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British Literature — page 27

4,564 public-domain british literature books, summarised. Page 27 of 96.

Cover of The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow

The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow

Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

A wry, perceptive tour through human vanity and everyday foolishness, where trivial domestic panics and lofty philosophical pretensions are weighed on the exact same scale.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Behind a Mask

Behind a Mask

Louisa May Alcott

A clever governess transforms a family's arrogant indifference into desperate infatuation through ruthless theatricality and calculated deception.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Poor Miss Finch

Poor Miss Finch

Wilkie Collins

A young blind woman falls in love with a man whose physical transformation threatens their future, forcing a choice between sight, truth, and devotion.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More

Unknown

An urban riot, a sudden elevation to power, and a quiet, unyielding conscience drive this Tudor play toward its inevitable scaffold.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Tales and Novels

Tales and Novels

Maria Edgeworth

An impulsive young man in eighteenth-century Ireland navigates shifting social fortunes, volatile guardians, and his own fiery temper as he seeks to govern his character and secure a place in the world.

British Literature10 min read
Cover of The Modern Traveller

The Modern Traveller

Hilaire Belloc

An absurd, colonial-era expedition spirals into complete disaster, exposed through the shameless, self-serving narrative of its sole survivor.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Ernest Maltravers

Ernest Maltravers

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

A gifted young philosopher turns his back on worldly ambition to mold an unsophisticated girl, only to trigger a chain of romantic disillusionments, tragic misunderstandings, and political rivalry across Europe.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of John Halifax, Gentleman

John Halifax, Gentleman

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

A ragged orphan boy stands in a rain-drenched alley, his eyes fixed on the pavement, possessing nothing in the world save a resolute chin, a strong frame, and a hand hardened by early labor.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of The Awkward Age

The Awkward Age

Henry James

An older gentleman re-enters London society only to find that the girl he wishes to save has already been exposed to its compromised world.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Doves' Nest, and Other Stories

The Doves' Nest, and Other Stories

Katherine Mansfield

A quiet ache runs through these pages, where small daily rituals mask deep emotional distances and sudden, quiet reckonings.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucerian and Other Pieces: Being a Supplement to the Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer

Unknown

The work presented here is not a single narrative text, but a massive scholar’s collection gathering poetry, political prose, and theological commentary attributed—erroneously or contextually—to the legacy of Geoffrey Chaucer.

British Literature10 min read
Cover of Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Samuel Richardson

Driven away from her family by an arranged marriage and trapped by a scheming libertine, a dutiful young woman fights to preserve her independence and virtue against relentless deception.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Samuel Richardson

Driven to ruin by an overbearing family and a predatory libertine, a virtuous woman asserts her moral autonomy through the single power left to her: absolute, unyielding integrity.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Psmith in the City

Psmith in the City

P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse

Two young men turn the dusty routine of a London bank into a backdrop for quiet rebellion, cricket, and dry wit.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Curious, if True: Strange Tales

Curious, if True: Strange Tales

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

A collection of eerie, atmospheric tales explores the darker corners of human nature through ghost stories, historical tragedy, and gothic dread.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Princess Mary's Gift Book: All profits on sale given to the Queen's "Work for Women" Fund which is acting in Conjunction with The National Relief Fund

Princess Mary's Gift Book: All profits on sale given to the Queen's "Work for Women" Fund which is acting in Conjunction with The National Relief Fund

Unknown

A varied collection of Edwardian prose and poetry brings together Britain’s most prominent authors to raise funds for wartime women’s relief.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)

Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)

Florence Marryat

A betrayed marriage, an escaped rogue, and a quiet sailor collide on a New Zealand-bound ship where hidden pasts refuse to stay buried.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Jack Hinton: The Guardsman

Jack Hinton: The Guardsman

Charles Lever

An English officer encounters a land of wild generosity and sharp rivalries in this nineteenth-century tale of Irish life and military adventure.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Lord Kilgobbin

Lord Kilgobbin

Charles Lever

A declining Irish lord, his spirited family, and their politically scheming guests navigate rebellion, ambition, and shifting loyalties in an age of national turmoil.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Pip : A Romance of Youth

Pip : A Romance of Youth

Ian Hay

A young boy raised on strict nursery rules grows into a athletic, modest young man who navigates schoolyard rivalries, sports fields, and unexpected turns of fortune to win the girl he loves.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Robin

Robin

Frances Hodgson Burnett

A young woman's secret romance with a soldier bound for the Western Front is shattered by news of his death, leaving her unwed, pregnant, and hidden away in a remote Scottish castle during the First World War.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. I

The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. I

Charles Lever

A sprawling Irish family embarks on a disastrous grand tour across Europe, broadcasting their foolish ambitions, romantic entanglements, financial ruin, and culture clashes through a flurry of opinionated letters home.

British Literature9 min read
Cover of Twice round the clock

Twice round the clock

George Augustus Sala

A nocturnal stroll through mid-century London reveals a sprawling, clamorous metropolis where high fashion and desperate poverty jostle side by side across every hour of the day.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of It Might Have Been: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot

It Might Have Been: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot

Emily Sarah Holt

A family uprooted from the north of England arrives in Jacobean London just as Queen Elizabeth dies, only to find their personal fortunes tangled with a deadly underground treason.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Return of the Soldier

The Return of the Soldier

Rebecca West

A soldier returns from the front lines of the Great War with his memory fractured, casting aside his affluent, modern life for a past he considers his only reality. He is a man who has retreated into the sanctity of a first love, choosing the purity of a distant memory over the harsh, present-day demands of his…

British Literature6 min read
Cover of World's End: A Story in Three Books

World's End: A Story in Three Books

Richard Jefferies

Centuries of greed, fraud, and secret identities collide when a sprawling industrial fortune built on stolen land tears apart two vulnerable lovers.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 30, 1917

Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 30, 1917

Various

A satirical journal exposes the anxieties, absurdities, and domestic trials of a nation living through the pressures of the First World War.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of The Real Thing and Other Tales

The Real Thing and Other Tales

Henry James

A delicate, ironic exploration of class, ambition, and the elusive nature of art, where refined appearances continually collide with harsher human truths.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of From Gretna Green to Land's End: A Literary Journey in England

From Gretna Green to Land's End: A Literary Journey in England

Katharine Lee Bates

Wandering through centuries of storied landscape, a traveler traces the quiet roads and rugged coasts that shaped England’s enduring imagination.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood: A New and Complete Edition

The Comic Poems of Thomas Hood: A New and Complete Edition

Thomas Hood

A weary Londoner longs for a quiet meadow, only to find the countryside replaced by endless brick, barking drovers, and screaming street vendors. This classic volume collects Thomas Hood’s celebrated verse, exposing human folly through breathless puns, urban satire, and dark comedy.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Marriage of William Ashe

The Marriage of William Ashe

Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

A brilliant young politician marries an impulsive, untamed girl, only to watch her wild eccentricities ruin his career and destroy their lives.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume 1

The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume 1

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Through high-vaulted verse, cosmic drama, and tragic vows, a solitary soul confronts the profound weight of human suffering and divine redemption.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Affirmations

Affirmations

Havelock Ellis

A bold, discerning critique of culture and belief that evaluates literature not as a realm of sterile, abstract art, but as a vibrant mirror of human morality and vital instinct.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Incredible Adventures

Incredible Adventures

Algernon Blackwood

Underneath the quiet surface of ordinary life lie ancient, immense forces waiting to break through human consciousness.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 5 of 9]

The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 5 of 9]

William Shakespeare

An empire crumbles from within as factional blood feuds, bitter personal rivalries, and ruthless ambition tear apart the royal court of England.

British Literature10 min read
Cover of A Diversity of Creatures

A Diversity of Creatures

Rudyard Kipling

Across futuristic autocracies, rural English valleys, quiet schoolrooms, and the bitter hatreds of war, human nature reveals its strange and contradictory machinery.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 14 (of 15), King Arthur (2)

Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 14 (of 15), King Arthur (2)

Malory, Thomas, Sir

This sweeping chronicle charts the final, fractured years of the Round Table, where chivalric splendor collides with human frailty and the inevitable weight of destiny.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Old English Physiologus

The Old English Physiologus

Cynewulf

A trio of ancient, verse-woven creatures brings the medieval imagination to life, blending natural wonder with spiritual allegories.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of The Secret City

The Secret City

Hugh Walpole

The revolution that shatters a nation begins with a private tremor, turning an ordinary household into a trap where love and malice become indistinguishable from the chaos in the streets.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Victorian Age in Literature

The Victorian Age in Literature

G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

A vibrant critique traces the intellectual currents of nineteenth-century England, following the rise and fall of a compromise built on rationalism, trade, and social restraint.

British Literature5 min read
Cover of Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister

Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister

Aphra Behn

This is a sweeping, turbulent chronicle of desire, betrayal, and political intrigue, where the private ruin of lovers mirrors the instability of the state.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Heart and Science: A Story of the Present Time

Heart and Science: A Story of the Present Time

Wilkie Collins

The clash between cold, calculated medical ambition and the warmth of human connection drives a young woman into a dangerous struggle for her life and her love. This Victorian narrative explores the boundaries of scientific ethics while weaving a web of domestic intrigue.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Black Beauty, Young Folks' Edition

Black Beauty, Young Folks' Edition

Anna Sewell

HOOK A horse’s life is a journey from the rolling, green safety of a meadow to the punishing stone streets of London, told from behind the bit and bridle.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Endymion

Endymion

Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

A young man navigates the cutthroat currents of 19th-century British politics, buoyed by the unwavering ambition of his sister and the mysterious patronage of those who pull the strings of power.

British Literature8 min read
Cover of Howards End

Howards End

E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster

Two families from opposite worlds collide when a casual acquaintance leads to a secret legacy, forcing a reckoning between the rigid pursuit of wealth and the messy, vital business of human connection.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of In memoriam

In memoriam

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron

This monumental poem documents a long, fractured journey through grief, tracking the transformation of profound personal loss into a tentative, hard-won faith in the order of the universe.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803

Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803

Dorothy Wordsworth

This intimate journal captures a three-week journey through the Scottish Highlands in 1803, recording a landscape of rugged beauty, modest hospitality, and historical resonance through a keen, observant eye.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Red Hair

Red Hair

Elinor Glyn

Evangeline Travers, a penniless beauty with red hair and green eyes, decides to embrace her reputation as an "adventuress" after losing her inheritance. She sets out to navigate the rigid, judgmental world of the British aristocracy.

British Literature6 min read
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