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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 223 of 714.

Cover of Atlantic Classics, Second Series

Atlantic Classics, Second Series

Unknown

The everyday observation of an era becomes the enduring wisdom of the next when caught by reflective minds. These collected voices from early twentieth-century America turn personal experience into quiet philosophy.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Exeter: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See

Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Exeter: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See

Percy Addleshaw

Rising above ancient stone walls, a majestic monument of faith and genius reveals how centuries of ambitious prelates transformed raw Devonshire masonry into a single, breathtaking masterpiece of Decorated Gothic architecture.

Architecture5 min read
Cover of Big Game Shooting, volume 2 (of 2)

Big Game Shooting, volume 2 (of 2)

Clive Phillipps-Wolley

Tracking a phantom beast through dense pine ravines demands absolute stillness, deep patience, and an appetite for cold terrain.

Adventure8 min read
Cover of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

Various

A lively mix of intellectual critique, historic narrative, high romance, and social satire gives voice to nineteenth-century British literary culture.

Essays, Letters & Speeches7 min read
Cover of Castilian Days

Castilian Days

John Hay

A nineteenth-century American diplomat paints a vivid, clear-eyed portrait of Spain, where ancient traditions, glorious art, and stubborn pride collide with the dawn of modern politics.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines: With an Appendix: Earthquakes in the Marianas Islands 1599-1909

Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines: With an Appendix: Earthquakes in the Marianas Islands 1599-1909

Miguel Saderra Masó

A precise, tabulated inventory of seismic disasters tracks centuries of ground-shattering events, detailing how structural ambition and tectonic vulnerability shaped the physical history of the Pacific islands.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Samuel Richardson

A young woman seeks to preserve her moral independence against an overbearing family and a relentless, scheming suitor.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Dante and the early astronomers

Dante and the early astronomers

M. A. (Mary Acworth) Orr

Before modern observatories shattered the ancient skies, human beings measured time by shadow poles and mapped their cosmos in fixed nested spheres. To understand how Dante Alighieri wove this early cosmos into poetry, an astronomer turns her gaze back to the origins of stargazing.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of Despoilers of the Golden Empire

Despoilers of the Golden Empire

Randall Garrett

A ruthless commander leads a starveling expedition into an alien jungle, risking everything to wrench the universe's most precious power metal from a fierce, sun-worshipping empire.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway: from Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester

Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway: from Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester

Drake, James, active 1825

A journey through the heart of early industrial Britain shows how steam, steel, and speed reshaped a nation's landscape and daily life.

History - British5 min read
Cover of Far to seek

Far to seek

Maud Diver

A young man born of an English father and an Indian mother sets out for his mother’s homeland to bridge two worlds, only to find both sides torn by political unrest and the quiet weight of expectation.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Furnishing the Home of Good Taste: A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today

Furnishing the Home of Good Taste: A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today

Lucy Abbot Throop

Good design is not an accident of luxury, but the deliberate alignment of utility, history, and restraint.

Architecture5 min read
Cover of Graded Lessons in English: An Elementary English Grammar Consisting of One Hundred Practical Lessons, Carefully Graded and Adapted to the Class-Room

Graded Lessons in English: An Elementary English Grammar Consisting of One Hundred Practical Lessons, Carefully Graded and Adapted to the Class-Room

Alonzo Reed

A systematic, hundred-part guide to English structure, this work transforms the abstract rules of grammar into a hands-on mechanical discipline. It remains a definitive artifact of the nineteenth-century classroom’s rigorous approach to language.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of Gulliver of Mars

Gulliver of Mars

Edwin Lester Arnold

A disillusioned American navy officer travels across space to an ancient, decaying Mars, where he fights savage conquerors and falls in love with a fleeting alien princess.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of History of the English People, Volume I: Early England, 449-1071

History of the English People, Volume I: Early England, 449-1071

John Richard Green

An island nation is born not in isolation, but through successive waves of conquest, assimilation, and institutional struggle.

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1.: To the Sources of the Missouri, Thence Across the Rocky Mountains and Down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Performed During the Years 1804-5-6

History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1.: To the Sources of the Missouri, Thence Across the Rocky Mountains and Down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Performed During the Years 1804-5-6

Meriwether Lewis

In the spring of 1804, a small contingent of soldiers and boatmen rowed up the Missouri River into an unmapped continent. This volume records their daily struggle against swift currents, harsh weather, and the sheer immensity of the American West.

Adventure8 min read
Cover of Humanity in the City

Humanity in the City

E. H. (Edwin Hubbell) Chapin

Under the rushing noise and blinding display of urban commerce lies a single human soul, searching in crowded thoroughfares for the divine purpose of its daily struggles.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Jerry Todd and the Oak Island Treasure

Jerry Todd and the Oak Island Treasure

Leo Edwards

A midnight escape on a stolen clay scow, a disguised piano leg, and a band of small-town boys facing down a ruthless criminal bring this classic midwestern adventure to life.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Life of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea (Vol. II): Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution and Sketches of the Indian Campaigns of Generals Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne

Life of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea (Vol. II): Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution and Sketches of the Indian Campaigns of Generals Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne

William L. (William Leete) Stone

Framed as both a sweeping military chronicle and a granular biography, this history explores the volatile frontier of the American Revolution and its complicated aftermath. Through the life of the Mohawk leader Thayendanegea, it traces the collision of empire, indigenous sovereignty, and nation-building.

Biographies10 min read
Cover of Macbeth

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

A tragic tale of ambition, betrayal, and the supernatural, exploring the consequences of unchecked desire.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Maurice Tiernay, Soldier of Fortune

Maurice Tiernay, Soldier of Fortune

Charles Lever

An orphaned street boy navigates the blood-soaked chaos of Revolutionary France, forging a perilous career as an opportunistic soldier across the battlefields and battlements of Napoleonic Europe.

Adventure10 min read
Cover of Memorials of old Nottinghamshire

Memorials of old Nottinghamshire

Unknown

A landscape of ancient oaks, stone spires, and shifting riverbeds holds the memory of a county's forgotten craftsmen and sudden wars.

General6 min read
Cover of One Woman's Life

One Woman's Life

Robert Herrick

A young woman navigates the shifting social currents of turn-of-the-century America, discovering that beauty and personal ambition carry unexpected costs.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Personal Poems, Complete: Volume IV of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier

Personal Poems, Complete: Volume IV of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier

Faithful memory, moral duty, and quiet spiritual reflection weave through a lifetime of verse to form a portrait of nineteenth-century New England.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft

A woman in an eighteenth-century asylum writes her life down for the child taken from her arms, using ink and memory to resist her own undoing.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Selections From Josephus

Selections From Josephus

Flavius Josephus

A ancient nation's struggle for identity ends in devastating ruin under the absolute power of imperial Rome.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest

Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest

Frank Wild

A leader’s sudden passing in icy waters leaves an expedition without its guiding star, forcing a resilient crew to press onward through the Antarctic pack.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Shakespeare's environment

Shakespeare's environment

C. C. (Charlotte Carmichael) Stopes

Reconstructing the living world of Renaissance Warwickshire and London requires unearthing the legal disputes, property transactions, and domestic records of a poet's contemporaries.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Successful Methods of Public Speaking

Successful Methods of Public Speaking

Grenville Kleiser

To captivate an audience, a speaker must bring a message deeply rooted in personal conviction, relying far more on earnest character and quiet sincerity than on mere mechanical artifice.

How To ...5 min read
Cover of The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume 2 (of 3): The Belief Among the Polynesians

The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume 2 (of 3): The Belief Among the Polynesians

James George Frazer

Across the islands of the Pacific, the fear of the dead built stone pyramids, dictated daily law, and demanded human lives to keep the living safe.

Archaeology & Anthropology9 min read
Cover of The collected works of Henrik Ibsen, Vol. 08 (of 11)

The collected works of Henrik Ibsen, Vol. 08 (of 11)

Henrik Ibsen

When truth is treated as a crime and illusions are kept alive like pet birds in an attic, survival requires choosing between comfortable lies and devastating honesty.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens

Georg Jellinek

A rigorous historical inquiry traces the origins of modern fundamental rights to colonial American religious compacts rather than the French Enlightenment.

History - European6 min read
Cover of The Discoveries of America to the Year 1525

The Discoveries of America to the Year 1525

Arthur James Weise

Centuries before European anchors bit into American shores, stories of distant lands across the western sea circulated through global history, setting off an relentless pursuit of unknown territories.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Duke Decides

The Duke Decides

Headon Hill

A penniless young nobleman, trapped by a criminal syndicate in New York, inherits a British dukedom only to find his new fortune used as leverage to force him into a high-stakes international robbery.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The English Novel and the Principle of its Development

The English Novel and the Principle of its Development

Sidney Lanier

Tracing the evolution of literary form from ancient myth to modern realism, a passionate nineteenth-century scholar reveals how prose grew into the supreme art of human personality.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of King George the Fifth. Volume 08 of 11

The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of King George the Fifth. Volume 08 of 11

Hilaire Belloc

The standard of historical narrative in the English language was changed when John Lingard and Hilaire Belloc combined rigorous archival evidence with a sweeping, unsparing narrative of the English Civil War and its aftermath.

History - Ancient10 min read
Cover of The History of Napoleon Buonaparte

The History of Napoleon Buonaparte

J. G. (John Gibson) Lockhart

A ruthless ambition propels a Corsican officer from complete obscurity to the master of continental Europe, only for his vast empire to collapse under the weight of its own excess.

Biographies9 min read
Cover of The Life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

The Life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

Charles Duke Yonge

A tragic trajectory across the divide of revolution transforms a naive Austrian princess into an enduring, embattled symbol of fallen royalty.

Biographies12 min read
Cover of The Man-Made World

The Man-Made World

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

A century of history has been mistaken for human nature because half the race was forbidden to shape it.

Gender & Sexuality Studies6 min read
Cover of The Ordeal of Richard Feverel

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel

George Meredith

A father’s rigid design for a perfect son collides with human nature, launching a devastating chain of secret passions, misguided interferences, and tragic miscalculations.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2 (of 2)

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2 (of 2)

Charles Dickens

A bumbling, warm-hearted gentleman and his quick-witted servant navigate the legal traps, debtor prisons, and tangled romances of nineteenth-century England.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Sick-a-Bed Lady: And Also Hickory Dock, The Very Tired Girl, The Happy-Day, Something That Happened in October, The Amateur Lover, Heart of The City, The Pink Sash, Woman's Only Business

The Sick-a-Bed Lady: And Also Hickory Dock, The Very Tired Girl, The Happy-Day, Something That Happened in October, The Amateur Lover, Heart of The City, The Pink Sash, Woman's Only Business

Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

A restless, spirited collection of tales where fragile health and intense, impulsive emotions collide, capturing the poignant search for connection in a world that often feels indifferent or alarmingly small.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Wonders of Instinct: Chapters in the Psychology of Insects

The Wonders of Instinct: Chapters in the Psychology of Insects

Jean-Henri Fabre

Tiny lives play out against a dusty background in Southern France, where small creatures hunt, build, and scheme. By observing their daily routines, a patient naturalist reveals the complex and mysterious instincts guiding their quiet worlds.

Nature/Gardening/Animals7 min read
Cover of Tom Cringle's Log

Tom Cringle's Log

Michael Scott

An eager thirteen-year-old midshipman sets sail into the high-stakes, powder-charred waters of the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars, coming of age amidst roaring sea battles, tropical fevers, privateers, and the vibrant, unpredictable life of the Caribbean.

Adventure10 min read
Cover of Travels in South Kensington: with Notes on Decorative Art and Architecture in England

Travels in South Kensington: with Notes on Decorative Art and Architecture in England

Moncure Daniel Conway

Against the backdrop of Victorian industrialization, a quiet revolution takes shape through glittering majolica, hand-loomed carpets, and thoughtfully built suburban homes that bring art into everyday human life.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of A History of the Third French Republic

A History of the Third French Republic

C. H. C. (Charles Henry Conrad) Wright

A nation rebuilds itself from catastrophic defeat, balancing fragile democratic ideals against intense political rivalry and deep social fractures.

History - European6 min read
Cover of A New Light of Alchymie: Taken out of the Fountaine of Nature, and Manuall Experience. Etc

A New Light of Alchymie: Taken out of the Fountaine of Nature, and Manuall Experience. Etc

Michal Sedziwój

A central document of early modern science, this work unveils nature’s hidden machinery, guiding readers through the subterranean generation of metals, the spiritual chemistry of the elements, and the elusive art of transmutation.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)5 min read
Cover of Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. Huxley

Aphorisms and Reflections from the Works of T. H. Huxley

Thomas Henry Huxley

A relentless commitment to clear thinking can strip away comforting illusions and reveal the rigorous, unified order of the natural world.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
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