"Ida Nicolari" by Eglanton Thorne is a novel written in the late 19th century. It centers on a classically beautiful young woman raised outside Christianity by her celebrated sculptor father, whose failing eyesight threatens his life’s work. As her mother’s friend reenters their lives—with ties to a principled young clergyman—Ida is drawn into questions of art, duty, belief, and love amid a circle that includes a spoiled pupil and a fashionable devotee of church ritual. The tone suggests a moral and spiritually searching story shaped by suffering, friendship, and the testing of character. The opening of the novel introduces Antonio Nicolari in his Chelsea studio, lovingly shaping a Psyche while his daughter Ida poses, and hints at his worsening vision. A visit from Mrs. Tregoning—dear friend of Ida’s late mother—reveals Antonio’s bitter break with his wife’s Christian family, the poverty and grief that hastened her death, and the contrasting future of Mrs. Tregoning’s son Theodore, now preparing for the Church. Ida meets the refined but patronizing Geraldine Seabrook, is challenged for admitting she is not a Christian, and then learns—from Mrs. Tregoning—that her own mother was a devoted believer, which unsettles her. Returning home, Ida hears the grim verdict on her father’s eyes (an operation may be needed), and, moved by what she has learned, asks to read her mother’s books so she can explore the faith for herself. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Em''s husband : A sequel to "Em" by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Em (Emolyn) Palmer and her close-knit family as they become caretakers of the isolated Wilderness Manor, where country splendor, murmurs of hauntings, and a revered blind preacher shape their days. Em’s encounters with a veiled “White Spirit” portrait and the honorable naval officer Ronald Bruce braid mystery with budding romance. Expect domestic warmth, moral shading, and touches of the supernatural set along river, forest, and mountain. The opening of the story traces Em’s first trip with old ’Sias to a river island, where a blind preacher delivers a stirring sermon on Faith, Love, and Works, and where a dazzling white mansion holds a portrait eerily like Em. Returning to the Wilderness, the family camps in the grand hall, meets the brisk estate agent Carmichael, and moves into the rough “Red Wing,” even as Em endures two nocturnal apparitions—one radiant, one menacing. As they air out the manor, Em finds another ancestral portrait—again her likeness—and the Palmers settle into a simpler, happy routine. Em learns to sail and row, revisits the island alone, and unexpectedly meets Ronald Bruce; their frank, tender talk hints at mutual feeling. He escorts her home, is warmly received, and stays the night, while his dilemma—sea career versus staying with his retired uncle at The Breezes—emerges, leaving Em thoughtful and silent. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"The mystery of the missing eyebrows" by Stephen Rudd is a juvenile detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Renfro Horn, an alert newspaper carrier whose curiosity about eerie lights at a dilapidated country house, a grim old hunter, and a prowler at a judge’s window soon tangles with the kidnaping of Judge Wier’s daughter. A strange, telling clue—frozen fragments of a man’s eyebrows stuck to a windowpane—propels Renfro’s amateur investigation. Aimed at young readers, it blends small‑town intrigue, Boy Scout camaraderie, and the hustle of route work into a brisk, clue‑driven adventure. The opening of the novel introduces Renfro’s world: he spots illegal game on Captain Pete Hall, notices mysterious lights in the old Hall mansion, and hears a rumor-laced past about Pete’s outlaw brother. To justify frequent trips past the house, Renfro buys a notoriously bad paper route and is christened “Hooch” by the route manager, meeting an odd Scotsman with an airedale named Lang Tammy and witnessing a squat stranger peeping into Judge Wier’s window. When Helen Wier is abducted without a sound, the police brush off Renfro’s report, but he secures a concrete clue—two frozen eyebrow patches peeled from the frosted pane—and secretly stashes them with the help of Mary, the loyal housemaid. Seeking more leads, he visits the Hall place at night, notes evasive answers from Captain Pete, and later joins Boy Scouts on an overnight at Twin Cedar Cabin near the Hall land, where large boot and dog tracks (and possibly smaller prints) suggest recent intruders and eerie lights flicker over reputed Indian graves. In the final moments of this opening, a mishap destroys the footprint evidence, leaving Renfro with only his eyebrow clue and growing suspicions to pursue. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Koning Richard de Derde" by William Shakespeare is a play written around 1592-1594. It follows Richard of Gloucester's ruthless and manipulative climb to the English throne. Through murder, deception, and betrayal, the deformed Richard eliminates anyone standing between him and power—including family members. As he schemes his way to becoming king, the ghosts of his victims haunt him, and his tyranny ultimately leads to rebellion. This dark tale explores ambition, villainy, and the corrupting nature of power in medieval England. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Good-bye to all that: An autobiography" by Robert Graves is an autobiography first published in 1929. Written at age 34 as a "bitter leave-taking of England," it chronicles Graves's family history, childhood, public school years, and harrowing service as an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers during World War I. Through unsentimental and often darkly comic prose, Graves depicts trench warfare's brutal realities, near-fatal wounds, and lasting trauma, while examining the conventions he broke and the old order that perished in war's aftermath. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Vanhojen neitien talo : Kertomus pyhimyksistä ja sankareista" by Sven Lidman is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set around a decaying Stockholm townhouse nicknamed “Nelonen,” it portrays a small circle of aging gentlewomen whose lives and quarrels play out against a city’s march toward modernity and wealth. The story centers on the imperious Rosalie Pistolschiöld, the pinched and acquisitive Emma Wigelstjerna, the fragile and grieving Eurydike Berg, and the more hesitant Marie-Louise Almgren. Through sharp portraits and moral reflections, it contrasts aristocratic pride, petty bourgeois habits, and wounded romanticism with the hard edges of contemporary urban life. The opening of the novel moves from brief meditations on truth and the schooling of the heart to a vivid, almost panoramic description of the old house on Malmberg Street and its disdainful, modern neighbors. We learn how a binding testament keeps the building untouched and shelters three elderly women in the top floor, marking it as a stubborn relic amid speculation and progress. The narrative then sketches the tenants: Rosalie (“Pistooli”) rises at dawn, inspects the courtyard and stables like a commander, and recalls a ceremonious upbringing under her punctilious court-official father; Emma’s backstory reveals a fussy, tightly managed childhood, a life devoted to furniture and propriety, and her calculated move into the house that sparks friction with Rosalie; finally, Eurydike appears in a dim, flower-crowded room, her hush contrasting the city’s glare, as her past unfolds—widowhood, children lost at sea, and roots in an old industrial-huguenot line—before the narrative breaks off. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"La Légende des siècles tome IV" by Victor Hugo is a collection of poems written between 1855 and 1876. This monumental work depicts the history and evolution of humanity through epic, lyric, and satiric verse. Hugo presents scattered scenes from past, present, and future, focusing on obscure and invented figures who symbolize their ages. Rather than seeking historical accuracy, he creates "history listened to at legend's door," tracing humanity's journey from darkness to light through fragmented visions of the human adventure. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Nicaragua : its people, scenery, monuments, resources, condition, and proposed… by E. G. Squier is a historical travel account written in the mid-19th century. It surveys Nicaragua’s landscapes, people, antiquities, resources, and politics while arguing for the feasibility and importance of an interoceanic canal, mixing on-the-ground observation with history and diplomacy. The opening of the work follows the author’s cramped voyage on the brig Francis to San Juan de Nicaragua (Greytown), a tense bar crossing that nearly wrecks the ship, and his first close look at a palm-thatched port under British consular control. He sketches vivid street scenes—mixed races, cigar‑smoking women in naguas and guipils, hammocks in doorways, lagoons alive with alligators and snakes, and a comical equality among pigs, babies, dogs, and chickens—alongside visits with a courteous local host and the ailing British consul. A farcical clash erupts when two wan “policemen” try to enforce a new rule to pen free‑roaming livestock, winning the Americans local favor and a serenade; a side trip across the harbor shows squalid Mosquito Indian camps and turtle fishers. The narrative then turns descriptive: the port’s location and healthfulness, flimsy but adequate housing, pests like scorpions and chigoes, the pattern of trade and duties, and a sharp critique of Britain’s seizure of the port under the Mosquito pretext, all set against the looming canal project. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Frederick Chopin: A Man of Solitude" by comte Guy de Pourtalès is a biographical study written in the early 20th century. It offers an intimate, poetic portrait of Chopin as a Polish exile and Romantic artist, exploring how national identity, frailty, and inwardness shaped his music and life. Expect a focus on his early formation, Parisian ascent, key relationships, and the aesthetic of refined melancholy that defines his art. The opening of this biography sets Chopin against the luminous foil of Liszt and the fate of Poland, then follows him from a protected Warsaw childhood through precocious studies with Zywny and Elsner, first publications, and early acclaim. It traces his awakening sensibility—captured in the untranslatable Polish zal—his youthful love for the singer Constance Gladkowska, and his conflicted departure from Warsaw on the eve of revolution. In Vienna he endures isolation and anguish for his embattled homeland, composes the concertos and early Nocturnes and Etudes, and, after the fall of Warsaw, channels grief into the “Revolutionary” Etude. Arriving in Paris, he resists Kalkbrenner’s tutelage, earns critical admiration but scant income, then gains patrons, students, and a salon reputation for exquisite improvisations, while publishing mazurkas, nocturnes, and waltzes and befriending Liszt, Berlioz, Hiller, and Franchomme. The section closes with his first notable Paris loves and friendships (including Delphine Potoçka), a joyful reunion with his parents, and a tender Dresden interlude with Marie Wodzinska—immortalized in the “Waltz of the Farewell”—before brief encounters with Mendelssohn, Clara Wieck, and Schumann on his way back. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"The Copper House" by Julius Regis is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. Set in neutral Stockholm during the First World War, it pits journalist-sleuth Maurice Wallion and the returning heir Leonard Grath against a clandestine power webbed around the seaside estate known as the Copper House. A coveted political dossier—the Tarraschin memorandum—draws spies, financiers, and hired guns into conflict, with the enigmatic magnate Gabriel Ortiz lurking behind the scenes. Expect tense espionage, sharp psychological duels, and the guarded allure of Sonia Bernin, whose family’s tenancy masks dangerous loyalties. The opening of the story frames Stockholm as a whirlpool of covert forces before cutting to a hotel where Baron Fayerling’s attempt to seize the memorandum from courier Bernard Jenin is coolly foiled by Wallion. In parallel, Leonard Grath learns from his lawyer that mounting debts will force the sale of his ancestral estate to Andrei Bernin, fronted by the pushy Marcus Tassler; he receives a warning letter from Wallion, has his pocketbook stolen and mysteriously returned, and impulsively heads to the Copper House. Wallion recruits a frightened spy, B.22, who hints at a vast scheme led by Ortiz—once a flamboyant “Emperor of the Amazons,” now a war-profiteering mastermind—before bolting in panic. At the estate, Leo is refused entry at gunpoint, slips in through the woods, rescues Sonia Bernin from rough “guards,” and is briskly received by her formidable aunt, Lona Ivanovna. A frantic chase erupts when a pale stranger (likely Jenin) arrives, is pursued by the brutal Rastakov, and vanishes inside; Lona fires a shot, Rastakov ransacks the house, and threatens worse in the name of his unseen “Chief.” The sequence ends with the house fallen eerily silent and Leo, now entangled and shut out of the truth, retreating in shock to his old room. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"The man who saved New York by Ray Cummings" is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. Blending wartime adventure with speculative fantasy, it follows a man whose roaming ego can possess other beings, culminating in an extraordinary intervention that thwarts a Nazi attack on New York. The narrator’s friend Porky discovers he can slip his consciousness into strangers and control them, a power he nervously demonstrates by making an old woman direct traffic. Seeing a chance to help the war effort, the group schemes to have Porky possess a U-boat commander and sabotage enemy submarines. On a moonlit beach, as an air raid approaches, Porky instead slips into a colossal green sea giant that rises offshore and destroys several Nazi bombers, saving the city. Afterward, Porky and Lisbeth fall in love, and his strange ability vanishes, ending any hope of using it to end the war, even though it has already averted disaster for New York. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The war in Nicaragua by William Walker is a historical memoir written in the mid-19th century. It presents Walker’s firsthand account of his filibuster expedition amid Nicaragua’s civil strife between Democrats and Legitimists, mixing battlefield narrative, political argument, and self-justification. Readers can expect campaign planning and combat episodes, factional rivalries, and Walker’s claim that his small American force sought to impose order in a region he portrays as unstable. The opening of the narrative frames the work with a dedication to fallen comrades and a preface on the challenges of writing contemporary history, then swiftly sketches the 1854 Nicaraguan revolution, the rival constitutions, Democrats versus Legitimists, the siege of Granada, Chamorro’s death, and regional pressures from Guatemala and Honduras. Walker recounts his earlier Lower California venture to explain motives, then details Byron Cole’s colonization grant, the legal care taken to avoid U.S. neutrality violations, and the fraught charter, seizure, and midnight departure of the brig Vesta carrying 58 men. After arriving at Realejo, he meets Director Castellon and the haughty General Muñoz, forms the American Phalanx, and proposes seizing Rivas; the ensuing operation lands at El Gigante, pushes inland through storms, skirmishes at Tola, and attacks Rivas, where native commander Ramirez falters and the Americans fight house to house before retreating with heavy losses, including officers Crocker and Kewen. At San Juan del Sur they commandeer the schooner San José, a fire set by two rogues forces a harsh example—Dewey is shot at sea—then the force rejoins the Vesta and returns to Realejo, where Walker challenges Muñoz’s conduct while Castellon pleads for the Americans to remain; the excerpt closes as Castellon arrives to persuade Walker to continue the campaign. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Ikuinen salaisuus : Rakkaus- ja jännityskertomuksia" by Jack London is a collection of short stories written in the early 20th century. The volume blends romance, adventure, and psychological suspense, at times brushing against the supernatural. Its opening tale follows Lute and Chris, lovers in Northern California, whose bond is strained by a secret Chris refuses to reveal and a growing sense that unseen forces threaten them. Expect passionate conflicts, vivid landscapes, and swift, unsettling turns. The opening of the collection presents Lute demanding that Chris explain why he cannot marry her, even as he professes deep love and insists he must remain silent. Lute recounts how her guardians, Milred and Robert, shifted from warm approval to concern over years of delay, while she devoted herself entirely to Chris. During two rides, inexplicable accidents strike: Lute’s gentle mare suddenly turns murderous under Chris, and the next day his own horse topples backward off a steep bank, breaking its back as he narrowly survives. Back at camp, a psychograph séance with Milred, Robert, Mrs. Grantly, and Mr. Barton produces a chilling message warning Chris that two attempts on his life have already been made; when asked the sender’s identity, the device writes the name “Dick Curtis,” recognized as Lute’s deceased father, leaving the group shaken and the mystery deepening. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Harjoitushetki Himppulassa : Yksinäytöksinen sankaripila by Kaarle Halme is a one-act stage comedy—a farcical sketch—written in the early 20th century. Set in a rural community hall, it lightly satirizes small-town militia drilling, poking fun at bluster, incompetence, and local pride during volunteer military exercises. The action unfolds on a summer Sunday at the village hall stage. Herttuala, the janitor, readies the space while the pompous, big-bellied merchant Mallinen takes charge, soon joined by the sleepy Virsilä, the jovial baker Kekkeri, and the farmer Torppala. Ville Ikämies, the training officer, struggles to impose discipline as the men bungle simple formations, confuse left and right, and fidget over details like trouser seams. Ordered to the ground, Mallinen can’t get up without help, and the drill dissolves into banter and excuses. When coffee is mentioned, the “exhausted” trainees spring up at once, revealing their malingering; they cap their bluff with a boastful song about Himppula’s unbeatable “war tricks,” sealing the play’s gentle mockery of patriotic posturing and village vanity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Llibre d''horas by Apeles Mestres" is a lyrical poetry collection written in the late 19th century. Shaped like a traditional book of hours, it traces a single day from dawn to night, blending vivid nature imagery with gentle philosophical reflections on time, presence, love, and a discreet sense of the divine. The morning poems awaken with the lark and first light, urging us to seize the only sure moment—now—while counseling calm, constancy, and trust in a higher purpose. Midday celebrates sunlit fields alive with birds, blossoms, and buzzing life. Afternoon turns meditative: clouds transform and pass, losses are met with nature’s renewals, melancholy lengthens yet yields to hope, and twilight hushes the landscape as mountains sleep and two vigilant cats face off in a garden. Night widens the gaze to the cosmos—the moon’s silent path, the world stilled under silver light, the Angel of Sleep, the clock grinding moments into eternity, questions whispered to the stars—and closes with a luminous vision of God moving through sky, sea, and fields, affirming the quiet rhythms of life and a serene, steadfast faith. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Lightning Express; or, The Rival Academies" by Oliver Optic is a juvenile adventure novel written in the late 19th century. It centers on a student-run railroad and an escalating rivalry between the Toppleton Institute and the Wimpleton Academy along Lake Ucayga. The story follows Wolf Penniman, a level-headed young engineer, alongside the imperious Tommy Toppleton and the reckless Waddie Wimpleton, as schoolboy politics, railroading, and military-style drills spark real-world tensions. Themes of leadership, pride, and moral duty frame the spirited contests between the two academies. The opening of the novel unfolds at a noisy stockholders’ meeting of the student-managed Lake Shore Railroad, where Tommy Toppleton’s heavy-handed presidency faces a revolt. After a procedural tussle, the boys adjourn to Grass Springs for an election and a celebratory supper; Tommy is humiliatingly voted out on the first ballot, restored on a second only because his rival, Skotchley, refuses the office. The students then choose the Horse Shoe island for their annual encampment—largely to needle their Wimpleton rivals—and prepare a rapid march. Wolf, urged by Major Toppleton to “keep the peace,” helps expedite transport, but at Grass Springs the Wimpleton flotilla blocks the channel. Tommy rashly orders a steamer to force passage; Wolf and the captain try to avoid harm, yet Waddie leads a bold boarding that seizes the forward deck, locks Company B below, and stops the engine. With the steamer captured and tempers high, Waddie tries to coerce Wolf into running the machinery, setting the stage for a dangerous standoff. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Puck" by Marie Ovink-Soer is a children''s novel written in the early 20th century. Set in The Hague, it follows spirited Jootje “Puck” van Vorden and the warm Canneheuvel household as everyday frictions, friendships, and small moral tests shape the children’s character, especially Puck’s pride and temper. The focus is domestic: sibling bonds, the influence of friends, relations with servants, and the gentle guidance of caring adults. The opening of the story shows Puck clashing with the maid Bet, bristling at not being treated as a “young lady,” and being emboldened by her fashionable friends, Ellen and Grace. A treat of poffertjes turns sour when Puck abandons Frits and Lientien to sit with those friends, earning a stern talking‑to; soon after, an April Fools joke on Lientien ends in slaps before their father restores peace with a walk and pastries. The family then confronts a serious worry: the mother’s eyesight, with a professor’s advice leading to a new household arrangement in which Nel takes over many duties and Kee tends Aunt Sjarlotje, while Frits quietly dreams of becoming an eye doctor. Puck, having eavesdropped, panics and alarms Lientien before the truth is calmly set right, and a new helper, the industrious (and insatiably hungry) Geertje from Scheveningen, joins the busy home. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Dead-sea fruit, Vol. 3 (of 3)" by M. E. Braddon is a novel written in the late 19th century. It is a sensation tale of love, betrayal, and social constraint, centering on Eustace Thorburn’s search for the truth about his parents while interweaving the fates of Harold and Emily Jerningham, the principled editor Laurence Desmond, and the orphaned actress Lucy Alford. Themes of illegitimacy, honour, jealousy, and the friction between feeling and propriety drive the characters toward painful choices. The opening of the novel follows Eustace as he reads a damning memoir (“Disappointments of Dion”) that lays bare his mother’s abandonment by a selfish lover and hints at a Scottish tie that could legitimize her union; shaken by a chance likeness and encounter with Harold Jerningham, he resolves to consult family, seek the Scottish scene, and leave to make his own name before daring to court Helen de Bergerac. The scene then shifts to River Lawn, where Emily Jerningham becomes benefactress to Lucy after her father’s death, while Laurence, who brought Lucy help, keeps a strained distance. Lucy quits the stage to train as a governess; Emily’s nagging “family cough” lingers despite a doctor’s cautions. A radiant week of Thames outings draws Lucy and Laurence into a quiet, mutual attachment that he, bound by a prior obligation of honour, struggles to suppress. When Emily secures Lucy a distant post in Ireland and overhears the pair, Laurence finally admits his love yet declares they must part, fixing the emotional conflict that will carry the story forward. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Dead-sea fruit, Vol. 2 (of 3)" by M. E. Braddon is a novel written in the late 19th century. It contrasts a jaded aristocrat’s disillusion with the bright hopes of youth, entwining a potential cross-class romance with sharp glimpses of London’s theatrical world and social pretenses. The story centers on Harold Jerningham, the weary owner of Greenlands; Eustace Thorburn, an idealistic young secretary; Helen de Bergerac, his amiable pupil; and editor Laurence Desmond, whose path crosses that of struggling actress Lucy Alford. Themes of ambition, jealousy, friendship, and the bitter aftertaste of pleasure run beneath a refined country-house drama and a gritty city subplot. The opening of the novel follows Jerningham’s return to his neglected estate on his birthday, where he meets Eustace reading Plato and then visits his old friend, M. de Bergerac, and Helen at the Grange. Sensing a mutual attraction between Helen and Eustace, Jerningham questions the wisdom of housing a handsome, gifted secretary so close to the innocent heiress, while De Bergerac defends the young man’s honour and usefulness to his scholarly work. The scene shifts to London, where Laurence Desmond secures a future engagement for aspiring actress Lucy Alford, then publicly rebukes a coarse amateur “star” and a sycophantic manager who try to displace Lucy—an encounter that costs the theatre both leading ladies. After an uneasy Christmas at the home of the jealous Mrs. Jerningham, Desmond learns Lucy’s father has been arrested for debt; he goes at night to comfort Lucy, arranges to take her to the prison, and quietly promises funds for her rent and provincial engagement. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

"Dead-sea fruit, Vol. 1 (of 3)" by M. E. Braddon is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Eustace Thorburn, a brilliant but nameless young man whose mother’s death drives him to uncover his parentage and avenge her wrongs. Running alongside is a high-society thread about Harold Jerningham, his estranged wife Emily, and editor Laurence Desmond, whose Platonic attachment to Emily tests public decorum and private feeling. The book explores identity, ambition, seduction, and reputation across quiet Belgian canals and London’s drawing rooms. At the start of the novel, Eustace teaches in serene Villebrumeuse until a black-edged letter summons his grief: his mother is dead, and he vows to confront the unknown father who abandoned her. Back in London’s mean suburb, he studies her papers—tender family letters and a cache from a man signing “H.,” an author who courted Celia Mayfield in Bayham, promised a secret marriage, and led to her ruin. His uncle, the gifted but dissipated journalist Daniel Mayfield, confirms there was no marriage, recalls finding Celia in London with infant Eustace, and secures the young man a post as secretary to scholar Théodore de Bergerac through their friend, editor Laurence Desmond. Interwoven chapters sketch Harold Jerningham’s luxurious but broken marriage and Emily Jerningham’s guarded bond with Desmond; and the opening closes with Eustace in Bayham, tracking the old scandal to Celia’s confidante Sarah Kimber—now Mrs. Willows—for the answers he needs. (This is an automatically generated summary.)