"Mesék" by Ferenc Herczeg is a collection of literary fairy tales written in the early 20th century. The tales blend everyday settings with enchantment and gentle irony, following children, toys, humble townsfolk, and folkloric beings through brief adventures that turn on character and choice. Expect playful invention, Central European color, and clear moral undercurrents about kindness, vanity, courage, and responsibility. The opening of the collection presents a string of standalone tales: first, abused toys—Paprika Jancsi, a hussar, and a doll—escape into a snowy night, face perils, and are found by a milkwoman, while the scolded children insist the toys left on their own. Next, a gypsy named Bögöly marries the fiery, watery, and airy daughters of elemental folk, each destroying his home, a fable about desire and ruin. A clerk who inherits an old house discovers a bricked cellar where ghostly kuruc soldiers drink and sing under a curse until a priest ends it with a relic tied to Rákóczi’s memory. A boy steals a lost cotton monkey that swells monstrously with his guilt until returning it makes it small again. A poor princess weds a lutenist whose golden strings conjure nightly splendor; her demands for lasting wealth cost him his music, and he vanishes, leaving her to poverty. At the start of Anima, a proud girl raised in a church tower rejects a suitor, is borne by a cloud-chariot to a blind cloud-king’s court, and, drifting away, feels her heart pulled back by the faint bells of home as the excerpt ends. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Silver cities of Yucatan" by Gregory Mason is a travel and archaeological exploration narrative written in the early 20th century. Framed by a scholar’s preface and rich in firsthand detail, it follows a small expedition along the remote Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula to locate forgotten Maya cities, interweaving adventure at sea and in jungle with insights into Maya history, natural history, and coastal charting. The opening of the narrative sets the scene with a vivid preface on eastern Yucatán’s reefs, lagoons, and Maya heritage, then outlines the Maya’s achievements in writing, astronomy, and architecture while dispelling popular myths of Old World origins and sketching their rise, renaissance, and decline. The story proper begins aboard the schooner H.S. Albert, introducing the crew—a field archaeologist, an ornithologist, a navigator, and the author—whose aims are to find undocumented ruins, collect scientific data on birds, and improve coastal knowledge. After a rough start through shoals and bars, they reach Payo Obispo, secure official support, and receive a promising lead to ruins near Boca de Paila and the lakes of Chunyaxché. Pressed by rumors of a rival explorer, they push north, pausing at Ambergris Key where the ornithologist bags noteworthy specimens, then brave the hazardous entrance to Chinchorro Bank. There, amid eerie lagoons teeming with herons, ibis, sharks, and crocodiles, they conduct intensive birding and exploratory forays, establishing the narrative’s blend of scientific pursuit, maritime challenge, and the lure of undiscovered Maya sites. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"The aircraft boys of Lakeport" by Edward Stratemeyer is a juvenile adventure novel written in the early 20th century. It follows Lakeport boys Joe and Harry Westmore, Fred Rush, Link Darrow, and Bart Mason as they plunge into early aviation—rescuing an injured airman, inheriting his biplane, and facing jealous rivals while learning to fly. The opening of the novel finds the boys on an auto outing when a biplane, piloted by elderly Andrew A. Akers, sputters overhead, drops a locked black tin box, and then crashes into treetops near Owl Lake. The boys retrieve the box, discover Akers injured, spirit him to hunter Joel Runnell’s home after he refuses doctors and pointedly avoids Thomas Mason’s lodge, and receive a signed paper granting them the stranded biplane. Their rivals Si Voup and Ike Boardman briefly snatch the machine, but Joe’s firm stand forces its return; the boys test the motor, haul the parts to town, and face local chatter about whether they’ll dare to fly. Spurred by the talk and with cautious parental consent, they arrange lessons over the lake with Mr. Corsen’s chauffeur, James Slosson, who begins ground instruction and attempts the first trial. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Heart to heart" by Ida Reade Allen is a mystery-romance novel written in the late 19th century. Set in the lakeside town of Lakeview, it pivots on a sensational wedding-day death that exposes hidden motives, tangled affections, and social pressures. Central figures include Colonel Willowby and his daughter Maud, the conflicted Henry Cross, the keen-eyed detective Jack Hull, and the enigmatic Violet Harding. The opening of the novel stages a radiant spring wedding that collapses into shock when bridegroom Allen Chesterbrook is discovered stabbed in his rooms, the scene suggestive of robbery yet missing nothing of value. Coroner Granby and Detective Hull take charge; Hull notes a dagger marked “V. H.” and golden hairs with a crinkled hairpin, soon focusing on Violet Harding after hearing town gossip and later intervening when a rough acquaintance confronts her by the lake. Meanwhile, Henry Cross finds and briefly conceals a torn letter implying Allen intended to break his engagement, and he privately tells Colonel Willowby—who is also reeling from a looming financial ruin Allen had promised to avert. Cross steps in to shore up the colonel’s debts and urges silence to spare Maud, while the funeral passes without her appearance and suspicion quietly gathers around Violet. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Uhri" by Kaarle Halme is a three-act play written in the early 20th century. The drama centers on merchant Otto Hirvola, whose cheerful facade hides reckless, criminal handling of bank funds; to cover his tracks he seeks to barter his daughter Aune’s future to the domineering timber magnate Samu Kolkko, even though Aune loves Dr. Martti Majaniemi. It is a tense domestic study of power, blackmail, and moral sacrifice, with Alma, the frail mother, caught between duty and conscience. The opening of the play sets the characters and tones with explicit stage notes, then moves into a rainy-day household where Aune banters with her mother about heredity, duty, and marriage, and quietly reveals she has accepted Dr. Majaniemi’s proposal. Business intrudes: a farmer’s withdrawal request rattles Hirvola, Kolkko arrives to throw his weight around, and Hirvola nervously tries to get the doctor to write a poison prescription under the pretext of putting down a dog. In Act II, Hirvola confesses to Alma that he has misused savings-bank funds and needs Kolkko’s help; Alma denounces him, but Aune agrees to stall Kolkko’s suit for a few days—on the condition Hirvola accepts her marriage to Martti—hoping a big waterfall sale will save the situation. A telegram then crushes that hope: the foreign buyer has gone bankrupt. At the start of Act III, Hirvola begs Aune to marry Kolkko to rescue him, and she refuses, urging honesty over further wrong; Majaniemi rushes back in alarm about the potent medicine left in the house, and Aune, shaken, finds the bottle safe—for now. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Huize "Canneheuvel" by Marie Ovink-Soer is a family novel written in the early 20th century. Set around a lively household in The Hague, it follows the close-knit Canneheuvel clan—grandparents at the center, grandson Basje under their roof, and a circle of adult children and spirited grandchildren—through everyday affections, small crises, and gentle adventures. Themes of loyalty, kindness, and domestic warmth predominate, with special focus on Basje, cousins Eric and Tobi, and the musically gifted couple Puck and Frits. The opening of the novel reintroduces the family years after earlier events, now settled in a villa nicknamed the “duiventil” for its constant comings and goings. Basje, once a frail child from the tropics, thrives with his grandparents, dotes on animals, and bonds with dog Terry and cat Muis. A household accident sends the matriarch tumbling down the stairs, endangering her one good eye; doctors Joop and Frits take charge, while the terrified maid Marietje is forgiven and allowed to stay. Months of careful treatment, steadfast nursing by Nel, and Frits’s expert persistence culminate in the moving moment when the mother regains her sight. Alongside this, we see Nel’s children, Eric and Tobi, trying to manage at home with comic kitchen mishaps, and a rainy-day episode where the cousins dash into the “duiventil,” raid the costume trunk, and stage a playful “zigeunerbende” before Grandfather begins a tale about real gypsies. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Fore-armed" by Granville Fortescue is a treatise on military preparedness and citizen-soldier organization written in the early 20th century. It compares the defense systems of several nations to extract practical lessons for building a democratic, economical U.S. citizen army. Grounded in recent wartime observations, it advocates universal, field-focused training tailored to American traditions. The opening of the work frames preparedness as a civic necessity, then surveys foreign models to guide U.S. policy. It first details Switzerland’s compulsory militia: strict physical selection, modest but intensive field training, universal marksmanship culture, low costs, and officers promoted from the ranks. It then outlines Germany’s universal service and layered reserves, rigorous barracks discipline, industrial integration, railways under military logic, and the dangers of a domineering military caste. The French section highlights a democratic army ethos, three years’ active service with deep reserves and territorials, and a strong officer–soldier bond that fosters battlefield initiative. Australia’s scheme shows universal training built through school cadets into short, annual militia camps that still yield high combat value. England’s experience contrasts a superb but small professional army with fragile reserves, illustrating why volunteers and thin territorials failed and why conscription became unavoidable. A chapter on the new era in warfare stresses trench stalemate, mass artillery, and the rise of airships, aircraft, and submarines, urging American technical innovation, and the section’s close begins a discussion of how shrinking global transport lines sharpen the United States’ strategic exposure. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

John Gabriel Borkman è un dramma in quattro atti scritto nel 1896 dal drammaturgo norvegese Henrik Ibsen. Si tratta del suo penultimo lavoro teatrale. (This summary is from Wikipedia.)

Bessie and the squirrels by Madeline Leslie is a didactic children’s story written in the late 19th century during the Victorian era. Centered on a farm family at “Corwin’s Nest,” it uses everyday adventures with animals and neighbors to teach charity, obedience, gratitude, and Christian home life. The story follows Bessie and her little brother Jamie as they watch the lively squirrels on their property, visit the barn, and then join their mother in aiding the destitute Bell family—bringing food, clothing, a stove, and eventually arranging a safe cottage and work for the father. Mamma tells a parable about a naughty young squirrel, Bob, who learns that harmony comes from each one giving up a little. The household is tested by guests—the McIntires—and their spoiled son Lewis, whose recklessness endangers others, destroys property, and mocks prayer, prompting an early departure and a sober contrast in child-rearing. Seeking cheer, the Corwins enjoy a day’s ride (with their little dog Flossy secretly stowed under the seat), and later confront “thieving” squirrels raiding apple barrels; a gentle talk explains that animals lack moral knowledge, while people must act with wisdom and kindness. The book closes with Bessie resolving to pray and trust God to set things right. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Midsummer at Hay-Lodge" by Ruth Lamb is a children's novel written in the late 19th century. It follows siblings Bernard, Marian, and Kate as they spend midsummer with their kindly Uncle Paul in the country, mixing hayfields and picnics with gentle, didactic tales. Everyday mishaps and Uncle Paul’s fables guide the children through lessons on vanity, diligence, gratitude, and truthfulness. The opening of the book finds Mrs. Ingram, a widow, and her daughters awaiting Bernard’s return from school when an invitation arrives from Uncle Paul to stay at Hay-Lodge; upon their arrival he charms them and tells “The Parrot and the Magpie,” a warning against empty show. A rainy day prompts “What the Raindrops Did,” nudging Marian to sew clothes for a poor widow’s children—an effort she begins zealously but neglects as outings (including a picnic to Hareby Wood) and Uncle Paul’s story of “Gray Dick” (a proud donkey learning thankfulness) fill their days. At the last hayload celebration, “The Two Little Buds and the Lightning” reflects on brief lives well used, pricking Marian’s conscience; she learns her mother has quietly finished the garments by using small scraps of time, and the children host a treat for local youngsters. Soon after, Bernard accidentally bruises the stem of a rare flower he was entrusted to move and hides his fault; guests arrive to see the wilted bloom, and his unease grows while Uncle Paul remains kind. The section closes as Uncle Paul begins “The Hole in the Window,” a tale about responsibility and conscience, underscoring the book’s gentle moral thread. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The sting by William Le Queux is a mystery-thriller novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on the aristocratic Evenden family, whose wealth, secrets, and entanglements with a sinister doctor draw them into blackmail, scandal, and sudden death. Principal figures include the ailing baronet Sir Michael Evenden, his devoted wife Margaret, his sons Jack and Frank, the sharp young companion Jill Kilby, and the menacing Dr. Laidlaw. Inheritance, romance, and reputation collide as a past tragedy resurfaces and a criminal web tightens. The opening of the novel follows Sir Michael at his villa on Lake Geneva, where the ferret-eyed Dr. Laidlaw extorts money and hints at a ruinous secret tied to Margaret’s first marriage. A grim diagnosis from a heart specialist and a volatile oil-market battle send the family back to Evenden Priory, while Frank relentlessly presses unwanted advances on Jill, who secretly meets her fiancé, Dr. Wilfred Barlow. In London, Jack learns from a shipmate a disturbing tale about Margaret’s former husband’s death by the loch—and Laidlaw’s role—then gently confronts his stepmother, who begs him to keep the past from the fragile Sir Michael. The baronet dies that night of heart failure; the family lawyer, Mr. Benson, urges steadiness and fair provision, while Laidlaw forces a clandestine visit. By dawn, Jack is found dead in the haunted Prior’s Room, and as police question the household, Frank offers a strained account, leaving a tangle of blackmail, family loyalties, and a suspected murder to unravel. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The last quarry by Bryce Walton is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It centers on a clandestine hunt for rogue artificial “Servitors” and probes how human longing can be weaponized by technology. A grim hunter named Hall tracks Servitor No. 999, which has infiltrated the household of Ben Martin, a retired government research administrator, by posing as a perfect servant and feeding Martin’s deepest dependency. Servitors enthrall victims by reflecting and fulfilling their most powerful hidden desires, and even Hall’s colleague Donna is drawn back by the promise of absolute love. Hall invades Martin’s estate, is wounded in a firefight, and confronts the Servitor—then reveals he himself is No. 1000, a different kind of Servitor built solely to destroy the others. He crushes No. 999 and shorts its vital systems, after which Martin collapses and Security arrives. Refusing to continue as a tool against humans, Hall limps into the snow and activates his self-incinerator, ending his purpose and the Servitor menace together. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The nothing by Frank Herbert is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It imagines a future society built on psychic talents that are fading away, and examines genetic planning, predestination, and the risk of choosing a freer, less certain tomorrow. Jean Carlysle, a teen pyrokinetic, quarrels with her father and goes to a tavern where she meets Claude, a “Nothing” without powers and a fugitive from a government preserve. Both are detained and taken to the Sonoma Preserve, where Claude’s father, Mensor Williams—an elite prescient-telepath—explains that psychic abilities are regressing across generations; in secret, the preserves are reviving old mechanical skills and arranging marriages to sustain crucial talents. Citing a strong genetic match and claiming to have foreseen it, Williams swiftly marries Jean and Claude, giving Jean a telepathy-blocking implant. After Jean briefly returns home, she learns Williams only foresaw their meeting, not their future together. Claude resents the manipulation, but Jean embraces the commitment, and the pair decide to face a “cloudy” future no prescient can see, asserting their own choice amid a world losing its gifts. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Keepers of the house by Lester Del Rey is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It follows a lone dog in a ruined, post-apocalyptic landscape, focusing on memory, loss, and the aftermath of misused technology. An old, intelligent dog named King is drawn by scent and dream back to a ruined university city, where he finds the Promethean Laboratory and discovers his long-lost master, “Doc,” dead beside a tape machine that still plays his voice. Through King’s memories we glimpse the collapse: a hated tower that broadcast a tingling power, failed experiments that revived rats and altered dogs, a plague of rabbits, and desperate rocket launches that carried infants away as civilization died. Chasing a white lab rat, King shelters from a storm in a crashed rocket and gorges on leftover rations; lightning later ignites the wired lab and consumes Doc’s remains. In the morning King returns, confirms the finality of death, gives a single mourning howl from the bridge, and turns south along the river to survive, leaving the last house he kept behind. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"De Saint-Louis à Tripoli par le Lac Tchad" by P.-L. Monteil is a travel and exploration narrative written in the late 19th century. It recounts a French officer’s trans-African journey from Senegal to Tripoli via Lake Chad, blending route-finding, diplomacy, and on-the-ground reporting across the Soudan and the Sahara. The focus is the reconnaissance of the Say–Barroua boundary and negotiations with West African polities such as Sokoto and Bornu while proving that a small, disciplined escort can traverse the interior. Expect first-hand logistics, political context, and pointed reflections on contemporary imperial expeditions. The opening of the book frames the expedition’s stakes: an author’s foreword acknowledges a hurried composition and limited scientific detail, followed by Melchior de Vogüé’s preface situating the mission in the context of the Franco-British convention, earlier explorers, and France’s excitement over Monteil’s reappearance. Monteil then states his method—ten armed men, speed, and persuasion—contrasts it with a critical review of Stanley’s Emin Pasha expedition, and outlines his modest funding and lean armament. He recruits the loyal Badaire, departs France for Dakar and Saint-Louis, ascends the Senegal to Khayes, and marches across the Soudan through Bafoulabé, Kita, Koundou, Bamako, and Koulikoro, splitting his convoy before reaching Ségou to finalize preparations. After describing camp routine and local allies at Ségou, the narrative turns east: a tense New Year’s Eve at Fatené is defused by fortification and vigilance, a swift push secures the Bani crossing ahead of rumored attackers, and at San he negotiates and signs a treaty with the Almamy Alassana, closing with a concise sketch of San’s trade role and the surrounding political landscape. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, but changed his mind soon after starting. The book was a huge success, the first edition selling out on the first day of publication. (This summary is from Wikipedia.)

Jakie's Christmas by Lida B. Robertson is a children’s Christmas short story written in the early 20th century. Centered in the rural American South, it explores a poor boy’s search for Santa and discovers instead the deeper meaning of generosity, love, and community. Jakie, an orphaned country boy living with his grandmother Mamsy, sees a picture promising Santa’s gifts in town and secretly sets out to find him. After a farmer gives him a ride and a few nickels, the child becomes lost and freezing, until a kind young woman, Frances Bestor, rescues him, outfits him warmly, buys him a toy, and even provides a new cloak for Mamsy and a hidden sack of Christmas treats. Grateful, Jakie and Mamsy send her a turkey and fatwood as their own love-gifts. Jakie then brings cheer to their lonely neighbor, Mr. Cripple Jim, persuading him to hang a stocking and, on Christmas Eve, sneaks in dressed as Santa to fill it. On Christmas morning Jakie finds an express wagon and a harness for his billy goat, shares his stocking with Mamsy, and Mr. Cripple Jim rejoices over his surprises. The story affirms that the true Santa is anyone who acts with tender-hearted generosity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Immunity in infective diseases" by Elie Metchnikoff is a scientific treatise written in the early 20th century. It advances a primarily cellular (phagocytic) explanation for resistance to infection while engaging with humoral concepts, and it distinguishes natural from acquired, and antimicrobial from antitoxic, immunity. The work ranges from protozoa and plants to higher animals to build a unified view of how organisms resist microbes and their toxins, with clear implications for vaccination and medical practice. The opening of the treatise presents the translator’s aim for fidelity, the author’s purpose to synthesize decades of research, and his intent to clarify misunderstandings about the phagocytic theory. The introduction explains why immunity matters in medicine and theory, reviews how diverse parasites and their toxins cause disease, and argues that host predisposition and carrier states mean infection depends on both external agents and internal defenses. It then defines natural versus acquired immunity and separates immunity to microbes from immunity to toxins. Early chapters survey unicellular immunity: protozoa digest microbes in acidic vacuoles, expel resistant forms, and use irritability and chemotaxis to avoid danger; amoebae possess a trypsin-like “amoebo-diastase”; microbes can adapt to animal sera or poisons by forming protective envelopes; and such reactions follow the Weber–Fechner law of irritability. The text then turns to plants, showing mobile Myxomycete plasmodia that adapt to hostile solutions and, in higher plants, fungal attack (e.g., Sclerotinia) countered by tougher cell walls and wound defenses like suberization and cicatrization. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Gedenkschriften van den heer Yellowplush" by William Makepeace Thackeray is a collection of satirical tales written in the mid-19th century. Narrated by the footman Charles Yellowplush, it lampoons English social pretensions and fashionable vice through his breezy “memoirs” of serving various masters. Expect comic set pieces, class-skewering humor, and episodic encounters with figures like the suave gambler Mr. Deuceace and the secretive Mr. Altamont. The opening of the collection begins with a translator’s foreword noting that these slangy pieces were once misattributed to Dickens, before affirming Thackeray’s authorship and their comic intent. The first tale, about Miss Shum’s husband, introduces Yellowplush’s rough upbringing, his rise to livery, and his service to Mr. Altamont, a lodger in the chaotic Shum household where gentle Mary Shum is bullied by a domineering mother and mean stepsisters. Altamont courts Mary (helped by Yellowplush’s theater-and-umbrella ruse), weathers a family confrontation, marries her, and sets up house; but meddling in‑laws sow jealous suspicions about his secret daytime work. After clues (including an old Queen Anne coin) and a dramatic fainting scene near the Bank, the truth surfaces: Altamont has been the street sweeper between the Bank and Cornhill; he sells his “place” and furniture, plans to live abroad, and Yellowplush departs his service. The next tale then starts as Yellowplush becomes valet to Algernon Percy Deuceace, a polished aristocratic gambler in the Temple, who targets a naïve, moneyed Oxford youth named Dawkins while outmaneuvering a rival sharper, Blewitt—engineering acquaintance with a staged breakfast mishap and a gift pâté “from Prince Talleyrand” that wins him an invitation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Lord Lister No. 0038: Een Museumdiefstal" by Kurt Matull and Theo von Blankensee is a detective adventure novella written in the early 20th century. It centers on gentleman-thief Lord Lister (aka Raffles), who stumbles into a string of audacious art crimes while traveling in Italy, involving a swapped Raphael Madonna, a reclusive painter’s long-lost copy, a mysterious lady, and a publicity-loving American tycoon. The opening of the story finds Lister leaving London for a “vacation,” cheekily registering in Rapallo under Inspector Baxter’s name and being summoned to Florence by Professor Ciatti, where he learns the famed Raphael Madonna has been replaced by a masterful copy. A supposed suicide in the Cascine (the shady antiquities runner Pasini) strikes him as murder and seems tied to a wealthy American traveling incognito and a veiled woman. Following leads to Rome, Lister hears of a fresh theft at the Quirinal, confirms from painter Grombeck that he once copied the Madonna for a woman named Kitty who vanished with it, and tracks the woman (now Signora Potter) and the American onto the Rome–Paris express, noting coded exchanges and suspicious luggage. In Paris, he infiltrates the tycoon’s mansion as an electrician, overhears a blackmailer named Dent, triggers an arrest, and intercepts a prison letter that threatens to involve the eccentric Duke des Esseintes—whom Lister goes to approach as this opening section ends. (This is an automatically generated summary.)