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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 569 of 714.

Cover of Double Dealing: Sailor's Knots, Part 11

Double Dealing: Sailor's Knots, Part 11

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

A chance resemblance leads a vacationing stranger into a bizarre trap, where he must navigate a web of staged debts and familial expectations to escape a case of mistaken identity.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Duality of Voice

Duality of Voice

Emil Sutro

The human voice is not merely a product of the throat, but a complex intersection of anatomy, spirit, and national character. By re-examining the physical mechanics of speech, a hidden dual system is revealed.

Psychiatry/Psychology6 min read
Cover of Duffels

Duffels

Edward Eggleston

This collection gathers diverse tales of American life, tracing the transformation of the roving frontiersman into the modern observer, all while exploring the weight of the past upon the present.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Dwellers in the Hills

Dwellers in the Hills

Melville Davisson Post

A young man and his companions navigate the treacherous, shadowed world of West Virginia cattle driving, where the stakes are life, fortune, and the preservation of a brother’s honor.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Edward Barry: South Sea Pearler

Edward Barry: South Sea Pearler

Louis Becke

A penniless sailor finds love, betrayal, and a fortune in pearl shell across the vast, unforgiving Pacific. This maritime adventure follows one man's struggle to reclaim his honor and his future.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Elementary Instruction in the Art of Illuminating and Missal Painting on Vellum: A Guide to Modern Illuminators

Elementary Instruction in the Art of Illuminating and Missal Painting on Vellum: A Guide to Modern Illuminators

D. (David) Laurent de Lara

This guide revives the Victorian passion for medieval artistry, transforming the meticulous craft of manuscript illumination into an accessible, nineteenth-century pursuit for the modern amateur.

Art6 min read
Cover of Erskine Dale—Pioneer

Erskine Dale—Pioneer

Fox, John, Jr.

A boy raised by the Shawnee returns to the world of his ancestors, only to find himself caught between two warring cultures and the pull of a woman who represents the life he once lost.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Essays of Michel de Montaigne

Essays of Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne

The mind is a mirror reflecting a world in constant flux, and these reflections offer the most honest map we have of our own internal landscapes.

Classics of Literature7 min read
Cover of Ethel Morton at Chautauqua

Ethel Morton at Chautauqua

Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke) Smith

A multi-generational family spends a transformative summer at an educational lakeside retreat, finding purpose through hard work, civic engagement, and the bonds of a new friendship.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Exeter

Exeter

Sidney Heath

This survey of an ancient English city traces its evolution from a Roman military outpost to a bustling center of medieval trade and ecclesiastical power. It serves as an evocative portrait of a place defined by its enduring stone and river-bound resilience.

Architecture6 min read
Cover of Fifteen Years with the Outcast

Fifteen Years with the Outcast

Fflorens Roberts

Faith and tenacity drive a woman to confront the shadows of early twentieth-century California, seeking out society’s castaways in the brutal corners of the Barbary Coast. These accounts detail the difficult, often heartbreaking work of rescue mission life.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Five Little Peppers Grown Up

Five Little Peppers Grown Up

Margaret Sidney

Childhood friends navigate the complexities of adulthood, balancing the demands of their wealthy benefactors against the enduring, humble values of their past.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Flemington

Flemington

Violet Jacob

A young painter finds himself caught between opposing loyalties in the Jacobite Rebellion, navigating a landscape where the only certainty is the shifting nature of men's hearts.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of For Better or Worse: Ship's Company, Part 10

For Better or Worse: Ship's Company, Part 10

W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs

The long-lost husband returns to find his wife, but discovers that his own past, his threadbare appearance, and a clever game of cat-and-mouse stand in the way of a reunion.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of For the Soul of Rafael

For the Soul of Rafael

Marah Ellis Ryan

This story of shadowed romance and cultural transition captures the twilight of the old Spanish California era. It follows the quiet, heavy burden of a woman bound by duty to a man who lives in the light of gold and vanity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Girls New and Old

Girls New and Old

L. T. Meade

A spirited schoolgirl finds her loyalties and pride tested when a secret web of rumors threatens her future, forcing her to choose between bitter isolation and the grace of forgiveness.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Harper's Young People, March 16, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly

Harper's Young People, March 16, 1880: An Illustrated Weekly

Various

This issue of a Victorian-era weekly periodical serves as a vibrant time capsule, blending moral instruction, natural history, and serialized storytelling into a single, accessible package for young readers of the late nineteenth century.

Adventure7 min read
Cover of Helen of the Old House

Helen of the Old House

Harold Bell Wright

The industrial heart of a small city beats with the rhythm of one massive mill, where class lines harden and a wealthy family finds their privilege challenged by the returning veterans of a war-torn world.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of History of the Confederate Powder Works

History of the Confederate Powder Works

George Washington Rains

The Confederacy enters the Civil War with almost no gunpowder and no means to produce it, forcing a desperate, scientific race against time to prevent total military collapse.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of How The Redoubt Was Taken: 1896

How The Redoubt Was Taken: 1896

Prosper Mérimée

A young soldier faces his first taste of combat, discovering that the reality of war bears little resemblance to the romantic notions he held while preparing for his debut in Parisian society.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of In Our Convent Days

In Our Convent Days

Agnes Repplier

A childhood spent within the rhythmic, cloistered walls of a convent is captured with wit and affection, revealing the intensity of a world where small dramas assume the scale of epic history.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Ingersoll in Canada: A Reply to Wendling, Archbishop Lynch, Bystander

Ingersoll in Canada: A Reply to Wendling, Archbishop Lynch, Bystander

Allen Pringle

Intellectual freedom demands the courage to question long-held dogmas, even when such skepticism invites social ostracization or the wrath of religious authorities. This impassioned pamphlet serves as a staunch defense of rational inquiry, positioning the right to dissent as the ultimate foundation of a progressive…

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Jasper

Jasper

Mrs. Molesworth

The comfort of a life of privilege vanishes overnight, forcing a sheltered family to confront the realities of loss, hard work, and the consequences of their own selfishness.

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Laments

Laments

Jan Kochanowski

The grief of a father who has lost his young daughter is not merely a private tragedy; it is the catalyst for a profound journey through philosophy, doubt, and, ultimately, spiritual reconciliation.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Let Us Kiss and Part

Let Us Kiss and Part

Miller, Alex. McVeigh, Mrs.

The lives of the star-crossed and the desperate collide in a whirlwind of Victorian melodrama, where stolen children, social climbing, and romantic betrayals test the limits of human endurance.

Novels6 min read
Cover of Luke Walton

Luke Walton

Alger, Horatio, Jr.

A virtuous Chicago newsboy rises above poverty and petty malice to reclaim his family’s stolen inheritance. This classic tale celebrates the triumph of character over circumstance in a bustling, unforgiving nineteenth-century city.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Madelon: A Novel

Madelon: A Novel

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman

The quietude of a snow-bound village is shattered by a violent act of passion, setting in motion a dark drama where honor, self-sacrifice, and the tangled roots of love collide.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of March Anson and Scoot Bailey of the U.S. Navy

March Anson and Scoot Bailey of the U.S. Navy

Marshall McClintock

This wartime adventure captures the intense, specialized training and courageous spirit of two young sailors serving in the Pacific theater. It is a straightforward, patriotic narrative that bridges the divide between life on the open sea and the hidden, high-stakes world of submarine warfare.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Volume 1

Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Volume 1

Aaron Burr

A controversial figure of the early American Republic steps out from behind the shadow of his reputation to offer an intimate, self-authored account of his formative years, military service, and political life.

Biographies7 min read
Cover of Mildred Arkell: A Novel. Vol. 2 (of 3)

Mildred Arkell: A Novel. Vol. 2 (of 3)

Wood, Henry, Mrs.

A restless, atmospheric Victorian drama, this novel unfolds the interconnected secrets of a provincial town, where hidden crimes, social pretension, and the weight of the past threaten to dismantle the lives of its inhabitants.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Mountains and molehills

Mountains and molehills

Frank Marryat

A traveler’s candid account of the California Gold Rush, where the true fortune is found in the relentless, gritty spirit of those who build a society from the ashes of disaster.

History - American6 min read
Cover of Mrs. Vanderstein's jewels

Mrs. Vanderstein's jewels

Marion Bryce

A wealthy socialite vanishes after a night at the opera, leaving behind a cold, immaculate bedroom and a tangled web of greed, obsession, and criminal intent. This mystery unfolds in the glittering, stratified world of early twentieth-century London, where the line between high society and the criminal underworld…

Novels6 min read
Cover of Murillo

Murillo

S. L. (Samuel Levy) Bensusan

A painter who rose from the poverty of the Seville streets to become a pillar of Spanish religious art, capturing the humanity of both saints and beggars in a changing world.

Art6 min read
Cover of My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914

My .75: Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75m/m Battery in 1914

Paul Lintier

The Great War begins not with a roar, but with the quiet, stifling anticipation of men waiting for a signal that will change their world forever. This narrative captures the visceral reality of those first months, mapping the transformation of ordinary citizens into hardened instruments of artillery fire.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Natural History of the Bell Vireo, Vireo bellii Audubon

Natural History of the Bell Vireo, Vireo bellii Audubon

Jon C. Barlow

This study offers a meticulous, firsthand examination of the Bell Vireo’s life cycle, behavior, and habitat requirements. It captures the essential daily rhythms of a small, persistent songbird navigating the thickets of the American Midwest.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of Notes and Queries, Number 206, October 8, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Notes and Queries, Number 206, October 8, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Various

This modest periodical serves as a Victorian forum for the curious, connecting scholars and hobbyists through a shared dedication to historical discovery. It transforms the solitary pursuit of knowledge into a vibrant, collective conversation.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference6 min read
Cover of Notes and Queries, Number 65, January 25, 1851

Notes and Queries, Number 65, January 25, 1851

Various

This mid-nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vibrant, communal clearinghouse for the era’s intellectual curiosity, bridging the gap between professional scholarship and the passionate inquiries of the Victorian public.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Notes and Queries, Number 75, April 5, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Notes and Queries, Number 75, April 5, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

Various

This periodical serves as a Victorian clearinghouse for the curious, where amateur scholars and antiquarians trade obscure facts to illuminate the shadows of history and language. It is a collaborative intellectual archive.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Our Standard-Bearer

Our Standard-Bearer

Oliver Optic

This narrative biography frames the life of Ulysses S. Grant as a providential rise from humble origins to the role of national savior. It serves as an earnest, patriotic tribute to the military commander who concluded the American Civil War.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Pages for Laughing Eyes

Pages for Laughing Eyes

Unknown

This collection of stories and verses captures the gentle, domestic world of turn-of-the-century childhood, where the simple joys of play, nature, and family life take center stage. Through a series of vignettes, it portrays the small triumphs and mishaps of young ones as they navigate their daily chores, games,…

Children & Young Adult Reading6 min read
Cover of Parlous Times: A Novel of Modern Diplomacy

Parlous Times: A Novel of Modern Diplomacy

David Dwight Wells

Hook A young diplomat finds himself tangled in a web of international intrigue and social maneuvering, where his professional duty to protect state secrets collides with a complicated, unwanted, and potentially ruinous romance.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poems of Emile Verhaeren

Poems of Emile Verhaeren

Emile Verhaeren

HOOK A haunting, atmospheric exploration of the Flemish landscape, these poems map the journey from the depths of existential isolation to a luminous, hard-won embrace of the living world.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Presidential Problems

Presidential Problems

Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland offers a measured, firsthand account of four defining crises of his presidency, arguing that the strength of the American government rests upon executive integrity and a steady adherence to national duty.

Biographies5 min read
Cover of Puella mea

Puella mea

E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings

This meditation on desire and timeless beauty asserts that the speaker’s beloved transcends all the legendary icons of history, becoming a singular, living embodiment of Spring.

Poetry6 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 15, 1916

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 15, 1916

Various

This collection captures the peculiar dissonance of wartime life, where the mundane struggles of the home front collide with the grim realities of the trenches in a display of quintessentially British stoicism.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 01, April 2, 1870

Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 01, April 2, 1870

Various

The jester arrives with a flourish of satire, declaring his intention to expose the follies of the day while carving out a permanent place in the landscape of American humor.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Quiet Talks on Service

Quiet Talks on Service

S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon

Service is not a duty to be performed, but a rhythm of life flowing from a deep, personal friendship with Jesus.

Religion/Spirituality6 min read
Cover of Rebel women

Rebel women

Evelyn Sharp

The struggle for political enfranchisement is often depicted as a clash of grand ideologies, but the true pulse of the movement beats in the quiet, persistent defiance of ordinary women. Within these pages, the fight for the vote is revealed not as a distant revolution, but as a deeply personal transformation…

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
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