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34,239 public-domain books, summarised. Page 636 of 714.

Lodusky
Frances Hodgson Burnett
This haunting tale of temptation and self-betrayal follows an artist who, while engaged to a refined woman, becomes dangerously obsessed with a mysterious, beautiful girl in the North Carolina mountains. It is a stark, psychological exploration of how easily a man’s moral compass can shatter when confronted with…

Marjorie's New Friend
Carolyn Wells
Friendship is a fragile, demanding business, especially when childhood loyalties are tested by distance and the arrival of new, complicated personalities. This story captures the earnest, often clumsy, and deeply heartfelt attempts of young girls to navigate the shifting landscape of their social lives.

Meg of Mystery Mountain
Grace May North
HOOK A spoiled young woman finds her humanity in the rugged silence of the Rocky Mountains, where long-lost family secrets and hard-won friendships await in the shadows of a defunct gold mine.

Memorandum to the Government of the United States on the Recognition of the Ukrainian People's Republic
IUliian Bachynskyi
This document serves as an urgent diplomatic appeal for international recognition of a newly independent nation during the volatile aftermath of the First World War. It outlines the historical, ethnic, and economic justifications for Ukrainian statehood.

Molly Brown's Sophomore Days
Nell Speed
This collegiate chronicle follows a spirited young woman navigating the social currents, financial anxieties, and shifting alliances of her sophomore year at Wellington College.

Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford, February 1st, 1781: and Narrative of the Battle of Kings Mountain
Robert Henry
These eyewitness accounts capture the grit of the American Revolution in the Carolinas, documenting the harrowing realities of the Battle of Cowan’s Ford and the decisive victory at King’s Mountain.

Notes and Queries, Index of Volume 3, January-June, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
This index acts as a sprawling, Victorian-era search engine, capturing the curious anxieties and intellectual obsessions of nineteenth-century scholars through a meticulously cataloged web of historical and literary trivia.

Old Ninety-Nine's Cave
Elizabeth H. Gray
HOOK Set against the backdrop of the New York mountains, this novel weaves together local folklore, industrial ambition, and a journey toward healing after a mysterious, life-altering illness.

On Christmas Day In The Evening
Grace S. (Grace Smith) Richmond
A family reunion takes a turn for the transformative when a group of city-dwelling siblings decides to revive a long-shuttered, conflict-ridden country church on Christmas Eve.

Oregon, the Picturesque: A Book of Rambles in the Oregon Country and in the Wilds of Northern California
Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler) Murphy
This account of early automotive exploration captures the wild, untamed beauty of the American West as it stood on the brink of modern accessibility. It serves as both a scenic travelogue and a historical testament to the rugged beginnings of cross-country touring.

Peggy Raymond's Way
Harriet L. (Harriet Lummis) Smith
This story follows four inseparable young women as they navigate the transition from school life to adulthood, balancing the demands of romance, social etiquette, and their own emerging identities.

Perseus
H. F. Scott (Henry Folliott Scott) Stokes
The dragon is not a relic of antiquity, but a living creature of modern habit that thrives on the human fear of truth. This investigation exposes the monster for what it truly is.

Post-Mediæval Preachers: Some Account of the Most Celebrated Preachers of the 15th, 16th, & 17th Centuries
S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould
These forgotten masters of the pulpit transformed the art of sacred oratory, turning complex theology into vivid, human experiences. They remind us that the most profound spiritual truths often hide within the simplest metaphors.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98 January 11, 1890
Various
The London of 1890 is a theater of stark contrasts, where the grinding exhaustion of the working class unfolds in the shadow of a glittering, self-indulgent society. This collection captures the pulse of a city divided between the midnight oil of the shop-serf and the champagne-soaked wit of the elite.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 24, 1917
Various
This issue of a venerable satirical magazine captures the peculiar, strained rhythm of London life during the fourth year of the Great War, blending biting political commentary with the frantic need for domestic normalcy. It is a snapshot of a nation attempting to laugh while the world burns.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, December 8, 1920
Various
This volume captures the irreverent pulse of post-war London, offering a kaleidoscopic view of a society grappling with the absurdities of politics, the eccentricities of the elite, and the everyday struggle against bureaucracy. It is a sharp, witty snapshot of a world desperately trying to find its footing.

Rainbow Hill
Josephine Lawrence
The Willis sisters discover that the true treasure of a summer in the country is not found in golden pots, but in the quiet, transformative power of kindness.

Recent Tendencies in Ethics: Three Lectures to Clergy Given at Cambridge
W. R. (William Ritchie) Sorley
Understanding the complex intellectual movements of the early twentieth century is a daunting task, yet these lectures offer a clear, critical guide to how we define goodness in an age of shifting scientific and philosophical certainties.

Rootabaga pigeons
Carl Sandburg
In the landscape of American letters, this collection stands as a singular, shimmering mirage. It is a work of pure invention where logic bends to the rhythm of a nursery rhyme and the ordinary world dissolves into a dreamscape of Rootabaga Country.

Said the Observer
Louis J. (Louis John) Stellman
An inveterate critic of modern life, the Observer offers a wry, smoke-filled commentary on the absurdities of the early 1900s, turning the lens of humor onto everything from the telephone to the criminal justice system.

Sandman's Goodnight Stories
Abbie Phillips Walker
The sandman’s gentle promise of rest is kept through these brief, whimsical tales that turn the ordinary furniture and garden life of a home into a bustling, secret world of wonder.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 312, December 24, 1881
Various
This archive captures the frantic innovation of the Gilded Age, mapping a world where steam, electricity, and engineering were rapidly rewriting the boundaries of human possibility.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 648, June 2, 1888
Various
This journal offers a vivid, snapshot-style window into the late Victorian obsession with mechanical ingenuity, capturing a moment when the boundaries of physical science and industrial application were being aggressively pushed.

Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 2: Great Britain and Ireland, Part 2
Unknown
The traveler’s gaze is a bridge between the living world and the ghosts of literature, turning stones and soil into stories that transcend their own geography.

Sestrina: A romance of the South Seas
A. (Arnold) Safroni-Middleton
A young wanderer’s search for meaning ends in the profound solitude of a Pacific island, where the boundaries between romantic obsession, religious fervor, and tragic reality dissolve.

Shadows and sunbeams: Being a second series of Fern leaves from Fanny's portfolio
Fanny Fern
This collection of mid-19th-century essays offers a sharp, witty, and deeply empathetic look at the domestic and social tensions of American life. It is a portrait of a society caught between rigid expectations and the persistent, often humorous, reality of human nature.

Smaïn
Robert Hichens
The desert holds secrets that defy Western logic, revealed through the haunting music of a boy whose devotion transcends both age and reality. This narrative offers an evocative glimpse into the Saharan landscape, where the boundary between the profound and the absurd remains perpetually blurred.

Socialism and American ideals
William Starr Myers
Socialism and its influence in the early 20th century represent a direct challenge to the American ideals of individual ambition, equality of opportunity, and the common law, according to the author’s perspective. This book serves as a robust intellectual defense of democratic capitalism, written in the immediate…

Songs of the Springtides and Birthday Ode: Taken from The Collected Poetical Works of Algernon Charles
Algernon Charles Swinburne
This collection of poetry captures the wild, elemental spirit of the sea and serves as a fervent tribute to the transformative power of artistic genius. It is a work of immense lyrical intensity, designed to mirror the rhythms of the tides and the sweeping scope of history.

St. Patrick's Day
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
A hot-headed justice meets his match in a persistent soldier who uses disguises, fake poisons, and comic trickery to win the hand of the daughter forbidden to him.

Sword and crozier, drama in five acts
Indriði Einarsson
Set against the brutal backdrop of 13th-century Iceland, this stark historical drama follows a fracturing society where the ambitions of powerful chieftains collide with the encroaching, often hypocritical, influence of the Church.

Symmes's Theory of Concentric Spheres: Demonstrating that the Earth is hollow, habitable within, and widely open about the poles
James McBride
A world within a world awaits the brave, as this bold argument insists our planet is hollow and accessible through openings at the poles.

Taquisara
F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford
The bonds of blood and the ghosts of the past collide in a crumbling Neapolitan house, where a young heiress finds her inheritance—and her life—threatened by the calculated malice of her own kin.

The Actress' Daughter: A Novel
May Agnes Fleming
The stormy, untamed child of a fading actress finds her life irrevocably entwined with the fortunes of a proud, aristocratic family, setting the stage for a long, arduous journey toward maturity and grace.

The Art or Crafte of Rhetoryke
Leonard Cox
Effective speech is a skill born of careful preparation, where the speaker balances the weight of their argument with the needs of the listener. This foundational guide provides a structured approach to the power of persuasion.

The Autobiography of a Journalist, Volume II
William James Stillman
A seasoned correspondent navigates the volatile landscapes of 19th-century geopolitics, offering an intimate, ground-level perspective on the crumbling empires and revolutionary fervor that defined a turbulent era.

The Bequest: Ship's Company, Part 6
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
A reluctant suitor finds himself trapped by a dead friend’s final wish, only to discover that the tangled webs we weave to avoid fate often catch us in the end.

The Boss of the Lazy Y
Charles Alden Seltzer
A man returns home to a broken legacy, only to find his path toward redemption guarded by a woman who refuses to let him succumb to his own destructive nature.

The Camp Fire Girls at School
Hildegard G. Frey
This is a story of spirited young women finding agency, companionship, and moral grounding through their commitment to the Camp Fire Girls organization. It captures the transition from childhood to young adulthood within a structured, community-focused social circle.

The Carved Cupboard
Amy Le Feuvre
Four orphaned sisters struggle to navigate sudden poverty and their own restless ambitions, eventually discovering that the true legacy they inherit is found not in a locked cupboard, but in the quiet surrender of their own wills.

The Centurion's Story
David James Burrell
An aging Roman soldier recounts the day he oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus, describing his journey from a detached instrument of the state to a believer in the divinity of the man on the cross.

The Deseado Formation of Patagonia
Frederic Brewster Loomis
This technical record of prehistoric life reveals the evolution of strange, isolated mammals that once roamed the southern reaches of the Americas. It stands as a meticulous survey of a lost, ancient world.

The Discoveries of John Lederer: In three several Marches from Virginia to the East of Carolina, and other parts of the Continent
John Lederer
A restless explorer pushes into the untamed American interior, mapping the vast, mountainous unknown while documenting the complex lives and rituals of the Indigenous nations he encounters.

The Emperor's Rout
Unknown
The Emperor Moth, slighted by a rival’s social gathering, resolves to host a grander ball of his own. This whimsical verse narrative follows the preparation and chaotic aftermath of an insect society event.

The First One
Herbert D. Kastle
The first man to return from a voyage into the unknown finds that his greatest challenge is not the journey itself, but the chilling realization that he is no longer viewed as a man.

The Forest Habitat of the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation
Henry S. (Henry Sheldon) Fitch
A precise, scientific survey of how a specific patch of Kansas woodland has shifted in composition, species, and density since the arrival of nineteenth-century settlers. It offers an intimate look at the transition from prairie to forest.

The Girls of Central High Aiding the Red Cross
Gertrude W. Morrison
A jewelry store ledger, a mysterious hit-and-run, and a school play collide to drive a spirited group of students toward a noble goal.

The Golden Canyon
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
A desperate search for lost fortunes drives these young protagonists through dangerous canyons and across frozen seas, where courage is the only currency that truly matters.