypriot castle, a young woman secretly assumes the burden of another's infidelity to safeguard her betrothed’s noble family from total ruin.
The truce of God: A tale of the eleventh century
George H. (George Henry) Miles
A tragic feudal blood feud threatens to consume two noble families until the church intervenes with a solemn mandate of peace.
A Blot on the Scutcheon
Mabel Winifred Knowles
A young man strives to redeem his family's honor amid political intrigue, dangerous secrets, and the turbulent shadow of the French Revolution.
Atmâ: A Romance
C. A. (Caroline Augusta) Frazer
A fallen soldier seeks his true inheritance across a shattered homeland, only to discover that love, honour, and faith carry costs heavier than death.
The King's Warrant: A Story of Old and New France
Alfred H. Engelbach
Separated by oceans and dynastic schemes, two young lovers find their union thwarted by a forged royal mandate and the bitter end of a empire.