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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 186 of 714.
Letters and social aims
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The pursuit of a meaningful life requires balancing the practical demands of the material world with the lofty, often elusive, requirements of the human soul. This collection of essays serves as a meditation on how to navigate that tension with integrity.
Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, Volume 2 (of 3): Illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy, from 1440 To 1630
James Dennistoun
The history of the Dukes of Urbino reveals the intricate dance between Renaissance artistic splendor and the brutal, shifting tides of Italian power. Through the lens of a scholarly nineteenth-century eye, the narrative reconstructs a world where the sword and the quill were equally essential tools of survival for…
North America
Israel C. (Cook) Russell
This survey offers a sweeping, turn-of-the-century portrait of a continent’s physical evolution, detailing how geological forces and climate shaped the vast, rugged landscapes that define North America.
Pelham
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
High fashion, political ambition, and dark underworld crime intersect in this glittering tale of a nineteenth-century dandy who hides sharp intellect beneath an outrageous, velvet-trimmed exterior.
Prejudices, second series
H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken
A relentless observer of the American scene, this collection dissects the national psyche with the precision of a surgeon and the wit of a barroom brawler. It offers a provocative, unsparing audit of a culture struggling to reconcile its democratic ideals with its persistent anti-intellectualism.
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México
William Edward Duellman
This systematic survey documents the diverse reptiles and amphibians of Michoacán, Mexico, mapping their distribution across the state’s varied tropical forests, mountain ridges, and volcanic plateaus.
The Edda, Volume 2: The Heroic Mythology of the North
Lucy Winifred Faraday
This scholarly examination traces the ancient Germanic heroic tradition as preserved in the fragmented, often brutal poems of the Norse Edda. It serves as an essential guide to the evolution of Northern legend, mapping how oral tales of gods and warriors transformed across centuries and cultures.
The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither
Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
A seasoned traveler ventures into the heart of the Malay Peninsula, documenting a world where British colonial administration brushes against ancient customs and the raw, untamed reality of the jungle.
The Grandeur That Was Rome: a survey of Roman culture and civilisation
J. C. (John Clarke) Stobart
The rise and fall of the Roman state is a study in the immense power of discipline, the corruption of success, and the inevitable entropy of an over-organized society.
The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 2 of 2)
J. Holland (John Holland) Rose
A supreme military genius reshapes the map of Europe through audacity and administrative force, only to watch his vast empire crumble under the weight of endless war, personal overreach, and united national resistance.
The Mysteries of Paris, illustrated with etchings, Vol. 2
Eugène Sue
A secret benefactor traverses the darkest corners of 19th-century Paris, intervening in the lives of the suffering to weave a complex web of redemption, vengeance, and hidden identity.
The Philippine Islands
Ramon Reyes Lala
A native of Manila recounts the complex history, culture, and colonial struggle of his archipelago at the pivotal moment of the Spanish-American War. This vivid chronicle serves as both an intimate travelogue and a fervent political appeal for American guardianship.
The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western Railway
John O'Mahony
This practical, vivid guide illuminates the scenic wonders and historical depths of Southern and Western Ireland, mapping the terrain through the iron veins of its primary railway network.
The Young Man and the World
Albert J. (Albert Jeremiah) Beveridge
Success is not the holding of a good hand, but the playing of a poor hand well. This fundamental principle of personal character serves as the cornerstone for navigating the challenges of a complex, indifferent world.
Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger: From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of Africa
Robert Huish
A continuous line of British explorers faces disease, hostile rulers, and unforgiving wilderness to map the interior of West Africa and trace the enigmatic Niger River to its mouth.
Women in the Life of Balzac
Juanita Helm Floyd
This biographical study examines the intense, complex, and often fraught relationships between Honoré de Balzac and the women who shaped his inner life and professional output. It serves as an intimate map of the muse-figures behind his monumental fiction.
A History of Science
Henry Smith Williams
This narrative traces the rapid evolution of human understanding, moving from early chemical theories to the complex biological and psychological discoveries that defined the nineteenth century. It serves as a comprehensive record of how meticulous experimentation transformed vague natural philosophies into modern…
A Student's History of England, v. 1: B.C. 55-A.D. 1509: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VII
Samuel Rawson Gardiner
This overview traces the foundational centuries of the English state, documenting the slow, often turbulent evolution from tribal fragmentation toward a unified, centralized nation. It offers a rigorous, chronological account of the political and social shifts that defined the British landscape from the Roman era…
Anglo-Saxon Primer, With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary: Eighth Edition Revised
Henry Sweet
Learning an ancient language requires a reliable guide, and this volume serves as a clear, foundational path into the earliest form of English. It provides the essential grammatical framework and curated texts needed to begin reading Old English with confidence.
Cock Lane and Common-Sense
Andrew Lang
This exploration of the supernatural challenges the modern divide between folklore and scientific inquiry. It invites the reader to examine how human experience, whether in ancient rituals or Victorian drawing rooms, consistently repeats the same mysterious patterns.
Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country
Irving Bacheller
The story of a young boy and his rugged, devoted guardian journeying through the Adirondack wilderness, this book captures the transition from pioneer simplicity to the complex realities of American adulthood.
Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches: An Account of the Big Game of the United States and its Chase with Horse, Hound, and Rifle
Theodore Roosevelt
The American frontier was once a vast, untamed theater of life and death, where the silence of the wilderness was broken only by the crack of a rifle and the primal struggles of beast against beast.
Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel
Theodore Dreiser
A young woman’s life is defined by the rigid social codes of her era, as her genuine, self-sacrificing love for a man of status becomes a burden she is forced to carry alone.
Lancelot of the Laik: A Scottish Metrical Romance (About 1490-1500 A. D.)
Unknown
This Scottish metrical romance explores the intersection of courtly love, knightly duty, and the tempering influence of wisdom. It captures a pivotal moment in the Arthurian cycle through the lens of a nameless, humble narrator.
Lao-tzu, A Study in Chinese Philosophy
Thomas Watters
HOOK This exploration of an ancient Chinese sage examines the elusive origins and enduring mysteries of the Tao-tê Ching, tracing the transformation of a philosophical text into a cornerstone of Eastern thought.
Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public
William Banting
HOOK A determined man shares his journey toward health, offering a simple, common-sense dietary shift that permanently transformed his life and challenged the medical conventions of the Victorian era.
Mardi, and a voyage thither, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Herman Melville
A wanderer abandons his ship to pursue a lost, ethereal love through a sprawling, allegorical archipelago, seeking truth in a world that defies his grasp.
Mental Philosophy: Including the Intellect, Sensibilities, and Will
Joseph Haven
Human thought, feeling, and action proceed from a single, highly structured mind whose underlying powers can be systematically mapped and understood.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie
This work captures the fragile, bittersweet boundary between the boundless imagination of childhood and the irreversible finality of growing up. It invites readers into a twilight realm where the impossible is ordinary and the heart’s deepest desires are perpetually at risk of being left behind.
Promenades of an Impressionist
James Huneker
Hook A restless, erudite guide leads readers through the galleries of Europe and the minds of history’s most daring painters, championing the visceral power of art over the dry constraints of academic tradition.
The Adventures of Hugh Trevor
Thomas Holcroft
A searching mind ventures into eighteenth-century society, only to find corruption in every profession and virtue where least expected.
The Chemistry of Food and Nutrition
A. W. Duncan
Simple, clean eating is the surest path to physical well-being. By selecting the right fuel for the body’s specific needs, one may avoid the systemic exhaustion caused by modern, over-stimulated diets.
The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10): Stories from the Classics
Unknown
The ancient world is a place where gods walk among men, where hubris invites tragedy, and where every mortal journey is carved by the whims of fate. These timeless tales form the bedrock of Western storytelling.
The China of Chiang K'ai-Shek: A Political Study
Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger
A study of governance under duress, this analysis examines how a beleaguered regime attempts to centralize power and modernize its state machinery while fighting an existential war of survival.
The Day's Work
Rudyard Kipling
The work of man—the labor of machines, the duty of soldiers, and the quiet precision of the technical mind—is the beating heart of these stories. This collection captures the early industrial age, where the rhythm of the machine and the rhythm of the human soul are inextricably bound.
The Fortunes of Nigel
Walter Scott
A young Scottish noble travels to the Jacobean court to claim a crown debt, only to get dragged into duel-riddled streets, sinister deceptions, and the lawless sanctuary of London's underworld.
The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism
A. Leah (Ann Leah) Underhill
The Fox sisters, originators of American Spiritualism, recount their journey from a small-town haunting to the center of a national phenomenon. Their testimony serves as an earnest, intimate defense of the unseen forces that shaped their lives.
The story of utopias
Lewis Mumford
This exploration of human desire for a perfect society reveals how our visions of the future reflect the limitations of our current age. It bridges the gap between abstract dreams and the practical work of building a home.
The Town: Its Memorable Characters and Events
Leigh Hunt
A city is not merely a collection of brick and stone, but an ongoing drama populated by the ghosts of its former residents.
Theological Essays
Charles Bradlaugh
These essays offer a rigorous, uncompromising examination of religious dogma, challenging the foundations of theological belief through the lens of nineteenth-century rationalism. They serve as a provocative call to intellectual independence and secular inquiry.
Thoughts on the Present Discontents, and Speeches
Edmund Burke
The preservation of a stable government requires a vigilant public, yet such vigilance must be grounded in the careful maintenance of constitutional tradition rather than the reckless pursuit of speculative innovation.
Across Coveted Lands
Arnold Henry Savage Landor
A perilous expedition across Persia and Beluchistan reveals a land of decaying ancient cities, complex international intrigue, and unforgiving deserts.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe
James Harvey Robinson
Sweeping across fifteen centuries of continental transformation, this volume presents a measured, institutions-focused account of how European society remade itself from the fall of Rome to the twentieth century.
Arden of Feversham
Unknown
A scheming wife, her ambitious lover, and a band of hired killers turn a quiet Kentish estate into a deadly, chaotic arena where greed and betrayal clash in domestic murder.
Every Man His Own Doctor: The Cold Water, Tepid Water, and Friction-Cure, as Applicable to Every Disease to Which the Human Frame Is Subject, and Also to the Cure of Disease in Horses and Cattle
R. T. (Richard Tappin) Claridge
This manual serves as a definitive guide to the 19th-century "water-cure," advocating for the healing properties of cold water, friction, and sweating to replace the reliance on medicinal drugs. It acts as both a biographical tribute to its pioneer and a practical reference for treating ailments in humans and…
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 5: With His Letters and Journals
Thomas Moore
The restless spirit of a romantic icon finds his final years defined by political exile, the tragedy of loss, and a sharp, cynical wisdom that defies his former reputation.
Lucretia
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
A dark lineage of ambition transforms early intellect into a calculating poisoner whose ruthless plotting ensnares a whole network of unsuspecting lives.
Pictured Puzzles and Word Play: A Companion to the Twentieth Century Standard Puzzle Book
A. Cyril (Arthur Cyril) Pearson
The sharpest minds of the Edwardian era found their match in these pages, a meticulously curated collection of enigmas, word games, and mathematical curiosities designed to challenge the reader's patience and wit.