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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 235 of 714.

Cover of John Pettie, R.A., H.R.S.A.: Sixteen examples in colour of the artist's work

John Pettie, R.A., H.R.S.A.: Sixteen examples in colour of the artist's work

Martin Hardie

This study captures the life and vivid, dramatic work of John Pettie, a nineteenth-century Scottish painter who rose from humble beginnings to become a celebrated master of color and historical narrative.

Art6 min read
Cover of Naval songs and ballads

Naval songs and ballads

Unknown

These collected songs and ballads offer a visceral, unvarnished window into the lives, grievances, and fierce loyalties of British sailors from the seventeenth century through the Napoleonic era.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley: With an Intermediate Chapter on the Causes of Arrest of the Movement

Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley: With an Intermediate Chapter on the Causes of Arrest of the Movement

Edward Clodd

This intellectual history traces the struggle for scientific truth, mapping the evolution of the idea of evolution from its ancient Ionian origins to its modern synthesis in the nineteenth century.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of Sons of the Morning

Sons of the Morning

Eden Phillpotts

The beauty of the moor is as vast as the human capacity for misunderstanding, and this story maps the wreckage left when two men and a woman lose their way in the fog of their own intentions.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Tales of the Covenanters

Tales of the Covenanters

Ellen Emma Guthrie

The struggle for religious freedom in 17th-century Scotland unfolds through these evocative narratives, where the quiet faith of humble martyrs clashes against the iron-fisted authority of a state determined to crush dissent.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror

The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror

George Chetwynd Griffith

A brilliant, impoverished inventor crafts an invincible fleet of aerial warships, empowering a secretive revolutionary order to dismantle the corrupt empires of the old world and forcibly mandate global peace.

Novels7 min read
Cover of The Beginner's American History

The Beginner's American History

D. H. (David Henry) Montgomery

This chronicle offers a concise, accessible survey of the foundational figures and pivotal milestones that shaped the American landscape. It provides a narrative bridge for those seeking a clear entry point into the nation’s complex past.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2

The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2

Davies, John, Sir

These verses capture the intellectual fervor of the Elizabethan era, blending philosophical rigor with a rare, crystalline grace that explores the nature of the soul and the harmony of the universe.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The doctor looks at biography

The doctor looks at biography

Joseph Collins

A discerning medical eye turns toward the literary record, examining how famous lives are captured, distorted, and understood through the pages of biography.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The doings of Raffles Haw

The doings of Raffles Haw

Arthur Conan Doyle

A mysterious, wealthy recluse settles in a quiet English village, wielding the power to manufacture gold and transform lives, yet finding that his boundless fortune brings only misery and moral corruption to those around him.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Empire and the Papacy, 918-1273

The Empire and the Papacy, 918-1273

T. F. (Thomas Frederick) Tout

The central drama of the Middle Ages unfolds through the collision between two universal powers, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, as they vie for supremacy over a rapidly changing Europe.

History - European8 min read
Cover of The Home Medical Library, Volume 5 (of 6)

The Home Medical Library, Volume 5 (of 6)

Unknown

This comprehensive guide provides an authoritative snapshot of early 20th-century domestic science, offering practical advice on managing home health, sanitation, and environmental safety. It serves as a bridge between professional medical expertise and the daily requirements of a well-maintained household.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Hopi Indians

The Hopi Indians

Walter Hough

This study offers an intimate, observant window into the lives, rituals, and enduring traditions of the Hopi people as they navigated the transition toward modern American influence in the early twentieth century.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of The humour of Ireland

The humour of Ireland

Unknown

This collection offers a spirited, sprawling treasury of Irish wit, ranging from the absurdity of folk tales and ballads to the biting satire of nineteenth-century literature. It captures the distinct, resilient character of a nation defined by its language and its laughter.

Humour6 min read
Cover of The Notting Hill Mystery

The Notting Hill Mystery

Charles Felix

An investigator pieces together a trail of life insurance policies, mysterious illnesses, and cold-blooded manipulation to expose a predator operating under the guise of scientific enlightenment.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Panama Canal: A history and description of the enterprise

The Panama Canal: A history and description of the enterprise

J. Saxon (John Saxon) Mills

This historical account chronicles the engineering triumph of the Panama Canal, framing the monumental construction project as a decisive shift in global commerce and geopolitical power. It captures the transition from failed dreams to technological mastery at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of The Runaway

The Runaway

Unknown

A young boy’s restless dream of adventure curdles into a nightmare of homelessness, crime, and incarceration. This sobering narrative serves as a stark warning to those who would trade the security of a loving home for the false promises of the wide world.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Tale of a Field Hospital

The Tale of a Field Hospital

Frederick Treves

War is often remembered through the lens of battlefield heroism, but this account focuses on the quiet, grim reality of the surgeons and nurses tasked with tending to the broken bodies left behind by the conflict.

Health & Medicine6 min read
Cover of The Virgin in Judgment

The Virgin in Judgment

Eden Phillpotts

Against the rugged, ancient silence of Dartmoor, a quiet domestic tragedy unfolds as a devoted husband and his sister find their bond inadvertently pushing his wife toward a lonely, irreversible end.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses

A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses

K. Rangachari

The humble grass, often dismissed as mere background, is revealed here as the essential architect of the South Indian landscape and the silent partner to all agricultural prosperity.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of A Plea for Captain John Brown: Read to the citizens of Concord, Massachusetts on Sunday evening, October thirtieth, eighteen fifty-nine

A Plea for Captain John Brown: Read to the citizens of Concord, Massachusetts on Sunday evening, October thirtieth, eighteen fifty-nine

Henry David Thoreau

A fierce and urgent defense of a man branded a fanatic, this address demands that we weigh the moral courage of an individual against the hollow legality of a nation.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of A Study of Poetry

A Study of Poetry

Bliss Perry

Poetry is not merely the decoration of ideas, but the transformation of human experience into a rhythmic, resonant language that captures what we feel but cannot say. Understanding the mechanics of this transformation deepens our appreciation of the art itself.

Poetry7 min read
Cover of Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War

Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War

Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

This survey explores the rapid, violent transformation of aviation during the early years of the First World War. It provides a technical and tactical overview of how dirigibles and aeroplanes became essential, if unpredictable, instruments of modern combat.

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of Among the Farmyard People

Among the Farmyard People

Clara Dillingham Pierson

The farmyard is a bustling, hierarchical society where every creature, from the proud Peacock to the humble Mouse, learns that character is defined by how one treats a neighbor.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic

Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic

W. (William) Stebbing

This guide provides a rigorous distillation of an essential nineteenth-century inquiry into how we know what we know. It functions as both a map and a companion for navigating the complexities of structured reasoning.

Language & Communication6 min read
Cover of Ancestors: A Novel

Ancestors: A Novel

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

A high-born Englishman seeking purpose in the American West meets a woman determined to carve her own path, their destinies colliding amid the flames of a city in collapse.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Animal Ghosts

Animal Ghosts

Elliott O'Donnell

The silent, watchful gaze of a household pet may hold more than mere affection; it may be a bridge to an unseen world where the loyalties of the living persist long after death.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Cow-Country

Cow-Country

B. M. Bower

This story follows an ambitious young man’s journey from a childhood of hardscrabble cattle-trailing to the independence of his own rugged life in the mountain West.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of English Hours

English Hours

Henry James

This collection of travel essays captures a vanishing England through the observant, wandering eye of a master of prose. It is a meditation on the beauty of the old world seen by a visitor who is perpetually caught between the role of a detached observer and a romantic pilgrim.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Essays Upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems: Authorised Translation

Essays Upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems: Authorised Translation

August Weismann

Evolutionary biology stands at a crossroads, where the transmission of life’s blueprint is finally uncoupled from the habits and scars of the individual.

Science - Biology8 min read
Cover of Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837, part 1

Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837, part 1

Edmund Flagg

An inquisitive traveler traverses the burgeoning frontier of the 1830s, documenting the raw beauty of the American prairies and the transient lives of those carving out new settlements in the vast Mississippi Valley.

History - American7 min read
Cover of Gipsy Life: Being an account of our Gipsies and their children, with suggestions for their improvement

Gipsy Life: Being an account of our Gipsies and their children, with suggestions for their improvement

George Smith

This work serves as a Victorian-era call to action, demanding that the British state bring the lives of Romany families under the mandatory influence of schools and sanitary inspectors. It is an impassioned, polemical argument that seeks to replace public indifference with legislative oversight.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight, Parts I and II: Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Volume 27 Number 3, Publication 1948, 1911

Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight, Parts I and II: Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Volume 27 Number 3, Publication 1948, 1911

S. P. (Samuel Pierpont) Langley

Mechanical flight is a problem of physics, engineering, and sheer persistence, requiring the slow mastery of balance, power-to-weight ratios, and the unpredictable behavior of air. This record documents the arduous, decade-long transition from small, steam-powered model gliders to the ambitious development of a…

Engineering & Technology7 min read
Cover of Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850

Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850

John MacGillivray

A meticulous record of a mid-nineteenth-century survey expedition, this narrative balances the rigors of hydrographic charting with the wonder of documenting the natural world across the vast, then-mysterious reaches of the South Pacific.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Not George Washington

Not George Washington

P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

The young writer’s ambition to conquer London is a perilous game of masks, where the line between a carefully crafted persona and the man underneath dissolves into a dizzying, humorous struggle for survival.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poems Chiefly from Manuscript

Poems Chiefly from Manuscript

John Clare

This collection gathers the work of an English laborer whose verse captures the vanishing rural landscape of the nineteenth century with remarkable, unvarnished intensity. It serves as both a comprehensive anthology of a singular poetic voice and a somber biographical account of a man caught between the literary…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time

Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time

Fanny Fern

HOOK A woman’s descent into poverty and her defiant rise as a writer, this story strips away the veneer of domestic stability to expose the cold, transactional reality of a society that abandons its most vulnerable.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Seven Minor Epics of the English Renaissance (1596-1624)

Seven Minor Epics of the English Renaissance (1596-1624)

Barksted, William, active 1611

The minor epics of the English Renaissance are exquisite, ornamental windows into the imaginative excesses of the seventeenth century. These poems transform classical myth into intense, decorative displays of human desire, wit, and tragic ruin.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Speciation in the Brazilian Spiny Rats

Speciation in the Brazilian Spiny Rats

João Moojen

This specialized taxonomic study examines the evolutionary diversification and physical characteristics of the spiny rats inhabiting the varied landscapes of Brazil. It offers a definitive, data-driven framework for identifying the many species within the genus Proechimys.

Science - Biology6 min read
Cover of The American Spirit in Literature: A Chronicle of Great Interpreters

The American Spirit in Literature: A Chronicle of Great Interpreters

Bliss Perry

This chronicle traces the evolution of the American imagination from colonial settlement to the emergence of a modern, unified nation. It maps the shifting identity of a people through the literature that defined them.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I

The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I

Unknown

This collection gathers the voices of Continental Europe across a millennium, offering a panoramic view of the intellectual and historical shifts that shaped the Western spirit. It serves as a curated museum of prose, where the sacred gives way to the secular, and the epic yields to the intimate.

Classics of Literature6 min read
Cover of The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 06

The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 06

William Curtis

This collection serves as a visual and practical guide to the ornamental flora of the late eighteenth century, documenting the beauty of global plants with scientific precision and a gardener's devotion.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of The Die Varieties of the Nesbitt Series of United States Envelopes

The Die Varieties of the Nesbitt Series of United States Envelopes

Victor Maximilian Berthold

This technical guide illuminates the intricate, often overlooked variations in early American postage, transforming a collection of embossed envelopes into a map of nineteenth-century industrial history.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of The Dream

The Dream

Émile Zola

In the shadow of a great cathedral, an orphaned girl finds her reality shaped entirely by the medieval legends she stitches into tapestries. Her life becomes a collision between the harshness of the world and the absolute purity of her own imagination.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of The eighteen nineties

The eighteen nineties

Holbrook Jackson

A restless energy defined the twilight of the Victorian era, transforming a decade of material prosperity into a crucible of radical artistic and social experimentation. This cultural history captures the defiant spirit of a generation determined to live and create with unprecedented intensity.

History6 min read
Cover of The female-impersonators: : A sequel to the autobiography of an androgyne and an account of some of the author's experiences during his six years' career as instinctive female-impersonator in New York's underworld

The female-impersonators: : A sequel to the autobiography of an androgyne and an account of some of the author's experiences during his six years' career as instinctive female-impersonator in New York's underworld

Ralph Werther

A life lived in the shadows finds its voice, offering a candid, defiant record of a hidden existence within the urban landscape. This account provides a rare, unfiltered look at the intersection of personal identity and social survival in early twentieth-century America.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of The French Revolution - Volume 2

The French Revolution - Volume 2

Hippolyte Taine

The French Revolution was a tragedy of logic, a moment when the pursuit of an abstract ideal—absolute popular sovereignty—collided with human nature, transforming a nation into a laboratory for organized chaos.

History - European7 min read
Cover of The Job: An American Novel

The Job: An American Novel

Sinclair Lewis

Una Golden is a young woman who dreams of life beyond her stifling, small-town upbringing. Her journey from Panama, Pennsylvania, to the heart of the New York business world marks a struggle to balance professional ambition with the persistent, often conflicting, demands of the heart.

American Literature6 min read
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