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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 500 of 714.

Cover of The Rogues and Vagabonds of Shakespeare's Youth: Awdeley's 'Fraternitye of vacabondes' and Harman's 'Caveat'

The Rogues and Vagabonds of Shakespeare's Youth: Awdeley's 'Fraternitye of vacabondes' and Harman's 'Caveat'

Awdelay, John, active 1559-1577

Before Shakespeare staged his rogues, sixteenth-century reformers mapped their underworld step by step. This volume gathers two primary Tudor treatises to uncover the hidden language, deceptive tricks, and strict hierarchies of early modern vagrants.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Rudder Grangers Abroad and Other Stories

The Rudder Grangers Abroad and Other Stories

Frank R. Stockton

A collection of lighthearted tales weaves together domestic travel, romantic mishaps, and elaborate tall stories told by the hearth.

American Literature7 min read
Cover of The Strength of the Pines

The Strength of the Pines

Edison Marshall

A quiet young city dweller travels to the Oregon wilderness to reclaim his father's forgotten homestead, only to find himself embroiled in a deadly feud with a ruthless mountain clan.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The Training of a Forester

The Training of a Forester

Gifford Pinchot

Conservation requires a dedicated corps of disciplined practitioners who treat the wilderness not as a romantic retreat, but as a vital national asset demanding rigorous scientific management and unyielding public service.

Environmental Issues5 min read
Cover of The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States

The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States

James Lewis

A study of ancient self-governance shows how economic disparity and partisan hatreds erode free institutions, offering a urgent historical warning to modern democracy.

History - American6 min read
Cover of The Wayfarers

The Wayfarers

J. C. (John Collis) Snaith

A young nobleman wakes from a night of heavy drinking to find himself ruined, pursued, and forced onto the open roads of eighteenth-century England in disguise.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The Web of the Golden Spider

The Web of the Golden Spider

Frederick Orin Bartlett

A young woman follows a hypnotic vision across the sea, drawing an aimless Bostonian into a deadly hunt for lost South American gold.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of The White Cat: Captains All, Book 10

The White Cat: Captains All, Book 10

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

A sly tale of rustic avarice, where a local inheritance hinges entirely on the lifespan of a two-eyed white cat.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Winged Men of Orcon: A Complete Novelette

The Winged Men of Orcon: A Complete Novelette

David R. Sparks

Stranded on a alien world, a small crew must destroy a renegade villain's weapon before he obliterates Earth from afar.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The works of Richard Hurd, volume 2 (of 8)

The works of Richard Hurd, volume 2 (of 8)

Richard Hurd

A eighteenth-century critic untangles the principles of poetry, drama, and imitation, offering a lucid framework for why imaginative literature moves the human mind.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of Use of tobacco among North American Indians

Use of tobacco among North American Indians

Ralph Linton

Ancient inhabitants of the Americas cultivated distinct wild plants to transform smoke into sacred offerings, diplomatic treaties, and everyday comfort long before European contact.

Archaeology & Anthropology8 min read
Cover of Warm

Warm

Robert Sheckley

A man's unravelling perception breaks down the arbitrary boundary between himself and the universe, opening a void where thought becomes reality and reality vanishes entirely into a self-contained trap.

Science-Fiction & Fantasy6 min read
Cover of West of the sun

West of the sun

Edgar Pangborn

Stranded on an alien world, six humans face the choice between repeating Earth's violent history and forging a fragile new future among giant humanoids and pygmy tribes.

Novels5 min read
Cover of Winchester, Painted by Wilfrid Ball

Winchester, Painted by Wilfrid Ball

Telford Varley

Long before it was an ancient cathedral city, Winchester was a clearing in a green ocean of primeval forest, where marshland, chalk downs, and river converged to form the natural gateway into England's heartland.

Art6 min read
Cover of With our army in Palestine

With our army in Palestine

Antony Bluett

A soldier’s eye view of the Middle Eastern theater, this record moves from dusty desert marches to the green fields of the Levant with unvarnished candor.

History - Modern (1750+)6 min read
Cover of A Character of the Province of Maryland: Described in four distinct parts

A Character of the Province of Maryland: Described in four distinct parts

George Alsop

A colorful personal account from seventeenth-century America, this boisterous work details life as an indented servant in Maryland while sketching the lush landscape, local government, and surrounding Native peoples.

History - American6 min read
Cover of A History of Banks for Savings in Great Britain and Ireland

A History of Banks for Savings in Great Britain and Ireland

William Lewins

A single illness or missed paycheck once meant ruin for an English laborer. This study traces the long institutional experiment that transformed modest penny savings into a national safety net backed by the British Treasury.

Economics7 min read
Cover of A Nurse's Life in War and Peace

A Nurse's Life in War and Peace

E. C. (Eleanor Constance) Laurence

A dedicated English nurse moves steadily through municipal wards, tropical journeys, and war zones, offering an unvarnished view of early modern medicine.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of A Pictorial Booklet on Early Jamestown Commodities and Industries

A Pictorial Booklet on Early Jamestown Commodities and Industries

J. Paul Hudson

In the salt air of early Virginia, survival depended on transforming raw wilderness into utilitarian crafts, matching trial and error against an unyielding new world.

History - American6 min read
Cover of A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812: In Which Japan, Kamschatka, the Aleutian islands, and the Sandwich Islands were Visited

A Voyage Round the World, from 1806 to 1812: In Which Japan, Kamschatka, the Aleutian islands, and the Sandwich Islands were Visited

Archibald Campbell

A young Scottish seaman endures shipwreck in the frigid Aleutians, severe frostbite, and life-altering amputations before finding shelter, recovery, and purpose in early nineteenth-century Hawaii.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter

Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter

Montague Glass

A look at the comical, fast-paced world of New York’s garment district reveal how pride, panic, and fierce loyalty drive two unforgettable business partners.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Agent Nine and the Jewel Mystery: A Story of Thrilling Exploits of the "G" Men

Agent Nine and the Jewel Mystery: A Story of Thrilling Exploits of the "G" Men

Graham M. Dean

A green G-man matches wits with a petty departmental rival, a diamond-smuggling syndicate, and a missing mentor across rain-swept Southern Limited tracks and murky coastal bayous.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of All for a Scrap of Paper: A Romance of the Present War

All for a Scrap of Paper: A Romance of the Present War

Joseph Hocking

Honor and duty collide with deep personal conscience when a young Cornishman finds his pacifist beliefs tested by the sudden onset of the First World War.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of An Examination of President Edwards' Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will

An Examination of President Edwards' Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will

Albert Taylor Bledsoe

The human mind is not a set of mechanical gears set in motion by external pulls, but an active force capable of originating its own choices without a prior efficient cause.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Antonio Stradivari

Antonio Stradivari

Horace Petherick

A master woodworker dispels popular myths to reveal the practical craftsmanship, deliberate choices, and collaborative workshop reality behind history’s most famous violins.

Art5 min read
Cover of Best Stories from the Best Book: An Illustrated Bible Companion for the Home

Best Stories from the Best Book: An Illustrated Bible Companion for the Home

James Edson White

Scripture comes alive through a domestic lens, transforming foundational sacred history into a gentle, accessible narrative designed for intergenerational reading around the family home.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of Border and Bastille

Border and Bastille

George A. (George Alfred) Lawrence

A fashionable English novelist sets out for America in 1863 to join the Confederate army, but his grand adventure falls apart in a tangle of treacherous guides, muddy rivers, and Federal prisons.

History - American6 min read
Cover of British Political Leaders

British Political Leaders

Justin McCarthy

Behind the ornate façade of late-Victorian and Edwardian governance, political power shifts dynamically through individual character, institutional friction, and party maneuver. The true engine of parliamentary life is revealed not in grand doctrine, but in personal temperaments, private networks, and tactical clashes.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of By England's Aid

By England's Aid

G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

In late sixteenth-century Europe, two country-bred brothers leave the quiet fields of Essex for the bloody sieges of Holland, discovering that survival requires courage, wits, and an unshakeable allegiance to home.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Christianity and Progress

Christianity and Progress

Harry Emerson Fosdick

Mechanical mastery and scientific pride cannot shield a civilization from moral collapse when it loses hold of spiritual purpose.

Philosophy & Ethics5 min read
Cover of Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Marsupials, Insectivores and Carnivores

Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Marsupials, Insectivores and Carnivores

E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond) Hall

Strict taxonomic rigor meets geographic mapping in a painstaking audit of North American mammalian classifications. Through skull measurements, coat color analysis, and historical literature reviews, ambiguous and misidentified animal specimens are systematically evaluated and corrected.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Corse de Leon

Corse de Leon

G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

A youth returns from war to claim his bride, only to be cast into a web of Italian treachery and French court intrigue.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Dorothy's Tour

Dorothy's Tour

Evelyn Raymond

A young violin virtuoso embarks on a high-stakes concert tour that brings artistic triumph, personal growth, and clues to a hidden inheritance.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, June 1885

Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, June 1885

Various

A mosaic of nineteenth-century thought, this issue spans imperial clashes on the Afghan border, radical theories of land reform, the origins of biological form, and the grueling early days of George Sand.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Essentials of woodworking

Essentials of woodworking

Ira Samuel Griffith

Clear, methodological guidance turns raw timber into enduring craft through disciplined tool work, structural joinery, and patient surface finishing.

How To ...6 min read
Cover of Euphorion - Vol. I: Being Studies of the Antique and the Mediaeval in the Renaissance

Euphorion - Vol. I: Being Studies of the Antique and the Mediaeval in the Renaissance

Vernon Lee

A tragic mismatch between intellectual splendor and moral corruption defined the Italian Renaissance, yielding an art that was serene and a reality that was monstrous.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)5 min read
Cover of Eye Spy: Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things

Eye Spy: Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things

W. Hamilton (William Hamilton) Gibson

A quiet walk through a meadow becomes a masterclass in observation, revealing how tiny lives turn ordinary grass roots into scenes of grand drama.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Fast as the Wind: A Novel

Fast as the Wind: A Novel

Nat Gould

An escaped convict chokes out a bloodhound on Dartmoor, flees to the coast under an assumed identity, and confronts the glamorous woman whose hidden crime cost him his freedom.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Fix Bay'nets: The Regiment in the Hills

Fix Bay'nets: The Regiment in the Hills

George Manville Fenn

High in the Himalayan passes, a young officer and his Cockney orderly test their endurance against brutal terrain and hostile hill-tribes.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Four Minute Essays, Volume X

Four Minute Essays, Volume X

Frank Crane

A spirit of indomitable endurance shines brightest not in times of quiet luxury, but when human lives are thoroughly broken and crushed.

Essays, Letters & Speeches5 min read
Cover of Frances of the Ranges

Frances of the Ranges

Amy Bell Marlowe

A sharp-eyed Texas girl rides out to protect her father's ranch, matching wits with border outlaws, greedy treasure-seekers, and the condescension of visiting city folk.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Gems of Poetry, for Girls and Boys

Gems of Poetry, for Girls and Boys

Unknown

A young mind discovers the quiet wonders of nature, the steady comfort of home, and the gentle boundaries of a moral life through verse.

Children & Young Adult Reading7 min read
Cover of Harriet Beecher Stowe: a biography for girls

Harriet Beecher Stowe: a biography for girls

Martha Foote Crow

A gifted New England girl turns daily hardship, deep spiritual wrestling, and quiet literary practice into a moral voice that moves an entire nation.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Highway Pirates

Highway Pirates

Harold Avery

When a schoolboy prank leads to unexpected detention, two young friends stumble into an intricate web of coastal smuggling, hidden passages, and high-stakes inheritance theft.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Holmes' Own Story: In Which the Alleged Multi-murderer and Arch Conspirator Tells of the Twenty-two Tragic Deaths and Disappearances in Which He Is Said to Be Implicated, With Moyamensing Prison Diary Appendix

Holmes' Own Story: In Which the Alleged Multi-murderer and Arch Conspirator Tells of the Twenty-two Tragic Deaths and Disappearances in Which He Is Said to Be Implicated, With Moyamensing Prison Diary Appendix

Herman W. Mudgett

In the shadows of a Philadelphia jail cell, a accused killer writes to save his neck, spinning an intricate web of insurance frauds, double identities, and phantom accomplices to explain away twenty-two missing lives.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of "I'll Leave It To You": A Light Comedy In Three Acts

"I'll Leave It To You": A Light Comedy In Three Acts

Noël Coward

An extended family learns that sudden financial independence is not a gift handed down from above, but a discipline forged under pressure.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Impressions of Spain

Impressions of Spain

Albert Frederick Calvert

A seasoned traveler captures the spirit of a nation, blending vivid descriptions of ancient landscapes with a pragmatic assessment of its industrial potential at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of In a Hollow of the Hills

In a Hollow of the Hills

Bret Harte

In the shadowy, treacherous passes of the California mountains, an honest man's devotion and a stranger's romantic obsession unravel a hidden world of outlaws, buried silver, and double lives.

Adventure7 min read
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