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By: Frank L. Packard (1877-1942)

Book cover On the Iron at Big Cloud

Frank L. Packard worked as a civil engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He brings this experience to the fictional Hill Division -- those those twisting, climbing, dangerous and glorious miles of track that lead from the Division Point at Big Cloud over the magnificent but treacherous Rockies to the straight and level Pacific Division. Here are fifteen stories of exciting times on the Hill Division and of the remarkable men—Regan, Carlton, Spence and all the others—whose determination, ability, even heroism, tamed the fabulous Hill Division.

Book cover Jimmie Dale and the Phantom Clue

Jimmie Dale, alias The Gray Seal, alias Smarlinghue, is back in the criminal underworld of New York. He is desperately trying to find the criminal called the Phantom, alias Gentleman Laroque, in order to protect Marie, alias The Tocsin, the love of his life. A fast-paced, adventurous story riddled with aliases, disguises, gunfire and opium dens. Third book about the adventures of Jimmie Dale. The first two are already available at. - Summary by Anna Simon

Book cover Four Stragglers

This thrilling novel teems with intrigue and unforgettable characters. It opens during WWI with a few allied soldiers lost at night behind German lines. One of them shoots at another in the darkness. Members of a criminal gang before the war, the men resume their unlawful activities when peacetime returns. The gang’s leader receives a letter that results in his leaving London for a small island off the Florida Keys. He is “as clever a scoundrel and as miserable, inhuman and unscrupulous a one as ever blasphemed the image in which God made him… He is without conscience, ruthless, a fiend who would do honour to hell itself...

By: Frederick Douglass (c.1818-1895)

Book cover Collected Articles of Frederick Douglass

These two articles were reproduced as an e-book by Project Gutenberg in 2008 to supplement "...several articles by Frederick Douglass, whose larger work was presented in book form as a January, 1993 Project Gutenberg Etext to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day...." The articles narrated here are "My Escape From Slavery" (1881) and "Reconstruction" (1866).

Book cover My Bondage and My Freedom

The life of Frederick Douglass, recorded in the pages which follow, is not merely an example of self elevation under the most adverse circumstances; it is, moreover, a noble vindication of the highest aims of the American anti-slavery movement.

Book cover Why is the Negro Lynched?

We have felt that the most fitting tribute that we, of the Anti-Caste movement, can pay to the memory of this noble and faithful life is to issue broadcast—as far as the means entrusted to us will allow—his last great appeal for justice . A slanderous charge against Negro morality has gone forth throughout the world and has been widely credited. The white American has had his say both North and South. On behalf of the accused, Frederick Douglass claims, in the name of justice, to be heard.

Book cover Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass published his highly acclaimed third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, in 1881 and revised it in 1892. The emancipation of American slaves during and following the American Civil War enabled him to relate in this volume more details of his life as a slave and his escape from slavery than he could in his two previous autobiographies, which would have put him and his family in danger. It is the only Douglass autobiography to discuss his life during and after the...

Book cover Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (version 2)

Published in 1845, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself was written in response to critics who questioned the authenticity of the experiences Douglass drew on as a prominent abolitionist speaker. Douglass begins by describing his earliest memories, including his “entrance to the hell of slavery” through the “blood-stained gate” of his Aunt Hester’s brutal beating, and goes on to tell of his painstaking acquisition of literacy, climactic fistfight with Edward Covey, imprisonment in the wake of a thwarted escape attempt, and flight north, first to New York, where he marries Anna Murray, and ultimately to New Bedford, Massachusetts...

Book cover Oration by Frederick Douglass Delivered on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument, April 14, 1876

This is the speech given by Fredrick Douglass at the unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington DC, April 14, 1876 along with the appendix which includes additional information about the order of the events and the story of the beginning of the collection of funds. - Summary by Edward Graham V

By: Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (1777-1843)

Book cover Sintram and His Companions

Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, also the author of Undine, was a German Romantic writer whose stories were filled with knights, damsels in distress, evil enchantments, and the struggle of good against overpowering evil. 'My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure.' Fouque blends the Romantic love for nature and ancient chivalry while telling a powerful story about a young man who yearns for that which he can never attain.

By: Garrett P. Serviss (1851-1929)

Book cover Columbus of Space

A classic science fiction adventure in the style of and dedicated to the readers of Jules Verne. An independent scientist discovers the secret of “inter-atomic energy”, and with it builds a craft which carries himself and three friends to Venus, where they discover the dwellers of the dark side, incredible floating cities, and peril at every turn.

By: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)

Book cover Phenomenology of Mind, Volume 2

Phänomenologie des Geistes is Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's most important and widely discussed philosophical work. Hegel's first book, it describes the three-stage dialectical life of Spirit. The title can be translated as either The Phenomenology of Spirit or The Phenomenology of Mind, because the German word Geist has both meanings. Phenomenology was the basis of Hegel's later philosophy and marked a significant development in German idealism after Kant. Focusing on topics in metaphysics,...

Book cover Logic of Hegel

This is the William Wallace translation of the first part of Hegel's Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences on logic. This is an outline of Hegel's logical system that he would use and elaborate on during his lectures, it is a shorter version of his earlier publication The Science of Logic. The William Wallace translation is very influential and famous for its clarity, although he took some liberties and does not always stick closely to Hegel's original text. - Summary by Ryan Smallwood

Book cover Phenomenology of Mind, Volume 1

Phänomenologie des Geistes is Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's most important and widely discussed philosophical work. Hegel's first book, it describes the three-stage dialectical life of Spirit. The title can be translated as either The Phenomenology of Spirit or The Phenomenology of Mind, because the German word Geist has both meanings. Phenomenology was the basis of Hegel's later philosophy and marked a significant development in German idealism after Kant. Focusing on topics in metaphysics,...

By: George A. Baker, Jr. (1849-1906)

Book cover Retrospection

volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Retrospection by George A. Baker Jr.. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for October 13, 2019. ------ This Fortnightly Poem is taken from POINT LACE AND DIAMONDS by George Baker Jr.

Book cover Christmas Greens

volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Christmas Greens by George A. Baker Jr.. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for November 29, 2020. ------ A cold winter's night, two damsels vying for the affections of the pastor. - Summary by David Lawrence

Book cover Eight Hours

volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Eight Hours by George A. Baker Jr. This was the Weekly Poetry project for November 21, 2021. ------ This week's poem is a narrative of a working girl and her situation in society. George A. Baker was a native of New York City. He was a journalist, lawyer and author of novels and poetry, His works include Bad Habits of a Good Society . - Summary by David Lawrence

By: George Berkeley (1685-1753)

Book cover Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (Version 2)

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge is a 1710 work, in English, by Irish Empiricist philosopher George Berkeley. This book largely seeks to refute the claims made by Berkeley's contemporary John Locke about the nature of human perception. Whilst, like all the Empiricist philosophers, both Locke and Berkeley agreed that we are having experiences, regardless of whether material objects exist, Berkeley sought to prove that the outside world is also composed solely of ideas. Berkeley...

By: George Calderon (1868-1915)

Book cover Cinderella

If you are expecting glass slippers and pumpkin coaches, look elsewhere... This is "a pantomime as Ibsen would have written it, if only it had occurred to him to write one." Set on a "bleak and cheerless heath overlooking the fjord" we meet Ibsenesque heroine Mrs. Inquest, her step-daughter Hilda, and her daughter Hedda, who is engaged to be married to the unfortunate Tesman. Thus begins Calderon's hilarious Ibsenesque version of Cinderella. NOTE from the editor of the volume, published in 1922 after Calderon's death: This play is hardly more than a rough draft, written when the idea was fresh and put aside to be worked on when the right moment should come...

By: George Hodges (1856-1919)

Book cover Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages Volume 2

In this second volume, Hodges uses stories of the lives of fourteen well-known saints and heroes of the faith to continue the history of the church from the end of the Reformation through the 1700s. These stories recount their lives and sacrifices for the faith. These saints and heroes include: Luther, More, Loyola, Cranmer, Calvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent, Brewster, Laud, Cromwell, Bunyan, Fox, and Wesley. Appropriate and beneficial for children and adults! - Summary by Maggie Travers

Book cover Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages

Though these stories of the lives of twenty saints and heroes of the faith, we have an introduction to the history of the church from 3rd century A.D. to the Reformation. These stories chronicle their lives and sacrifices for the faith. These saints and heroes include: Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba, Charlemagne, Hildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton, Dominic, Francis, Wycliffe, Hus, and Savonarola. Appropriate for children and adults.

By: George Moore (1852-1933)

Book cover Untilled Field

George Moore, an Irish writer involved with the Celtic Revival was influenced by the French Realists and particularly by the work of Émile Zola. Often considered as the first modern Irish novelist he became involved with Lady Gregory and William Butler Yeats in the establishment of the Irish Literary Theatre. As part of his involvement with the Literary Revival, he wrote a set of short stories set in Ireland, drawn from his experiences growing up on his family’s estates in Co. Mayo. The stories were intended to be translated into Irish as a part of a new tradition of Gaelic Literature...

By: George W. M. Reynolds (1814-1879)

Book cover Mysteries of London vol. 1 part 1

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England. The first series was published in weekly instalments from 1844-46, priced at a penny each. Serialised novels sold in this way were known as Penny Dreadfuls … without any claim to literary greatness, they sought to provide ongoing entertainment for the popular audience. This book has it all -- vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, in every combination. Consider it a Victorian soap opera.Summary by Cori Samuel. Note: this project only covers half of volume 1. To be continued!

Book cover Mysteries of London vol. 1 part 2

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England. The first series was published in weekly instalments from 1844-46, priced at a penny each. Serialised novels sold in this way were known as Penny Dreadfuls … without any claim to literary greatness, they sought to provide ongoing entertainment for the popular audience. When first published, this book was intended for an adult audience. The crime and vice involved would have had a terrible effect on the Young Mind of the Victorian Era. However, it’s less likely to cause offence or concern now, though I don’t recommend it for younger children.

Book cover Mysteries of London Vol. II

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the second volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Book cover Mysteries of London Vol. III

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the third volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery, romance and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Book cover Mysteries of London Vol. IV

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the fourth and final volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery, romance and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: George W. Ogden (1871-1966)

Book cover Trail's End

When an agriculture professor wanders into a wicked Kansas cowtown in order to experiment raising wheat, both the professor and the town get more than they bargain for. A wild and wooly Western.

By: George William Russell (1867-1935)

Book cover Homeward Songs by the Way

George William Russell -- better known by his pen name "A.E." -- was an Irish writer, poet and mystic, a lifelong friend of William Butler Yeats, and an original member of Ireland's Theosophical Society. In a letter to a friend, penned several years before he died, he wrote: "I know no mechanism is going to solve the world's problems. Nothing will, except the spiritual life." This volume of poems contains his first published work and reflects on the mysteries of nature and the divine, of life and the universe.

By: Georgia Wood Pangborn (1872-1958)

Book cover Interventions

A collection of short stories of social commentary, tales of love, mystery, and loss. Many of the stories revolve around children, women, and relationships with friends of varying classes, often in odd, unusual, or difficult circumstances in life. (Introduction by Psudonae Vox)

By: Gerald Birney Smith (1868-1929)

Book cover Guide to the Study of the Christian Religion

Articles by numerous authors, compiled into a single collection for use by first year divinity students. This book is intended to be a guide to the study of the Christian religion for Protestants. It was prepared to aid students to understand various aspects of education for the Christian ministry, including basic textual studies, theology, Christian history, denominations, Christian ethics and pastoral duties.

By: Geraldine Bonner (1870-1930)

Book cover Girl at Central

Molly Morganthau, day operator in the telephone exchange, helps to solve a murder.

Book cover Castlecourt Diamond Mystery

The famous Castlecourt Diamonds have gone missing and the story surrounding their disappearance is strange indeed.  To help sort out the mystery, you will hear eye witness statements given by the various participants in this curious case now, for the first time, given to the public. - Summary by The Author and Jenn Broda

By: Grant M. Overton (1887-1930)

Book cover Women Who Make Our Novels

”This book, the rather unpremeditated production of several months’ work, is by a man who is not a novelist and who is therefore entirely unfitted to write about women who are novelists.” The author is a literary reporter and from that perspective he offers a short biographical sketch “of all the living American women novelists whose writing, by the customary standards, is artistically fine . . . [or] whose writing has attained a wide popularity.” This book was published in 1918.

By: Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 - c 395)

Book cover Funeral Oration on Meletius

Saint Meletius was Patriarch of Antioch from 360 until his death in 381. One of his last acts was to preside over the First Council of Constantinople, held in 381. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, renown as one of the Cappadocian Fathers, was in attendance, and gave the eulogy at the latter's funeral. However, the text repeatedly alludes to an event of joy in contrast to the repose of Meletius. This refers to the very recent installation of Gregory Nazianzen as Archbishop of Constantinople.

Book cover The Life of Saint Macrina

The poignant biography of Saint Macrina, by her brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa. (The Reader)“The use of the word "philosophy" to designate Christianity is common in the writings of the fourth century, ... It is employed in a twofold sense, of the Christian religion generally and of asceticism in particular.” (from the 2nd footnote of the narrated text.)

By: Guy Morton (1884-1948)

Book cover Rangy Pete

Canadian novelist Guy Morton's Rangy Pete is one of a trio of westerns he wrote in the 1920s (the other two being Black Gold and Wards of the Azure Hills). In this one, the Gary Cooper-esque title character, Rangy Pete, goes up against the Dervishers, and outlaw clan that's been stirring up trouble for the peaceable folks of Triple Butte. In so doing, he encounters a beautiful blue-eyed girl-bandit who promptly throws a lasso around his heart. As the action heats up, the grandeur of magnificent western landscape does battle with the picturesqueness of Rangy's colorful cowboy argot, and the reader comes out the winner...

By: Guy Wetmore Carryl (1873-1904)

Book cover Fables for the Frivolous (Version 2)

Fables for the Frivolous is one of the earliest works by the American parodist Guy Wetmore Carryl. These fables are adapted from Jean de La Fontaine's original writings. The Aesop-style fables are written in verse, and are light-hearted re-tellings of fables from two centuries before, each ending with a moral and a pun. Among the more celebrated of the fables are The Persevering Tortoise and the Pretentious Hare, The Arrogant Frog and the Superior Bull, and The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven. ( from Wikipedia)

Book cover How a Fisherman Corked up His Foe in a Jar

LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 recordings of How a Fisherman Corked up His Foe in a Jar by Guy Wetmore Carryl. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project fo September 22, 2013.Guy Wetmore Carryl was an American humorist and poet. Some of his better known poems were parodies on nursery rhymes and Aesop's Fables. (

By: Hafiz (1325-1390)

Book cover Poems from the Divan of Hafiz

Hafiz was a Persian poet. His collected works (Divan) are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature. While influenced by Islam, his mystical works are highly regarded by Hindus, Christians and others, and his influence extends to several well-known writers such as Thoreau, Goethe, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. This modest collection of 43 poems is translated by Gertrude Bell.

By: Hallam Hawksworth (1863-?)

Book cover Adventures of a Grain of Dust

This charming book for children is full of interesting facts about all sorts of plants, insects, birds and animals and how they all help to enrich the soil for farmers - each in its own special way. Join our narrator, The Grain of Dust on a fascinating journey around the planet to meet them. "I don't want you to think that I'm boasting, but I do believe I'm one of the greatest travellers that ever was; and if anybody, living or dead, has ever gone through with more than I have I'd like to hear about it...

By: Hallie Erminie Rives (1874-1956)

Tales From Dickens by  Hallie Erminie Rives Tales From Dickens

The Old Curiosity Shop; Hard Times; A Tale of Two Cities; Oliver Twist; The Pickwick Papers. Have you read any or all of these famous Dickens stories? The author of this marvelous book, Rives Ermine, a highly successful author in her own right, simply wanted to retell the basic elements of some of Dickens best beloved novels and story lines. Now is your chance to revisit these stories and revive the memories of great reads. Of it you haven't gotten around to some of these classics, this would be a marvelous chance to listen to what they are about so you can enjoy them even more in the original later...

By: Hannah Webster Foster (1758-1840)

Book cover Coquette, Or The History of Eliza Wharton

The classic early American epistolary novel about the seduction and ruin of a passionate young woman. Based on the true story of Elizabeth Whitman, whose lonesome death in childbirth in a Connecticut inn sparked widespread discussion and outrage, the novel went through many editions and innumerable printings in the century after its initial publication in 1797.

By: Harriet Lummis Smith

Peggy Raymond's Vacation (or Friendly Terrace Transplanted) by  Harriet Lummis Smith Peggy Raymond's Vacation (or Friendly Terrace Transplanted)

Sequel to The Girls of Friendly Terrace (or Peggy Raymond's Success). As the summer opens the girls fan themselves on the porch, wishing for a get away. As it happens, opportunity knocks, leading them into a country vacation along with a few more members to the party.

Book cover Peggy Raymond's Way (or Blossom Time At Friendly Terrace)

In this fifth and (as far as is known) final volume of Peggy Raymond and her Friendly Terrace entourage, we find the Girls winding down from the Great War, and pursuing more domestic and mischievous pursuits. Finishing up college and preparing for Peggy and Grahame's wedding, Ruth, Amy and Priscilla look toward their own opportunities of future relationships and potential marriages. As Harriet Lummis Smith is so good at, it is a neat blend of continuity toward the known characters and charming introductions of the new.

Book cover Peggy Raymond's School Days (or Old Girls And New)

Published in 1916, this third installment with The Friendly Terrace girls places them in The Girl’s High School, with an array of new characters, and a few peripherally known from the first book. A heavier edge of drama comes through via a new student with a superiority complex, another student whose diligent scholastic achievements mar her socially, and an odd tradition of affectionate favouritism between Freshman and Seniors which proves to be awkward and disruptive to more than just the students. Peggy, Amy, Priscilla and Ruth are again faced with new challenges, and complicated scenarios to help resolve.

Book cover Friendly Terrace Quartette (or Peggy Raymond At The Poplars)

The Friendly Terrace Quartette (or Peggy Raymond At The Poplars) published in 1920, finds Peggy and her friends preparing for The Great War. Young men they had known as boys are signing up to train and fight as soldiers, while the girls find themselves looking for what they can do to help. Priscilla, and Amy join Peggy in The Land Army to assist in agricultural labour usually left to men of the period. Ruth, of weaker health, must remain on Friendly Terrace but manages to find her own way to be useful...

Book cover Girls of Friendly Terrace (or Peggy Raymond's Success)

Peggy Raymond and her friends, Amy, Priscilla and Ruth, encounter a new neighbour, Elaine, and her family. While Peggy, in her usual cheerful and practical manner, welcomes them into the neighbourhood of Friendly Terrace, a variety of mysteries slowly unfold about them and why they ended up moving there. (Harriet Lummis Smith later went on to write four sequels to Eleanor H. Porter's "Pollyanna" books.)

Book cover Pollyanna's Jewels

In this fourth "Glad Book", Pollyanna returns to her public, no longer the young bride struggling with the problems of housekeeping and homemaking for her beloved Jimmie, but the proud mother of three healthy active children - her "Jewels" - who keep her hands full.

Book cover Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms

Pollyanna marries sweetheart Jimmy Pendleton, and together they move to start their married life in Boston. The book follows their many adventures of marriage, setting up home in a new city, having visitors, and many other events, including Jimmy's signing up to fight during WWI. Throughout the uplifting book, Pollyanna continues to play her characteristic 'Glad Game' and tries to encourage others to do the same.

By: Harry A. Lewis

Book cover Hidden Treasures

"Some succeed while others fail. This is a recognized fact; yet history tells us that seven-tenths of our most successful men began life poor." A selection of mini-biographies teaches us how some successful men have overcome odds to make their mark on history.

By: Harry Houdini (1874-1926)

Book cover Magician Among the Spirits

Houdini, an escape artist and illusionist, became interested later in his life in debunking spiritualists, disbelieving anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers. This was during an era where paranormal phenomena, especially seances, were extremely popular. Although skeptical of their claims, he longed to find a credible source to communicate with family members he had lost. This book chronicles his travels and the many people he spoke with and his observations of their 'powers' and along the way also reveals many of the tricks they employed to deceive their paying customers. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

By: Hendrik van Loon (1882-1944)

Book cover Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators

This is a story of magnificent failures. The men who equipped the expeditions of which I shall tell you the story died in the poorhouse. The men who took part in these voyages sacrificed their lives as cheerfully as they lighted a new pipe or opened a fresh bottle. Some of them were drowned, and some of them died of thirst. A few were frozen to death, and many were killed by the heat of the scorching sun. But what of it? It was all in the day's work. These excellent fellows took whatever came, be it good or bad, or indifferent, with perfect grace, and kept on smiling...

By: Henry A. Sherman (1870-?)

Book cover Children's Bible

This is a Book of Children's Bible Stories.

By: Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924)

Book cover Theodore Roosevelt; An Address Delivered Before The Congress Of The United States

A biographical encomium delivered on the occasion of Roosevelt's death. Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt, Jr. (1858 – 1919) was an American author, naturalist, explorer, historian, and politician who served as the 26th President of the United States. He was a leader of the Republican Party (the "GOP") and founder of the Progressive Party. He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

Book cover Democracy of the Constitution, and other Addresses and Essays

Henry Cabot Lodge was a popular American Senator from Massachusetts. He did not only make a name for himself as a politician, but also as an essayist, combining his personal experience as Senator with a study of the philosophical and historical background of this profession. The essays in this volume concern the American model of democracy in particular. Published in 1915, the essays contained herein also reflect the rapid changes brought about by World War I, which will interest a wide readership. - Summary by Carolin

By: Henry George (1839-1897)

Book cover Irish Land Question

"What I want to impress upon those who may read this paper is this: The Irish land question is not a mere local question; it is a universal question. It involves the great problem of the distribution of wealth, which is everywhere forcing itself upon attention. It can not be settled by measures which in their nature can have but a local application. It can only be settled by measures which in their nature will apply everywhere as readily as in Ireland."

Book cover Progress and Poverty

What I have done in this book, if I have correctly solved the great problem I have sought to investigate, is, to unite the truth perceived by the school of Smith and Ricardo to the truth perceived by the schools of Proudhon and Lasalle; to show that laissez faire (in its full true meaning) opens the way to a realization of the noble dreams of socialism; to identify social law with moral law, and to disprove ideas which in the minds of many cloud grand and elevating perceptions.

By: Henry Handel Richardson (1870-1946)

Book cover Getting of Wisdom (Version 2)

Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, a writer who was born in 1870 to a reasonably well-off family which later fell on hard times. The author's family lived in various Victorian towns and from the age of 13 to 17 Richardson attended boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, Victoria. It's this experience that feeds directly into The Getting of Wisdom. Laura Tweedle Rambotham, the main character, is the eldest child of a country family...

By: Henry L. Williams

Book cover Joaquin, the Claude Duval of California; or, The Marauder of the Mines: a Romance Founded on Truth

Joaquin Murrieta was a famous Californio bandit, known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado". Joaquin Murrieta was the son of worthy parents, and nothing in his early youth betokened any traits of the monster which he afterwards became. . . . In the following pages every trace of his blood-stained footsteps is closely followed. Some of the facts are furnished by contemporary witnesses; most of them by official documents. He proceeded from step to step, wading deeper and deeper into crime, until quiet citizens were almost afraid to breathe his name aloud...

By: Henry Stanton

Book cover Sex: Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English (version 2)

Henry Stanton was appalled at the shocking lack of information given to young people about sex and reproduction in his time. He felt this was a crime that needed to be fixed and so he wrote this book explaining sex for young and old. Ignorance of basic reproductive processes he felt led to experimentation that then led to sin, crime and prostitution. While this book is definitely not written in what I would call Plain English, contains some very questionable 'facts' about masturbation and menstruation and might seem very moralistic and dogmatic to our current society, he does hold out high ideas for all in affairs of self respect, love and marriage...

By: Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)

Book cover Siddhartha (Version 2)

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life" by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures...

Book cover Demian, The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth

Somewhat autobiographical, this "coming of age" novel unfolds an introspective boy's formative years in pre-World War 1 Germany, from grade school through college. Hesse likens this confusing process to a giant bird struggling to break out of its egg , to be reborn as an individuated adult with his own goals, ideas and ideals. Much importance is given to dreams and their interpretation, Fate vs individual choice, Gnosticism , opening up to one's unconsciousness, all showing the influence of Carl Jung's psychology...

By: Hesiod

Book cover Works and Days, The Theogony, and The Shield of Heracles

Works and Days provides advice on agrarian matters and personal conduct. The Theogony explains the ancestry of the gods. The Shield of Heracles is the adventure of Heracles accepting an enemy's challenge to fight.

By: Homer (c. 8th cen - c. 8th cen)

Book cover Odysseys of Homer

The Odysseys are a collection of stories about Ulysses' journey home from the war at Troy purportedly written in the 8th century BCE by Homer, a blind poet thought to have lived in the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, possibly at Smyrna. The events described are thought to have occurred centuries before being recorded by Homer, handed down orally since the twelfth century BCE, the golden era of the Greek Bronze Age when the world was populated by heroic mortals and often visited by the Gods. This verse...

Book cover Iliad (Pope Translation)

Homer’s Iliad is the first great work of Western literature. Composed in twenty-four books of Greek hexameter poetry, it portrays the events of the last year of the Trojan War. Its translation into rhyming couplets by Alexander Pope is considered by some the greatest act of translation in English. Its power sweeps the reader along through an epic tale that begins with the wrath of Achilles and ends with the burial of Hector, breaker of horses. (Introduction by Steve Perkins)

Book cover Iliad of Homer, Rendered into English Blank Verse

"It must equally be considered a splendid performance; and for the present we have no hesitation in saying that it is by far the best representation of Homer's Iliad in the English language." - London Times, 1865"The merits of Lord Derby's translation may be summed up in one word, it is eminently attractive; it is instinct with life; it may be read with fervent interest; it is immeasurably nearer than Pope to the text of the original. Lord Derby has given a version far more closely allied to the original, and superior to any that has yet been attempted in the blank verse of our language." - Edinburgh Review, January 1865.

Book cover Homeric Hymns, Epigrams, and The Battle of Frogs and Mice

Homeric Hymns are thirty-three poems each paying homage to a certain Greek god. Only a few of the poems are more than 250 lines while the rest are about a dozen lines each. They are written in Homeric style and traditionally attributed to Homer but their true provenance is unknown. The Epigrams are a series of fragments on disparate topics including sailors, children and potters and are similarly attributed to Homer although it appears Hesiod and others wrote some of them. Finally, Battle of Frogs and Mice is a light-weight parody -- literally, at one-fiftieth the number of lines -- of Homer's famous battle of Greeks and Trojans epic, Illiad.

By: Horace Walpole (1717-1797)

Book cover Horace Walpole's Letters: a selection

Horace Walpole, 4th earl of Orford, was a cultivated participant in, and observer of, the social and political life of Georgian England. His charming and witty letters are valuable pictures of the age. "A man so blessed that he could unfold every gift, every foible, whose long life spreads like a great lake reflecting houses and friends and wars and snuff boxes and revolutions and lap dogs, the great and the little, all intermingled, and behind them a stretch of the serene blue sky." Virginia Woolf.

Book cover Castle of Otranto (Version 2)

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel, a genre appealing to a taste for terror and set in a remote past when prodigies and magic can be imagined to have existed, with violent contrasts between purity and ungoverned passions. The author represents the tale as having been translated from a black letter Italian volume of the 15th century but describing much earlier events. This fictional antiquity and the depiction of mysterious wonders, dark subterranean passages, fearsome apparitions, marvelous coincidences, and especially a savage threat to spotless innocence are all typical of this genre, which does not assure a reader of a happy ending.

By: Ida Laura Pfeiffer (1797-1858)

Book cover Woman's Journey Round the World

Ida Laura Pfeiffer was an Austrian traveler and travel book author, one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into several languages. "The Woman's Journey Around the World, from Vienna to Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, and Asia Minor" is the travel diary of the first of her two trips "around the world", following her successful trips to the Holy Land and to Iceland.

By: Imbert de Saint-Amand (1834-1900)

Book cover Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty

Paris in 1792 is no longer what it was in 1789. In 1789, the old French society was still brilliant. The past endured beside the present. Neither names nor escutcheons, neither liveries nor places at court, had been suppressed. The aristocracy and the Revolution lived face to face. In 1792, the scene has changed."France was now on the verge of the Reign of Terror (la Terreur), the violent years following the Revolution, and this book chronicles the terrible period of French history which culminated in the proclamation: "Royalty is abolished in France...

By: Isaac Goldberg (1887-1938)

Book cover Little Blue Book 646: The Spirit of Brazilian Literature

One of the many Little Blue Books published to make learning available to all. These were short, informative, and inexpensive books that discussed many topics, including biographies, literature, essays, and more. This volume discusses Brazilian literature in an historical context. - Summary by KevinS

By: Isabel Anderson (1876-1948)

Book cover Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines

Isabel Anderson has written a most interesting travelogue of Hawaii and The Philippines. Actually it is more of a history lesson. Anyone with any interest whatsoever in the South Pacific will find this book very interesting indeed, to note all that has changed since Mrs. Anderson had traveled there.

By: J. Francis Logan

Book cover Spy Proof America!

A very impassioned piece from the first World War, introducing a volunteer civilian anti-spy organization to root out enemy spies from the USA. It appears that this organization never reached the level the author urges; however, other organizations such as the American Protective League did. "Greatest Publication Since the Civil War! Spy Proof America means only one thing - a short, quick, decisive victory - and with honor, too! Every City Is Mobilizing - Join Now The Voluntary Secret Service - V. S. S." (Introduction by TriciaG & from publication)

By: J. Thomas Looney (1870-1944)

Book cover Shakespeare Identified

That one who is not a recognized authority or an expert in literature should attempt the solution of a problem which has so far baffled specialists must doubtless appear to many as a glaring act of over- boldness; whilst to pretend to have actually solved this most momentous of literary puzzles will seem to some like sheer hallucination. What I have to propose, however, is not an accidental discovery, but one resulting from a systematic search. And it is to the nature of the method, combined with a happy inspiration and a fortunate chance, that the results here described were reached...

By: Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (1785-1863)

Book cover Grimm's Fairy Stories

Fairies, Evil Step Mothers, Enchanted Forests, Golden Geese, Poor Little Children, Fairy Godmothers, Magic wells, and oh, so many many more of the things that make those well loved stories thrilling to tell and listen to are in this little book. And there are a few that you may never have heard of before. just to spice things up a bit. Some are short and some are long but all have a big helping of magic and wonder. Do you like stories like this? well, here you are! - Summary by phil chenevert

Book cover Grimms' Fairy Tales (Version 3)

Grimms' Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children's and Household Tales, is a German collection of fairy tales or folk lore by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. - Summary by Cliff Stone

Book cover Household Tales (Version 2)

Do you like fairy tales and stories about all sorts of animals and people? Here are a wide variety of stories that go from warm and fuzzy to wild and scary to suit any mood. Many of these are familiar to us and we look forward to hear them again, but many are also unfamiliar tales that will treat your ears and brain to something new but equally wonderful. All collected by the famous brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. - Summary by philchenevert

Book cover Grimm's Fairy Tales - Retold in One-Syllable Words

The stories we have read and loved but retold in words of one syllable to make it easier for young readers or those where English is a second language. Some you will know and love, others you may never have heard of but all are worth reading and listening to. Hansel and Grethel, The Wolf and the Six Little Kids; 3 tales about elves; Snow White and Rose Red; King Roughbeard; The Frog Prince; Cinderella; Little Red Cap (little Red Riding Hood) and The Goose Girl are only a few of these delightful tales.

By: James Frazer (1854-1941)

Book cover Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion. Part 4. Adonis Attis Osiris. Volume 1

The fifth volume and the first of two in the fourth part of Frazer's seminal work on the evolution of belief deals with the semi mythological legends of the Mediterranean and the eastern civilizations. Many analogies are traced between the worship of Osiris and the worship of the dead, especially of dead kings. The conclusion to which these analogies appear to the point is that under the mythical pall of the glorified Osiris, the god who died and rose again from the dead, there once lay the body of a dead man...

Book cover Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion. Part 2. Taboo and the Perils of the Soul

The third volume of The Golden Bough. The term Taboo is one of the very few words which the English language has borrowed from the speech of savages. This volume examines the underlying moral code of many societies, both primitive and medieval, and with modern analogies. The reader is encouraged to contemplate the contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities, not merely between different people of different countries and ages, but also between similar people within the same countries. Frazer presents extensive evidence that the laws of morality slowly, but subtly, are in an ever changing state. - Summary by Leon Harvey

Book cover Golden Bough: The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, Volume 1

The first volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. Topics covered include extensive discussion on the belief in sympathetic and contagious magic, magical influence on the environment, magicians and kings, magicians as priests, the origin of incarnate living gods, and a lengthy essay on the origin on the king of the wood at the lake of Nemi.

Book cover Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion. Part 3. The Dying God

The fourth volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. With this third part of The Golden Bough we take up the question, why had the King of the Wood at Nemi regularly to perish by the hand of his successor? Topics investigated include the practice and intention of human sacrifice, the mortality of gods, the regular killing of divine kings and spirits, and the superstitions surrounding the succession of the soul. - Summary by Leon Harvey

Book cover Golden Bough: The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, Volume 2

The second volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. The superstition and magical purpose of kings is further discussed alongside the worship of trees, vegetation, fire, and the sacred marriages, and the mystical bond between people and trees. - Summary by Leon Harvey

Book cover Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion. Part 4. Adonis Attis Osiris. Volume 2

The sixth volume in the Golden Bough. Frazer continues into the second part of the compilation of analogies dealing with the recurring theme of the dying god. the worship of the dead, and dead kings. Extensive evidence is presented from the history of Egypt and what had been learned from archaeology in North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Egyptian calendar and festivals, the identify and personality of Osiris, and the relationship of the mother goddess, are discussed in length. - Summary by Leon Harvey

By: James Joseph Walsh (1865-1942)

Book cover Thirteenth: Greatest of Centuries

It cannot but seem a paradox to say that the Thirteenth was the greatest of centuries. To most people the idea will appear at once so preposterous that they may not even care to consider it. A certain number, of course, will have their curiosity piqued by the thought that anyone should evolve so curious a notion. Either of these attitudes of mind will yield at once to a more properly receptive mood if it is recalled that the Thirteenth is the century of the Gothic cathedrals, of the foundation of the university, of the signing of Magna Charta, and of the origin of representative government with something like constitutional guarantees throughout the west of Europe...

By: James Orr (1844-1913)

Book cover David Hume and his Influence on Philosophy and Theology

David Hume justly takes rank as the most distinguished member of that brilliant circle of literary men whose names gave such a lustre to the second half of the eighteenth century in Scotland. His speculations were the most profound, and, with the possible exception of Adam Smith in a particular department, his influence was the widest and most deeply felt, of any. But even his warmest friends could scarcely have predicted the influence he was destined to exercise, or the important results that were to spring from his thoughts...

Book cover Bible Under Trial

The papers composing this volume were prepared in response to urgent request as a popular apologetic series in defence of the Bible from the attacks made on it from different quarters. They are now published in the hope that they may do something to steady the minds of those who are in perplexity owing to the multitude and confusion of the opinions that prevail in these times regarding the Sacred Book. - Summary by Preface

By: Jane Andrews (1833-1887)

Book cover Ten Boys Who Lived on the Road from Long Ago to Now

A children’s book that describes the life of ten boys in different historical time periods. The book shows the reader what the daily life of an average boy living in these various time periods would have been like, with descriptions of the kinds of houses they lived in, the food they ate, their education, clothing, religion, cultural customs, etc. The book begins in the ancient Indus River Valley, and moves along chronologically all the way up to the modern industrial era. - Summary by Virginia Neville

By: Jean-Joseph Gaume (1802-1879)

Book cover Sign of the Cross in the Nineteenth Century

A book that examines the sign of the Cross made by Christians since the primitive church up until the 19th century. It looks at stories of miracles and the writings of the father to impress upon the reader the need to make the sign of the cross reverently and frequently.

By: Jefferson Davis (1808-1889)

Book cover Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Volume 1a

The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881) is written by Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Davis wrote the book as a straightforward history of the Confederate States of America and as an apologia for the causes that he believed led to and justified the American Civil War. Davis spared little detail in describing every aspect of the Confederate constitution and government, in addition to which he retold in detail numerous military campaigns...

Book cover Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Volume 1b

The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881) is written by Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Davis wrote the book as a straightforward history of the Confederate States of America and as an apologia for the causes that he believed led to and justified the American Civil War. Davis spared little detail in describing every aspect of the Confederate constitution and government, in addition to which he retold in detail numerous military campaigns...

Book cover Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Volume 2

The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881) is written by Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Davis wrote the book as a straightforward history of the Confederate States of America and as an apologia for the causes that he believed led to and justified the American Civil War. (Intro modified from Wikipedia) "The most painful pages of this work are those which . . . present the subjugation of the State governments by the Government of the United States...

By: Joan Conquest (1883-1941)

Book cover Zarah the Cruel

As told to a group of Bedouins as they sit around the fire, this tale , set in the Arabian desert, tells of a Holy Man accused of murder, and forced to flee and lead a nomadic life until he can prove his innocence. Some listeners may be offended by the ideas presented in this text. This is a reflection of the thinking at the time it was written. It is policy to not censor works.

By: Joaquin Miller (1837-1913)

Book cover True Bear Stories

Joaquin Miller dedicated this book to "my dear little daughter...for whose pleasure and instruction I have many times dug up the most of these stories from out the days of my boyhood." In his preface he claims to prefer true stories to made-up ones. And he always defends bears, which he thinks have gotten an undeserved bad reputation from the general populous. Miller strives here to pass on a respect for the variety and wisdom in the lives of real bears. But perhaps we should offer one caution: throughout his life Joaquin Miller gained a reputation for being a supreme liar!

By: Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814)

Book cover Vocation of the Scholar

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (German: [ˈjoːhan ˈɡɔtliːp ˈfɪçtə]; May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher. He was one of the founding figures of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant. Fichte is often perceived as a figure whose philosophy forms a bridge between the ideas of Kant and those of the German Idealist Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Recently, philosophers and scholars have begun to appreciate Fichte as an important philosopher in his own right due to his original insights into the nature of self-consciousness or self-awareness...

Book cover Destination Of Man

Johanne Fichte published The Destination of Man in 1799. It was translated into English in 1846 by Jane Sinnett and then again in 1848 by William Smith. Fichte says his book is designed to "raise [the reader] from the sensuous world, to that which is above sense." Francis Bacon said, in The Advancement of Learning, "the two ways of contemplation are not unlike the two ways of action commonly spoken of by the ancients; the one plain and smooth in the beginning, and in the end impassable; the other rough and troublesome in the entrance, but after a while fair and even...

By: John Albert Macy (1905-1932)

Book cover Spirit of American Literature

THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN LITERATURE is a collection of essays reviewing contemporary authors on the literary scene at the turn of the century and assessing the uniquely American characteristics of their growing body of work. Excerpted from the author’s preface: “In this book something is said about most, if not quite all, of the emergent figures in American literature; an attempt is made to survey the four corners of the national library and to give an impression of its shape and size. If its purpose is approximately realized, this volume will be found to be a little nearer to a collection of appreciative essays than to a formal history or bibliographic manual...

By: John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Book cover Pilgrim's Progress in Words of One Syllable

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. The author says in the preface " I have endeavored as far as possible to avoid hard and technical expressions, and I cannot but think that the mere fact of the brevity of the words must be a great attraction to beginners of all ages.


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