Free summaries
Mythology, Legends & Folklore — page 11
507 public-domain mythology, legends & folklore books, summarised. Page 11 of 11.

Houlihan's Equation
Walter J. Sheldon
A brilliant nuclear engineer discovers a colony of leprechauns building a spaceship to flee a self-destructive humanity. He uses their desperation to solve a critical scientific problem, ultimately deciding the fate of both his civilization and theirs.

Uttara, the Legend of the Turquoise
Carlo de Fornaro
A celestial love triangle descends from the heavens to Earth, where the immortal obsession with a mortal woman culminates in a singular, crystalline transformation. This narrative reimagines the origin of the turquoise stone through the lens of ancient mythic longing.

The mermaid's prophecy, and other songs relating to Queen Dagmar
George Borrow
A royal bride sets sail across stormy seas to meet her unknown groom, unaware that her arrival will alter the fate of an entire kingdom.

Grimhild's Vengeance: Three Ballads
George Borrow
In these three stark, fatalistic ballads, a doomed hero ignores supernatural warnings to confront his treacherous sister, meeting a bloody end that demands a bitter, long-deferred retribution.

The deep space scrolls
Robert F. Young
Two astronauts discover an ancient vessel drifting in orbit, prompting a Senate committee to confront the unsettling possibility that humanity’s most sacred origin myths are merely distorted memories of an interstellar exodus.

Winning Buddha's smile
Charles Mundy Taylor
This ancient Korean legend traces a virtuous official’s path from tragic exile to redemption, illustrating the eventual triumph of goodness over calculated treachery.

The White Feather Hex
Don Peterson
A sinister visitor tricks a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer into revealing a deadly curse, only to realize the dark power will consume them both.

The Legends of San Francisco
George W. (George Walter) Caldwell
This collection of verse reimagines the geography of San Francisco Bay through the eyes of an ancient, invented indigenous mythology, grounding the city’s landmarks in stories of sacrifice, transformation, and divine intervention.

The Fountain of Maribo, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
These ballads are stark, rhythmic windows into a world of ancient Northern legend, where honor is measured by the swing of a blade and the weight of one’s gold. They capture the primal, brutal simplicity of folk tradition, where consequences follow actions with the inevitability of a falling stone.

Apollo and Marsyas, and Other Poems
Eugene Lee-Hamilton
The contest of the Satyr with the God—the eternal struggle between the wild, wailing notes of human yearning and the serene, golden order of divine art—defines the landscape of this collection. It is a work of shadowed beauty, where the poet’s own confinement transforms suffering into a sharp, clear-eyed witness of…

Myth and Romance: Being a Book of Verses
Madison Julius Cawein
This collection of verse captures the lush, fevered intersection of the natural world and the realm of ancient myth. It is a dense, atmospheric work that dwells in the quiet hum of a forest, the terrifying beauty of a storm, and the recurring ache of romantic longing.

The Immortal Lure
Cale Young Rice
These four verse dramas explore the volatile intersection of intense human passion and the spiritual ideals that men construct to contain it.

The sweet miracle
Eça de Queirós
An impoverished mother and her crippled son long for the healing touch of a wandering teacher, while the wealthy and the powerful search for him in vain. This brief, luminous narrative explores the nature of faith through the lens of humility.

The San Francisco Fairy: A Tale of Early Times
Anonymous
The waters of a prehistoric inland sea recede to reveal a city of prophecy, as a young woman’s act of kindness towards a magical creature secures her fortune and her future.

Kwan-yin
Stella Benson
A golden face stares into the smoke of incense, offering a silence that eventually shatters under the weight of human suffering. This dramatic work captures the agonizing disconnect between desperate faith and the reality of an indifferent universe.

Mother Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open, and the History of Mother Bunch of the West
Unknown
Discover the secrets of the heart through the eyes of an enigmatic, seventeenth-century rural advisor who promises to reveal your future spouse. This collection of folk wisdom invites you to test the whims of love and luck.

Christmas Outside of Eden
Coningsby Dawson
The first laugh ever heard on earth or in heaven was not a divine decree, but the involuntary joy of a newborn child in a cold, lonely cave.

Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
Charles M. (Charles Montgomery) Skinner
The Pacific Northwest and California are lands defined by the collision of ancient, earth-shaking spirits and the fragile, fleeting lives of those who traverse their rugged terrain.

A Book of Old Ballads
Unknown
These storied verses preserve the echoes of a vanishing world, capturing the raw, enduring power of legend, grief, and the common human experience.

A creel of Irish stories
Jane Barlow
This collection of Irish tales captures the quiet dignity, stubborn pride, and deep-seated superstitions of a rural society living on the edge of memory and economic ruin. It is a portrait of a landscape where the smallest objects—a locked chest, a bill for a few shillings, or a faded signboard—carry the heavy…

Greek wayfarers, and other poems
Edwina Stanton Babcock
A tribute to the endurance of the Hellenic spirit, this collection of verse captures the tension between the modern, war-torn world and the timeless, light-drenched beauty of the Greek landscape.

Queen Berngerd, The Bard and the Dreams, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
These rhythmic tales breathe new life into ancient Northern legends, weaving moral fables and supernatural voyages into a collection that balances pride against piety.

White Lotus, the legend of the cat's eye
Carlo de Fornaro
A divine romance transcends the celestial realm when a god assumes the humble guise of an Angora cat to win the heart of a mortal princess.

Asneha, the legend of the opal
Carlo de Fornaro
A humble musician blessed by a golden bird receives a magic flute capable of enchanting mortals and gods alike, culminating in a celestial challenge that gives birth to the opal.

Legends of the Wailuku
Charlotte Hapai
This collection of traditional tales captures the spirit and landscape of Hilo, Hawaii, through the myths of the Wailuku River. These stories offer a portal into an ancient world where gods and humans walk the same shores.

The Verner Raven, The Count of Vendel's Daughter, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
These are the echoes of a vanishing world, rendered in verse that carries the weight of ancient sorrow and the sharp, sudden turns of folklore. Here, the boundary between the living and the spirit realm is as thin as a shroud, and fate is a debt that must always be paid.

The Nightingale, the Valkyrie and Raven, and Other Ballads
George Borrow
A captive bird sings in midnight shadow to reveal its true human form, while across Northern shores a raven tells a battle-maid of a young king’s bloody victories.