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All free summaries — page 161
34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 161 of 714.
Pygmalion's Spectacles
Stanley G. (Stanley Grauman) Weinbaum
A chance encounter with an eccentric professor leads a cynical man into a startling, sensory-rich virtual reality, forever altering his perception of what constitutes a life worth living.
Rome
M. A. R. (Mildred Anna Rosalie) Tuker
Rome is a city of layers, where the grandeur of imperial ruins and the ancient authority of the Church coexist with the daily rhythms of modern Italian life. It is a portrait of a capital in transition.
The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
A master of the short form explores the quiet, devastating ruptures in lives built upon stifling social conventions and internal obsessions.
The Yosemite
John Muir
A vast, ancient landscape of granite, ice, and forest, Yosemite stands as a cathedral of wilderness, demanding reverence and protection from those who would trade its sanctity for human convenience.
Alcestis
Euripides
The King of Pherae must die, yet he finds a way to live—provided someone else takes his place. When his wife, Alcestis, volunteers to die in his stead, she sets in motion a drama of grief, duty, and the limits of heroism.
America First: Patriotic Readings
Unknown
This anthology serves as a pedagogical toolkit for fostering national identity, blending historical dramatizations with stirring oratory and verse to instill a sense of shared civic duty in the American classroom. It acts as a bridge between the founding ideals of the Republic and the patriotic responsibilities of…
Certain Success
Norval A. Hawkins
The secret to a life of achievement lies not in luck or innate genius, but in the deliberate mastery of the art of selling one’s own capabilities to the world.
Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter and Some Poems
Ben Jonson
This collection of observations and verse offers an intimate, unvarnished look at the mind of a giant of English literature. It serves as a rugged, intellectual map of the values and artistic rigor that defined a singular life.
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2)
John Ashton
English caricature and satire during the Napoleonic era served as a vital, visceral outlet for a nation living in the shadow of total war. This collection documents the relentless artistic campaign waged by British cartoonists against the French Emperor, tracing his trajectory through public mockery from his rise…
Lulu's Library, Volume 1 (of 3)
Louisa May Alcott
A collection of whimsical bedtime tales invites readers into a world where magic, kindness, and moral discovery transform the everyday lives of children.
Mahan on naval warfare
A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan
Naval dominance dictates the rise and fall of nations, as history reveals that control of the sea is the ultimate arbiter of international power. The fundamental principles of global security depend upon the strategic mastery of these maritime frontiers.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XVI, Texas Narratives, Part 2
United States. Work Projects Administration
These oral histories preserve the raw, unfiltered memories of formerly enslaved people in Texas, capturing a vanishing era through the unique rhythms of their own speech. They offer a rare, ground-level perspective on the daily reality of a brutal institution.
The book of Christmas
Thomas K. Hervey
This immersive chronicle preserves the fading customs, superstitions, and hearty revelries of the traditional English Christmas. It serves as both a nostalgic record and a warm invitation to rediscover the season’s enduring spirit of communal joy.
The History of Mr. Polly
H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The life of an unremarkable shopkeeper is transformed when a series of absurd, violent, and liberating mishaps finally allows him to abandon his misery for the simple, quiet beauty of the riverside.
The Natural History of Selborne
Gilbert White
A keen, patient eye turns the modest corners of an English village into a boundless laboratory of natural wonder. This collection of letters captures the quiet, enduring rhythm of the living world.
The Poems and Fragments of Catullus: Translated in the Metres of the Original
Gaius Valerius Catullus
The verses of an ancient Roman lover, reimagined through the formal rigors of Victorian classicism, reveal a heart as volatile and raw as any modern confession.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries: To-Day and in Days of Old
Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
This survey of an historic thoroughfare blends local topography with the vivid, often brutal, ghosts of England’s coaching past. It serves as a nostalgic yet critical map of a road defined by its movement and industry.
Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady
Samuel Richardson
A young woman’s uncompromising moral integrity is tested to the breaking point by a predatory suitor and an unforgiving family. This classic exploration of victimization and conscience captures the agonizing weight of a virtuous life coming to a premature end.
Elements of Gaelic Grammar
Alexander Stewart
A scholarly guide to the structure of a historic tongue, this volume serves as a bridge between the oral traditions of the Scottish Highlands and the formal codification of the written word.
Getting Married
Bernard Shaw
This sharp-witted drama invites a room full of eccentric characters to argue about the institution of marriage, ultimately revealing that the legal contract is far less interesting than the people trapped inside it.
Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
These volumes represent the collected literary output of a master of Victorian suspense, whose narratives transformed the landscape of the nineteenth-century novel through intricate plotting and innovative structural design.
Maori Religion and Mythology: Illustrated by Translations of Traditions, Karakia, &c., to Which Are Added Notes on Maori Tenure of Land
Edward Shortland
The wisdom of the Māori people survives in these carefully preserved oral traditions, offering a profound glimpse into a world where gods, ancestors, and the living landscape remain inextricably bound.
Myths That Every Child Should Know: A Selection Of The Classic Myths Of All Times For Young People
Unknown
These classic tales weave the foundational wonders of human imagination, bridging the gap between ancient gods and the curious hearts of youth.
Owen Glyndwr and the Last Struggle for Welsh Independence: With a Brief Sketch of Welsh History
A. G. (Arthur Granville) Bradley
Long after its medieval princes fell, a fiercely independent nation rallies around a charismatic nobleman who challenges the English crown and reshapes a country's national identity.
Promoting Polecat Perkins
W. C. (Wilbur C.) Tuttle
A band of hard-luck cowboys attempts a hilariously ill-conceived scheme to pass off a skunk-trapper as a missing millionaire. It is a raucous, dust-covered romp through the culture clash of the Wild West and the urban East.
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
A legendary collection of nested tales, these stories transport the reader into a world where magic, desire, and fate collide under the watchful eyes of kings and caliphs.
The Pocket Bible
Eugène Sue
The printer Christian Lebrenn fights for his family’s survival amid the religious fires of sixteenth-century France. This sweeping chronicle weaves a personal story of faith and resistance into the broader, blood-drenched tapestry of the Reformation.
The Wings of the Morning
Louis Tracy
A shipwrecked sailor and a high-born woman find their survival skills tested when they are cast away together on a remote, treasure-laden island. This classic adventure tale explores the tension between civilization and the raw wilderness.
Ali Baba, or the Forty Thieves
Unknown
A poor woodcutter discovers a secret cavern filled with stolen gold, triggering a dangerous game of wits against a ruthless band of thieves who will stop at nothing to reclaim their hoard.
Behind the Scenes
Elizabeth Keckley
This memoir offers an intimate, unvarnished look at the transition from enslavement to the inner sanctum of the White House, told by the woman who served as both dressmaker and confidante to the First Lady.
Ethics
Benedictus de Spinoza
Existence is a single, infinite, and necessary substance, and understanding our place within this absolute reality is the path to true freedom.
In Tune with the Infinite
Ralph Waldo Trine
The capacity to transform one's life lies within, waiting to be unlocked. By aligning individual thought with the Infinite, every person can exchange weakness for power, illness for health, and poverty for abundance.
Introduction to the study of history
Charles Seignobos
History is not a branch of literature to be judged by its entertainment value, but a scientific pursuit requiring rigorous methodology. This classic text serves as a foundational manual for transforming historical inquiry into a disciplined, evidence-based craft.
Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres
Henry Adams
The Virgin of Chartres stands as an absolute, architectural answer to the turbulence of human existence. Here, the medieval mind finds its most coherent expression in stone, glass, and prayer.
S. Hurok Presents
Sol Hurok
A life spent behind the curtain reveals the chaotic, glamorous, and often bruising reality of bringing world-class dance to American stages. This memoir chronicles the high-stakes work of an impresario who transformed how audiences experience ballet.
The family and its members
Anna Garlin Spencer
The family remains our most vital institution for personal development, yet it requires careful, conscious adaptation to survive and thrive within the complexities of modern democratic life.
The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3)
Philip Morin Freneau
HOOK Born of the fires of the American Revolution, these verses chronicle a life spent between the open sea, the partisan fray, and a yearning for the quiet, imaginative beauty of a world before politics.
A Chesterton Calendar: Compiled from the writings of 'G.K.C.' both in verse and in prose. With a section apart for the moveable feasts
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
A collection of aphorisms and observations, this volume serves as a daily companion for the curious mind, offering sharp, paradoxical insights into faith, tradition, and the enduring oddity of being human.
A Garland for Girls
Louisa May Alcott
This collection of stories offers a gentle, earnest exploration of the moral growth and daily challenges faced by young women at the close of the nineteenth century. It serves as both a comfort and a quiet guide for those navigating the transition from girlhood to responsible maturity.
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
Unknown
This collection is an invitation into the dreamlike logic of the human imagination, where the impossible serves as a mirror for our deepest needs, fears, and moral aspirations.
Have We No Rights? A frank discussion of the "rights" of missionaries
Mabel Williamson
The following is a reflection on the nature of sacrifice and personal surrender, written for those contemplating a life of service. It challenges the reader to set aside the demand for autonomy in favor of a deeper, spiritual vocation.
Newspaper Writing and Editing
Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
This practical manual strips away the mystery of the city room, offering a clear-eyed look at the mechanical and stylistic machinery required to turn daily events into the morning news. It serves as a foundational guide for anyone seeking to understand the craft of professional journalism as it existed at the dawn…
Shorter Prose Pieces
Oscar Wilde
The paradox of existence is that the only way to be truly serious is to maintain an atmosphere of impeccable, lighthearted artifice. To live well is to transform one’s life into a deliberate work of art.
The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852
Tolstoy, Leo, graf
A young man flees the crushing expectations of Moscow society for the wild, rugged freedom of the Caucasus, only to discover that he cannot easily shed his own nature or truly belong to the world he admires.
The Mute Stones Speak: The Story of Archaeology in Italy
Paul Lachlan MacKendrick
This survey brings the buried history of Italy to life, transforming silent ruins and fragments of stone into a vivid, coherent narrative of a civilization’s rise and transformation.
The mythology of Greece and Rome, with special reference to its use in art
Otto Seemann
Classical mythology serves as a foundational lens for Western culture, blending ancient religious tradition with a rich, enduring legacy of artistic expression. This guide bridges the gap between historical legend and the visual masterpieces they inspired.
The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
The natural world and the quiet corners of the human heart find their most resonant expression in these verses. Through a lens of contemplative precision, this collection transforms everyday observation into a profound meditation on existence.
Allan and the Holy Flower
H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard
A seasoned adventurer navigates the perils of the African interior in search of a legendary, golden-bloomed orchid, only to find himself embroiled in the fates of lost souls and ancient, forgotten deities.