Free summaries
Adventure — page 44
4,170 public-domain adventure books, summarised. Page 44 of 87.
Peter Parley's Tales About America and Australia
Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich
This guide through the exploration and settlement of the New World and Australia offers a mid-19th-century perspective on the rise of empires, the collision of cultures, and the costs of colonial ambition.
Round the World in Seven Days
Herbert Strang
A desperate race against time, a pioneering aviator attempts to circle the globe in seven days to save his father from a lethal threat.
Sea-dogs all!
Tom Bevan
The horizon holds no limits for the spirited, and the call of the sea proves stronger than the pull of the hearth. This tale tracks the daring of those who forsake the forest for the dangers of the Spanish Main.
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom
T. (Tobias) Smollett
This picaresque narrative follows a professional scoundrel through the drawing rooms and battlefields of 18th-century Europe, charting his relentless climb toward status and his inevitable, precipitous fall. It is a cynical, sharp-eyed study of the moral void residing beneath the surface of high society.
The Amateur Diplomat: A Novel
Hugh S. (Hugh Sterling) Eayrs
The fate of a Balkan kingdom hangs in the balance as a bold Canadian arrives to intervene in a dangerous web of royal intrigue and global war.
The Bells of San Juan
Jackson Gregory
The bells of an isolated Southwestern town chime for the living and the dead, marking the shifting fortunes of a sheriff who must conquer both a criminal mastermind and his own encroaching darkness.
The Curlytops in the Woods
Howard Roger Garis
A trio of spirited siblings finds their summer vacation transformed into a series of accidental escapades when their father relocates the family to a remote lumber camp.
The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book: Being a continuation of stories about the Hollow Tree and Deep Woods people
Albert Bigelow Paine
In the quiet, snowy depths of the Big Deep Woods, a circle of animal companions gathers by the fire to swap stories, escape the frost, and find comfort in shared company.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle
Laura Lee Hope
Four spirited friends trade their city lives for a western adventure, discovering that a remote ranch holds more than just fresh air—it hides the promise of gold and a long-standing mystery.
The Romance of Golden Star
George Chetwynd Griffith
A man awakens from a centuries-long death-sleep to reclaim his ancestral throne, only to find the modern world demands he choose between a ghost from his past and a new love.
The Solitary of Juan Fernandez, or the Real Robinson Crusoe
X.-B. (Xavier-Boniface) Saintine
This narrative reimagines the true story of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, exploring the psychological toll of profound isolation on a man cast away by his own pride. It examines the fragility of the human spirit when stripped of society, purpose, and the tempering influence of others.
A Crime of the Under-seas
Guy Boothby
This collection of short stories captures the high-stakes, itinerant spirit of the turn-of-the-century British Empire, where men with checkered pasts and fluid morals encounter strange fortunes across the globe. It is a work of atmospheric adventure that trades in the mysteries of the sea, the isolation of the…
A Modern Mercenary
K. (Kate) Prichard
The independent state of Maäsau serves as the stage for a high-stakes struggle between internal honor and international intrigue. A mercenary soldier finds his loyalty tested when he is caught between his oath and his conscience.
Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman
Noel Sainsbury
HOOK A young aviator and his father are plucked from a hurricane-tossed plane and thrust into a desperate struggle against a criminal empire operating from the depths of the Florida Everglades.
Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
Necessity often compels the most transformative journeys, driving the ambitious and the desperate alike toward the furthest edges of the world. In the rugged, wind-swept cliffs of Cornwall, the search for fortune leads to the dark, perilous heart of the earth.
Historic Waterways—Six Hundred Miles of Canoeing Down the Rock, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers
Reuben Gold Thwaites
HOOK This account invites readers to trade the "mad rush" of modern tourism for the quiet, deliberate pace of a canoe journey through the heart of the American Midwest.
Jack Among the Indians
George Bird Grinnell
The wide, untamed American West of the late 19th century serves as the backdrop for a young boy's profound immersion into the vanishing culture of the Plains Indians.
Maori and Settler: A Story of The New Zealand War
G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
A family’s quiet pursuit of a new life in the New Zealand wilderness is violently interrupted by the brutal realities of colonial frontier conflict.
The Beach of Dreams: A Romance
H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole
This story of survival and transformation follows a woman cast away on a desolate island, where she discovers that the harshness of the wild is less alienating than the rigid conventions of her own society.
The Boy Travellers in Australasia: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan, and Feejee Islands
Thomas Wallace Knox
Two young travelers embark on a wide-ranging expedition through the Pacific Islands and Australia, documenting the geography, history, and customs of the region for a curious Victorian audience.
The Camp Fire Girls Go Motoring
Hildegard G. Frey
A group of young women embark on a cross-country motoring trip, only to find themselves ensnared in a web of mistaken identities, stolen trunks, and mysterious pursuers. This lively tale follows the Winnebago Camp Fire Girls as they navigate the unpredictable roads of the early twentieth century.
The Firefly of France
Marion Polk Angellotti
An ordinary New Yorker finds himself entangled in a high-stakes web of espionage, romance, and wartime intrigue after a chance encounter at a hotel. What begins as a simple mystery quickly transforms into a dangerous journey toward the front lines of World War I.
The Huge Hunter
Edward Sylvester Ellis
The sight of a giant mechanical man striding across the plains strikes terror into the hearts of men who have only ever known the slow, steady pace of the wilderness.
The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat
Janet Aldridge
A summer vacation on a houseboat turns into a test of nerves and resourcefulness as a group of young women navigates unpredictable waters, a local mystery, and a rival group of boys.
The Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific
John Henry Goldfrap
A pair of young wireless operators face treacherous storms, man-eating sharks, and jungle outlaws while helping a millionaire hunt for a missing brother in the South Pacific.
The Wilderness Castaways
Dillon Wallace
Two boys find themselves stranded in the frozen Canadian wilderness after being swept out to sea, and must rely on their grit and growing friendship to survive the long, perilous winter.
The Wonder Island Boys: Exploring the Island
Roger T. (Roger Thompson) Finlay
HOOK Two shipwrecked teenagers and their mentor master a wild island through science and ingenuity, turning a desperate survival situation into an expansive, methodical exploration of their mysterious new home.
Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo
René Caillié
A solitary traveler assumes a false identity to cross the desert, enduring profound hardship to reach a city that had long remained a fatal mystery to European explorers.
A Child's Story Garden
Unknown
This collection serves as a moral primer for young minds, blending myth, biblical narrative, and classic tales to instill character and high ideals. It is a gentle, instructional journey through virtue and wisdom.
A Floating City, and The Blockade Runners
Jules Verne
A massive Victorian steamship serves as a floating microcosm of humanity, while a daring blockade runner navigates the violent currents of the American Civil War.
A Hero of Liége: A Story of the Great War
Herbert Strang
The opening weeks of the Great War offer a frantic, high-stakes backdrop for a young Englishman’s desperate scramble to escape enemy territory and rejoin the Allied cause.
A Modern Telemachus
Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge
The life of an eighteenth-century aristocratic family is upended when a Mediterranean voyage turns into a desperate struggle for survival against North African corsairs. This historical adventure explores themes of faith, duty, and cross-cultural encounter through the eyes of two young companions who find their…
Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp
James Grant
A soldier’s account of the Napoleonic struggles in Italy, this narrative balances the grim, tactical reality of the battlefield with the high-stakes intrigue of a world caught between ancient feuds and modern conquest.
Bothwell
James Grant
A tempestuous journey from the fjords of Norway to the heart of the Scottish court, this narrative explores the fatal ambitions and tangled loves of a notorious nobleman.
Dick Merriwell's Trap
Burt L. Standish
A relentless rivalry defines the halls of Fardale Military Academy, where a gifted athlete must navigate both the brutality of the football field and the calculated sabotage of a bitter classmate.
Dick Prescott's Second Year at West Point
H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock
The life of a military cadet is a grueling gauntlet of discipline, intense labor, and unyielding honor. This narrative follows three friends navigating the rigorous demands of their sophomore year at the United States Military Academy.
Fifteen Hundred Miles an Hour
Charles Dixon
A daring scientific expedition leaves the comforts of Yorkshire for the red planet, only to find themselves ensnared in the complex political and romantic intrigues of an alien civilization.
Hardscrabble
Major (John) Richardson
The tension of a frontier outpost near Chicago in 1812 hinges on the fragility of peace, where a single misunderstood gesture can spark a war. A tale of romantic devotion and military discipline, this narrative captures a moment of historical precariousness just before the outbreak of the War of 1812.
Hassan
Murray, Charles Augustus, Sir
A young man of mysterious origins navigates the treacherous politics and shifting loyalties of nineteenth-century Egypt, finding his true identity through courage, forbidden love, and unwavering service.
Lister's Great Adventure
Harold Bindloss
A determined engineer and a headstrong young woman find their lives colliding in the rugged Canadian wilderness and on the fever-stricken coast of Africa.
Owen Clancy's Happy Trail
Burt L. Standish
A young adventurer tracks his long-lost father through the bustling streets of California, finding himself entangled in a web of forgery, theft, and high-stakes detective work.
Robin Hood and His Merry Foresters
Joseph Cundall
A collection of legendary forest tales, this work captures the spirit of a bygone era through the eyes of schoolboys finding refuge in the timeless adventures of an English outlaw.
Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point
Alice B. Emerson
This classic tale follows a spirited boarding school student whose holiday at the coast turns into a high-stakes search for a missing girl. It is a story of resilience, friendship, and the courage required to navigate the complexities of growing up.
Shipwreck in the Sky
Eando Binder
The vast, indifferent silence of space becomes a trap for a lone pilot when his craft collides with an uncharted celestial body. Survival hinges on understanding the physics of a world where one can jump into the stars.
The Boy Aviators' Flight for a Fortune
John Henry Goldfrap
Two brothers and their friends test the limits of early twentieth-century technology, using a custom-built hydroplane and wireless telegraphy to navigate a dangerous quest for buried treasure.
The Boy With the U. S. Life-Savers
Francis Rolt-Wheeler
The sea is a place of unceasing peril where the brave and the vigilant stand as the only barrier between life and a watery grave. This narrative immerses readers in the relentless, heroic work of those who guard the coast.
The Last of the Plainsmen
Zane Grey
A rugged, obsessive quest to capture wild animals alive leads a seasoned frontiersman and a curious observer deep into the dangerous, majestic wilderness of the American West.
The Lily and the Cross: A Tale of Acadia
James De Mille
A young New England captain rescues a shipwrecked French noble, only to be thrust into a perilous web of political intrigue and ancestral secrets. Across the rugged landscape of Acadia, he must outwit a ruthless rival to protect the woman he loves.