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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 259 of 714.
The Houseboat Book: The Log of a Cruise from Chicago to New Orleans
W. F. (William Francis) Waugh
A city-dwelling doctor trades the frantic pace of professional life for the slow, meandering currents of the American interior, seeking rest and renewal on a houseboat cruise from Chicago to New Orleans.
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 1, August, 1851
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic window into the intellectual and social preoccupations of the Victorian era. It captures a world in the midst of rapid expansion, both physical and imaginative.
The Living Present
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
This firsthand account chronicles how the crucible of the First World War shattered the rigid, sheltered lives of French women, forcing them into a new, independent reality that permanently altered their role in society.
The Man in Lower Ten
Mary Roberts Rinehart
A man’s quiet, predictable life is shattered when a gruesome murder occurs in the sleeper car where he is traveling. This classic mystery follows his desperate struggle to prove his innocence against a mounting pile of damning circumstantial evidence.
The Public Orations of Demosthenes, volume 1
Demosthenes
The political climate of classical Athens survives in the urgent, stinging prose of a man who watched his city’s independence wither under the rising power of Macedonia. These orations capture a desperate, brilliant attempt to rally a distracted public against a formidable foreign threat.
The shadow kingdom
Robert E. (Robert Ervin) Howard
Kull of Atlantis has seized the throne of Valusia, but he soon discovers that reigning over an ancient, decadent civilization is far more dangerous than the open warfare of his youth.
The Social Work of the Salvation Army
Edwin Gifford Lamb
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the Salvation Army launched an ambitious, far-reaching campaign to address the systemic poverty and displacement of the urban masses.
The Star Hyacinths
James H. Schmitz
A remote, long-abandoned shipwreck holds a fortune in stolen gems and a terrifying, unseen killer. A lone investigator must outwit treacherous partners to claim the salvage before his pursuers arrive.
The Story of Doctor Johnson
S. C. (Sydney Castle) Roberts
This biographical portrait serves as a bridge into the vast, intimidating world of eighteenth-century literature, offering a gentle invitation to those who find the primary sources of the era daunting. By weaving together narrative threads and key selections from primary accounts, it captures the essence of a…
The Velvet Glove
Henry Seton Merriman
A young woman caught in the machinations of nineteenth-century Spain must choose between the cold walls of a convent and the dangerous, uncertain life offered by the man she has been forced to marry.
The Visigothic code
S. P. (Samuel Parsons) Scott
This collection of ancient legislation offers a stark, unvarnished window into the transition of a nomadic people into a structured, theocratic society governed by the rule of law.
The Works of the Right Honourable John, Earl of Rochester: Consisting of Satires, Songs, Translations, and other Occasional Poems
Rochester, John Wilmot, Earl of,
A brilliant, biting exploration of human folly, desire, and the fragility of reason, this collection captures the restless energy of a mind unwilling to be tamed by convention.
Torrent of Portyngale
Unknown
A knight faces giants, dragons, and the cruel whims of fate to reclaim his lost family. This medieval romance charts a hero’s journey from humble service to the heights of kingly honor.
Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and Science
J. Hamilton (James Hamilton) Fyfe
The path of progress is rarely a straight line; it is a long, winding, and often lonely road forged by individuals who trade comfort for the pursuit of a vision. This volume chronicles the lives and struggles of the pioneers whose inventions and discoveries quietly reshaped the modern world.
Venus Equilateral
George O. (George Oliver) Smith
A brilliant engineer and his team maintain the vital communications relay station orbiting between Earth and Venus, navigating corporate espionage, cosmic piracy, and the destabilizing arrival of life-changing technology.
Vision House
C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
Marriage as a high-stakes transaction leads two unlikely partners into a web of ambition, pride, and hidden motives. Beneath the veneer of British aristocratic society and the dramatic atmosphere of the American West, a young actress and a "bounder" of a soldier fight to redefine their futures.
With an Ambulance During the Franco-German War: Personal Experiences and Adventures with Both Armies, 1870-1871
Charles Edward Ryan
In the shadow of a continental conflict, a medical volunteer navigates the wreckage of war, witnessing the collision of human suffering and cold military machinery.
35 Sonnets
Fernando Pessoa
The gap between what we feel and what we can express is the primary tragedy of the human condition. In these verses, the struggle to reconcile the internal soul with the external world reveals that our true selves remain forever inaccessible, even to ourselves.
A manual of pronunciation
Otis Ashmore
Speech is the primary vessel of our culture, yet it is fraught with hidden traps. This practical guide serves as an anchor for those seeking to refine their articulation and align their habits with the standard usage of the early twentieth century.
A Short History of the United States for School Use
Edward Channing
This survey of American history provides a sober, structured overview of the nation's development from colonial settlement to the brink of the twentieth century. It prioritizes institutional growth and political shifts over colorful anecdotes, focusing on the formation of government, the expansion of territory, and…
A Traveler at Forty
Theodore Dreiser
An American writer sets out to encounter the Old World, armed only with a notebook, an insatiable curiosity, and a companion who serves as his worldly guide through the intricate, often melancholic landscapes of early 20th-century Europe.
A treatise on the origin, progress, prevention, and cure of dry rot in timber
Thomas Allen Britton
A profound, persistent enemy of structural integrity, the silent decay known as dry rot claims timber with a speed that defies expectation. This investigation illuminates the biological mechanics of wood-destroying fungi and the practical strategies for their permanent eradication.
Allopathy and Homoeopathy Before the Judgment of Common Sense!
Frederick Hiller
The medical landscape of the nineteenth century serves as a battlefield where the established, traditional practices of Allopathy collide with the rising, controversial, and systematic approach of Homoeopathy. This polemical work serves as both a biography and a manifesto, arguing that the medical profession must…
Bunch Grass: A Chronicle of Life on a Cattle Ranch
Horace Annesley Vachell
HOOK This collection captures the vanishing spirit of the California frontier, where the law was often a matter of personal resolve and the landscape itself demanded a brutal kind of survival.
Cecil Rhodes, Man and Empire-Maker
Radziwill, Catherine, Princess
This account traces the decline of an empire-builder, charting how personal hubris and political miscalculation dismantled the influence of a man once considered the uncrowned king of Southern Africa.
Child Whispers
Enid Blyton
A collection of whimsical verse that captures the fleeting, imaginative world of childhood, where fairies dwell in teacups and common household frustrations bloom into magical, sometimes naughty, adventures.
Count Luckner, the Sea Devil
Luckner, Felix, Graf von
A charismatic German aristocrat turns to piracy during the First World War, outfoxing the British navy with a blend of audacious deception and old-fashioned seamanship. This account captures the singular exploits of a man who treated global warfare as a grand, gentlemanly adventure.
Explanation of Catholic Morals: A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals
John H. (John Henry) Stapleton
A systematic guide to the complexities of ethical life, this work offers a clear, structured framework for navigating the moral demands of faith in a secularizing world.
Field, Forest and Farm: Things interesting to young nature-lovers, including some matters of moment to gardeners and fruit-growers
Jean-Henri Fabre
The natural world is an intricate machine of interconnected lives, where every insect, bird, and blade of grass serves a purpose in the farmer’s harvest and the earth’s own renewal.
Food Poisoning
Edwin O. (Edwin Oakes) Jordan
This technical overview examines the diverse biological and chemical origins of food-borne illness. It serves as a foundational study of the pathogens, toxins, and dietary imbalances that threaten human health.
Frondes Agrestes: Readings in 'Modern Painters'
John Ruskin
To see nature clearly is an act of moral and spiritual awakening, transforming the way we perceive the world around us. This curated collection of meditations invites the reader to look beyond mere surface appearances, finding instead the divine architecture hidden in the clouds, mountains, and flowers.
Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Volume VIII, No 25: May 21, 1887
Various
The Victorian era spoke to its children through a vibrant, bustling marketplace of morality, wonder, and mechanical ingenuity. This surviving fragment offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the curated imagination of the late nineteenth century.
Hymns and Spiritual Songs
Isaac Watts
These hymns invite the reader into a devotional landscape of fervent theology, where the weight of human frailty meets the overwhelming promise of divine grace. They remain a foundational pillar of English hymnody, enduring through their blend of rigorous biblical scholarship and deeply personal, lyrical intensity.
In good company
Coulson Kernahan
This collection of personal recollections offers a warm, intimate window into the lives of notable literary and historical figures at the turn of the twentieth century. It serves as a bridge to a bygone era of English intellectual life.
Jack Haydon's Quest
John Finnemore
HOOK A young athlete’s routine life is upended by a mysterious threat, launching an international hunt that takes him from the English countryside to the perilous, hidden depths of the Burmese jungle.
Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin
Robert Louis Stevenson
This portrait of a Victorian polymath captures a man of intense intellectual vigor, unwavering moral conviction, and persistent curiosity. It is a thoughtful exploration of a life defined by professional innovation and the commerce of friendship.
Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the First American Settlement on the Pacific
Gabriel Franchère
A journey to the edge of the world, this chronicle recounts the birth and collapse of the first American outpost on the Pacific, charting a course through survival, corporate ambition, and the wild frontier of the early 1800s.
Of Gardens: An essay
Francis Bacon
Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, providing a necessary refreshment for the spirit that no palace or building can match. It is the ultimate expression of civility and elegant living.
Pistol marksmanship
United States. Marine Corps
HOOK This technical manual outlines the precise mechanical operations and tactical discipline required to master the M9 service pistol in high-stakes combat environments.
Poems we all love
Unknown
This collection serves as a moral compass for the early twentieth-century reader, gathering verse that champions resilience, faith, and the quiet dignity of a life lived for others. It offers a meditative survey of the human condition, framing life’s inevitable hardships not as reasons for despair, but as essential…
Practical Exercises in English
Huber Gray Buehler
Effective writing is not a matter of abstract knowledge, but a habit of choice formed through consistent practice.
Queed: A Novel
Henry Sydnor Harrison
A socially inept, reclusive scholar is forced to abandon his self-imposed isolation and rigid schedule when he enters the messy, demanding, and ultimately transformative world of human relationships.
Salvador of the Twentieth Century
Percy F. (Percy Falcke) Martin
A detailed, period-specific survey of El Salvador at the dawn of the twentieth century, this work captures the nation’s infrastructure, political climate, and evolving international economic ties.
Six Months in Mexico
Nellie Bly
A young journalist travels south to document a foreign land, finding that the most vibrant stories are not in the guidebooks, but in the streets, markets, and homes of the people.
Talks About Flowers
Wellcome, M. D., Mrs.
The simple act of planting a seed can transform a lonely home into an Eden of beauty. By nurturing the earth, one finds a quiet, divine gladness that transcends the struggles of daily life.
Ten years' digging in Egypt, 1881-1891
W. M. Flinders (William Matthew Flinders) Petrie
This account of a decade spent unearthing the remnants of ancient civilizations serves as a bridge between technical archaeological record and the curiosity of the educated general reader.
The Age of Tennyson
Hugh Walker
This comprehensive literary history captures the intellectual ferment of mid-nineteenth-century England, tracing the evolution of its most prominent poets, novelists, and thinkers.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 60, October, 1862: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
The American autumn holds a singular, haunting brilliance that remains largely absent from the literature of the Old World. These pages capture the seasonal transition, blending observations of the natural world with the urgent realities of a nation at war.