myebooksbuy
My Books

The whole shelf

All free summaries — page 201

34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 201 of 714.

Cover of Mince Pie

Mince Pie

Christopher Morley

HOOK This collection of lighthearted, observant essays celebrates the quiet rhythms of domestic life, the curiosities of the city, and the enduring comfort of a good book.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: The Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields

Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: The Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields

S. Emma E. (Sarah Emma Evelyn) Edmonds

** A woman sets aside her civilian life to serve as both a field nurse and a clandestine scout, navigating the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War in a series of dangerous disguises.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic Psychology

Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic Psychology

William Healy

By peering into the minds of chronic deceivers, this clinical study unravels the complex, often tragic motives behind those who weave elaborate webs of fiction to navigate their own lives.

Law & Criminology6 min read
Cover of Salve Venetia, gleanings from Venetian history

Salve Venetia, gleanings from Venetian history

F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford

This is a sweeping, elegiac exploration of the Venetian Republic’s long decline, tracing the city’s transformation from a Mediterranean powerhouse into a stage for decadence and eventual collapse. It reads as both a love letter to a vanishing world and a sharp-eyed autopsy of its political and social disintegration.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of The Golden Censer

The Golden Censer

John McGovern

The golden censer of our daily life must be kept burning with the frankincense of high endeavor, for our actions in the present serve as the only reliable foundation for our eternal future.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts

The History of the Devil, As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts

Daniel Defoe

This satirical inquiry into the biography of Satan reveals a figure who is less a terrifying cosmic adversary and more a bumbling, overly busy bureaucrat whose greatest trick is convincing humanity to own its own sins.

History - Religious6 min read
Cover of The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac: Studies upon its Origin, Development, and Position in the Arthurian Romantic Cycle

The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac: Studies upon its Origin, Development, and Position in the Arthurian Romantic Cycle

Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston

This scholarly exploration dissects the evolution of the Lancelot legend, tracing its transformation from independent folk motifs into the sprawling, interconnected Arthurian cycles familiar to modern readers.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of The Miraculous Medal: Its Origin, History, Circulation, Results

The Miraculous Medal: Its Origin, History, Circulation, Results

Jean-Marie Aladel

Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! May the following pages draw hearts to follow your example of maternal tenderness and divine grace.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of The Negro in American fiction

The Negro in American fiction

Sterling A. Brown

This critical study examines the evolution of African American representation in literature, tracing how social biases and shifting political climates have shaped the fictional construction of Black identity in the United States.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Tik-Tok of Oz

Tik-Tok of Oz

L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum

A girl and a mule find their way to a land where roses have human faces, and an army of sixteen officers prepares to march on the most peaceful kingdom in existence.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1973 July - December

U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1973 July - December

Library of Congress. Copyright Office

This bureaucratic ledger preserves a fleeting moment in mid-century American intellectual life. It serves as a formal record of the legal claims that sustained the livelihoods of writers, scholars, and creators during the post-war transition.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference5 min read
Cover of Antic Hay

Antic Hay

Aldous Huxley

A group of aimless London intellectuals drift through a post-war landscape of disillusionment, seeking meaning in hedonism, anatomy, and the "antic hay" of their own absurd social performances.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Apu Ollantay: A Drama of the Time of the Incas

Apu Ollantay: A Drama of the Time of the Incas

Markham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir

This dramatic tale of forbidden love and imperial power offers a rare window into the traditional stories of the Incas, preserved through memory and later transcribed in the Andean highlands. It explores the tension between rigid social hierarchy and the irrepressible nature of human affection.

Historical Novels6 min read
Cover of Ballads

Ballads

Robert Louis Stevenson

The sea and the mountain hold secrets that weigh heavier than any treasure, waiting to pull the living into the silence of the dead. These narratives explore the friction between ancient codes and the relentless march of fate.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century

Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century

Georgiana Fullerton

A woman caught in the tightening grip of Elizabethan religious persecution fights to hold onto her faith, her family, and the man she loves despite the looming threat of the scaffold.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "France" to "Francis Joseph I.": Volume 10, Slice 8

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "France" to "Francis Joseph I.": Volume 10, Slice 8

Various

This volume is a fragment of a monumental reference work, capturing the state of history, politics, and biography in the early 20th century. It offers a dense, authoritative survey of the French nation and the lives of various figures named Francis.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of From Immigrant to Inventor

From Immigrant to Inventor

Michael Pupin

This memoir chronicles a journey from a Serbian village to the heights of American science, tracing how an immigrant boy’s curiosity became a cornerstone of modern electrical engineering. It is an enduring testament to the power of intellectual idealism.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II

Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II

Various

This expansive periodical offers a snapshot of mid-nineteenth-century intellectual life, blending literary excerpts, historical narratives, and international news. It serves as a bridge between the Victorian era’s artistic preoccupations and the burgeoning concerns of the American public.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Henry Dunbar: A Novel

Henry Dunbar: A Novel

M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

A dispossessed daughter and a fugitive father collide in a high-stakes game of identity and murder, where the weight of a fortune rests on the shadow of a man’s past.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Hilaire Belloc: No Alienated Man

Hilaire Belloc: No Alienated Man

Frederick D. Wilhelmsen

A portrait of a writer as a bastion of tradition, this study examines how one man’s deeply integrated life offers a vital alternative to the alienation of the modern age.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1: April 1861-November 1863

Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1: April 1861-November 1863

Jacob D. (Jacob Dolson) Cox

The story of the American Civil War is often told through the grand, impersonal lens of strategy and statistics. This narrative offers a rare, ground-level perspective from a leader who served with distinction from the war's first shots through the pivotal campaigns of 1863.

Biographies8 min read
Cover of Principles of Freedom

Principles of Freedom

Terence J. (Terence Joseph) MacSwiney

The call to liberty is not a distant aspiration for the future but a demanding, daily discipline of the soul. This collection of essays serves as a rigorous manifesto for those who believe that a nation’s freedom is forged through the private integrity of its individual citizens.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Shadow and Light: An Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century

Shadow and Light: An Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs

A life of restless industry, this memoir charts a journey from the constraints of pre-Civil War America to the halls of international diplomacy, championing the necessity of self-reliance for the advancement of a people.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Sixteen years in Siberia: Some experiences of a Russian revolutionist

Sixteen years in Siberia: Some experiences of a Russian revolutionist

L. G. (Lev Grigor'evich) Deich

An accidental arrest in Germany begins a harrowing odyssey for a Russian revolutionary, leading to a long, forced march into the heart of the Siberian penal system and a persistent, years-long struggle for liberation.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Tanks in the Great War, 1914-1918

Tanks in the Great War, 1914-1918

J. F. C. (John Frederick Charles) Fuller

The tank emerges in this account not merely as a weapon, but as a mechanical revolution that permanently shattered the stalemate of trench warfare. It remains a foundational text for understanding the birth of mechanized combat and the industrialization of the battlefield.

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of The Brighton Road: The Classic Highway to the South

The Brighton Road: The Classic Highway to the South

Charles G. (Charles George) Harper

This chronicle traces the evolution of the road from London to Brighton, capturing the transition from the golden age of coaching to the dawn of the motor-car.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Gods of Mars

The Gods of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

A legendary warrior returns to a hostile world to rescue his missing wife, only to discover a terrifying, ancient conspiracy hidden beneath the planet’s surface.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Hudson: Three Centuries of History, Romance and Invention

The Hudson: Three Centuries of History, Romance and Invention

Wallace Bruce

This guide captures the majestic course of the Hudson River, weaving together natural wonders, Revolutionary lore, and the progress of nineteenth-century engineering. It serves as a comprehensive companion for those tracing the river from its mountain springs to the sea.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Charles Baudelaire, His Life

Charles Baudelaire, His Life

Théophile Gautier

This portrait of a poet captures the intersection of art and agony, depicting a man who navigated the shadows of 19th-century Paris with a temperament as complex as his verse. It is a rare, intimate look at the life and mind of a literary master.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of How to Study Architecture

How to Study Architecture

Charles H. (Charles Henry) Caffin

Tracing the evolution of human history through the stone and mortar of its most significant monuments, this guide offers a clear, systematic path for understanding how architectural style reflects the shifting values of civilization.

Architecture7 min read
Cover of Melville and Co.'s Directory and Gazetteer of Norwich, Yarmouth, Dereham, Swaffham, Wymondham, Fakenham, Thetford, Attleborough, Aylsham, Diss, Reepham, Foulsham, Hingham, &c

Melville and Co.'s Directory and Gazetteer of Norwich, Yarmouth, Dereham, Swaffham, Wymondham, Fakenham, Thetford, Attleborough, Aylsham, Diss, Reepham, Foulsham, Hingham, &c

F. R. Melville & Co.

A meticulous mapping of mid-nineteenth-century East Anglia, this volume serves as a comprehensive inventory of the towns, trades, and social infrastructure of Norfolk and Suffolk at the height of the Victorian era.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Miss Billy

Miss Billy

Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter

This story of a young woman adjusting to the realities of marriage explores the delicate machinery of domestic life with humor and emotional honesty. It captures the transition from the dream of romance to the practical challenges of keeping a home and a heart steady.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Pink and White Tyranny: A Society Novel

Pink and White Tyranny: A Society Novel

Harriet Beecher Stowe

A marriage built on deception becomes a suffocating trap for a man of principle and a woman who views herself as the only idol worthy of worship. This domestic drama dissects the devastating collision between romantic illusion and harsh reality.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Arena, Volume 4, No. 19, June, 1891

The Arena, Volume 4, No. 19, June, 1891

Various

HOOK This collection captures the urgent, fractious spirit of the American Gilded Age, where visionary reforms and profound social anxieties collide in the pages of a radical monthly journal.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of 1914

1914

French, John Denton Pinkstone, Earl of Ypres

A first-hand account of the opening months of the Great War, detailing the strategic movements, agonizing retreats, and critical command decisions of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914.

History - British6 min read
Cover of A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage: Together with the Sense of Antiquity on this Argument

A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage: Together with the Sense of Antiquity on this Argument

Jeremy Collier

The English stage of the late 17th century serves as a battlefield where virtue confronts vice, and the theater is painted as a theater of corruption. This polemic remains a foundational, albeit controversial, artifact of moral criticism.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown: With a Chapter on Historic Morristown

Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown: With a Chapter on Historic Morristown

Julia Keese Colles

A quiet, meticulous survey of the intellectual and historical landscape of Morristown, New Jersey, this compilation gathers the literary echoes of a town long defined by its Revolutionary legacy and subsequent refinement.

History - American6 min read
Cover of El Dorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

El Dorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

The Scarlet Pimpernel returns to France to rescue the young Dauphin from the horrors of the Temple prison, only to find himself ensnared in a web of his own making. A high-stakes game of shadows and duty unfolds.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Fruits of Philosophy: A Treatise on the Population Question

Fruits of Philosophy: A Treatise on the Population Question

Charles Knowlton

This treatise navigates the intersection of reproductive biology and social survival, offering a frank, nineteenth-century argument for the necessity of family planning to alleviate poverty and improve human health.

Health & Medicine7 min read
Cover of History of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Vol. 2 (of 2)

History of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Vol. 2 (of 2)

S. A. (Samuel Astley) Dunham

The Northmen emerge from the mists of legend into a structured, turbulent history, forging empires and identities across the frozen reaches of the Baltic and the icy corners of the North Atlantic.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Home-made Toys for Girls and Boys: Wooden and Cardboard Toys, Mechanical and Electric Toys

Home-made Toys for Girls and Boys: Wooden and Cardboard Toys, Mechanical and Electric Toys

A. Neely (Albert Neely) Hall

Building a toy from scratch transforms a rainy afternoon into an exercise in engineering and imagination. This guide serves as a practical manual for turning common household items into a functional world of play.

Children & Young Adult Reading5 min read
Cover of King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855

King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855

E. Keble (Edward Keble) Chatterton

The war between the English Crown and the professional smuggler was a contest of wits, violence, and nautical skill that shaped the coastlines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Robert Burns: How To Know Him

Robert Burns: How To Know Him

William Allan Neilson

The ploughman who became the national voice of Scotland finds his life and art distilled into a resonant, scholarly portrait of genius. This work captures how a farmer’s son transformed the vernacular of his people into timeless literature.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Simla Village Tales

Simla Village Tales

Alice Dracott

These vibrant, often startling accounts of Himalayan life capture the wisdom, wit, and occasional cruelty of village folklore. They preserve the voices of women whose stories might otherwise have vanished into the mountain mists.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore6 min read
Cover of So Big

So Big

Edna Ferber

A young mother transforms a hardscrabble existence on the Illinois prairie into a life of purpose, while her son struggles to find his own measure of success in the opulent, hollow world of Chicago’s elite.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Solomon and Solomonic Literature

Solomon and Solomonic Literature

Moncure Daniel Conway

HOOK This inquiry explores the evolution of the Solomonic legend, tracing how the ancient Hebrew king’s reputation for wisdom and magic became a vessel for evolving religious ideals.

History - Religious6 min read
Cover of The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 3 (of 3): To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7

The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 3 (of 3): To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7

Zebulon Montgomery Pike

This account documents the rigorous, often perilous exploration of the American frontier and the Spanish borderlands during the pivotal years following the Louisiana Purchase.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Town Life in Australia

Town Life in Australia

Richard Ernest Nowell Twopeny

Australia is a land of paradoxes, where English traditions meet raw, colonial ambition, and a slice of Liverpool has been transplanted to the Antipodes.

History - Other7 min read
Advertisement