- Biography & Autobiography
-
New England Girlhood: Outlined From Memory
Lucy Larcom was an American poet, teacher, and mill-worker. According to Wikipedia: "Larcom served as a model for the change in women's roles in society." This is her colorful autobiography. Here, she tells about her happy childhood, and her time working in the mill. Along the way, she speaks about topics like morality, independence, love and loss inside a family, a strong belief in god, and the effects of being poor. Fans of Gene Stratton Porter, Fanny Fern and Susan Warner, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox will be delighted with this book. Lucy's sunny personality makes this book a very uplifting and interesting read. -
Some Eminent Women of our Times
Written by Millicent Garrett, a noted British feminist, suffragist and intellectual writer, this volume is comprised of short biographical sketches of 23 influential women from Jane Austen and Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Queen Victoria and Queen Louisa of Prussia. -
Hector Berlioz; A Romantic Tragedy
How much more futile is it to attempt on the minuscule scale of the following tiny, if rambling, pamphlet to touch upon even a thousandth of those achievements and unremitting conflicts which entered into the texture of this master’s agitated and inharmonious life! Actually, it aims to do no more than contribute a mite toward a larger interest in the writings and the great mass of insufficiently discovered compositions of a Romanticist whose labors are still surprisingly unrecognized art works of the future. ( Author's Foreword) -
Life of Captain James Cook
“In publishing a popular edition of my work, Captain James Cook, R.N., F.R.S., it has, of course, been necessary to condense it, but care has been taken to omit nothing of importance, and at the same time a few slight errors have been corrected, and some new information has been added, chiefly relating to the disposition of documents.” -
Old New Zealand: Being Incidents of Native Customs and Character in the Old Times
Frederick Edward Maning is best known as an author, but he was also at times a trader and a judge of the Native Land Court. He was born in Dublin, Ireland on 5 July 1811 or 1812 and immigrated to Tasmania with his family in 1823. He lived in New Zealand from 1833 until 1882, when ill health forced him to seek medical care in England. He died in London on 25 July 1883, but was buried in New Zealand later that year. His Old New Zealand: A Tale of the Good Old Times (1863) is one of the few pre-twentieth century New Zealand literary texts that have not descended into obscurity with passing time. Historian Peter Gibbons describes it as perhaps one of the best known and most widely read of all works on early New Zealand and it has often been reprinted. -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Compared with the unimaginable richness of his inner life as the overpowering volume and splendor of his works reveal it, Bach’s day-to-day existence seems almost pedestrian.... The present volume, which advances no claim whatever to any new or original slant, aims to do no more than furnish for those who read and run a meager background of a few isolated highspots in Bach’s outward life and a momentary sideglance at a tiny handful of his supreme creations. Its object will have been more than accomplished if in any manner it stimulates a radio listener to deepen his acquaintance with Bach’s immeasurable art. -
Life and Lillian Gish
An authorized biography of Lillian Gish, the renowned silent film star known in her heyday as the First Lady of American Cinema. Albert Bigelow Paine chronicles Gish's early life, her close relationship with her sister Dorothy, her rise in film as an actor with Biograph Studios and muse of D. W. Griffith, her short time as a contract actor with MGM, and her return to the stage in the advent of the talkies. Peppered throughout with intimate and amusing anecdotes, this is a must-read for film historians, silent film enthusiasts, and admirers of one of cinema's legendary talents. (Tomas Peter) -
Little Masterpieces of Autobiography: Actors
The playwright gives a play its plot, characters, dialog and form, but its sense of living reality is conveyed by the art of the actor. This fascinating collection of perspectives on acting is taken from biographies and autobiographies of American, British and Italian actors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
John Wilkes Booth, an actor and the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, is recalled by his brother, the great actor Edwin Booth, and by acclaimed actress Clara Morris. -- Lee Smalley -
Famous American Statesmen
A sketch of the lives of some of America's early Statesmen: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Charles Sumner, Ulysses S. Grant, and James A. Garfield. -
Four American Indians: King Philip, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Osceola
Four American Indians by Edson L. Whitney and Frances M. Perry, gives a short history of King Philip, Sachem of the Wampanoags; Pontiac, an Ottawan chief; Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief; and Osceola, a Seminole chief. Along with the history of each leader, insights on daily living among these different tribes is given. -
Van Dyck
A biography and critique of Van Dyck in The Masterpieces in Colour series. The Plates of the paintings are fully described and the artistic periods in his life's work are given as well as his place in history. -
Life of Philip Melanchthon
Philip Melanchthon (1497 – 1560) is best known as the theologian of the Protestant Reformation, systematizing and defending much of Martin Luther’s works and creating an educational system based on them. He was instrumental in the writing of the Augsburg Confession, the most influential document of the Reformation. Melanchthon and Luther, of different temperaments, did not always agree but respected each other and became a formidable spearhead for the Reformation. Karl Ledderhose here provides a comprehensive biography of Melanchthon including his principle ideas and activities, so it also serves as a history of many important aspects of the Reformation. -
Schubert And His Works
This is a short introduction to Franz Schubert’s life and works. “…to give the casual radio listener a slight idea of Schubert’s inundating fecundity and inspiration. Like Bach, like Haydn, like Mozart, Schubert’s capacity for creative labor staggers the imagination… Volumes would not exhaust the wonder of his myriad creations. If this tiny book serves to heighten even a little the reader’s interest in such songs, symphonies, piano or chamber works of Schubert as come to his attention over the air it will have achieved the most that can be asked of it.” This book was published by The Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. -
Jane Austen and her Country-House Comedy
Written for the centenary of Jane Austen's death, W. H. Helm reflects poetically on the timelessness of her work: the must of age has not settled on her books. The lavender may lie between their pages, but it is still sweet. Helm briefly surveys Jane Austen's influences, literary contemporaries and themes. He is particularly interested in her ideas and characters, and his short book is fully of pithy quotes encapsulating "the best of Jane Austen" -
American Men of Action
In this book, Burton Egbert Stevenson writes a brief biography of some of the most noteworthy men in American history. He begins at the very beginning of the history of America with Christopher Columbus and proceeds forward with the story of people who made America what it is today by their respective vocations. It is interesting to note that the vast majority of the subjects started in poverty and excelled financially and in stature.
He makes something that could be very dull, a very readable and enjoyable book. -
American Men of Mind
“American Men of Mind” is a collection of short biographies of men of note in various disciplines. It is an absorbing collection of short biographies of men who made a difference in American history; most beginning life in very humble circumstances, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Although “men” is mentioned in the title, Mr. Stevenson also relates biographies of several women.
This is a most interesting read.
(William Tomcho) -
My Mark Twain
William Dean Howells (1837-1920) became fast friends with Mark Twain from the moment in 1869 when Twain strode into the office of The Atlantic Monthly in Boston to thank Howell, then its assistant editor, for his favorable review of Innocents Abroad. When Howells became editor a few years later, The Atlantic Monthly began serializing many of Twain's works, among them his non-fiction masterpiece, Life on the Mississippi.
In My Mark Twain, Howells pens a literary memoir that includes such fascinating scenes as their meetings with former president Ulysses Grant who was then writing the classic autobiography that Twain would underwrite in the largest publishing deal until that time. But it is also notable for its affectionate descriptions of his friend's family life during Howell's many visits to the Twain residences in Hartford and Stormfield. -
Heroines of Service
From time immemorial, women have served as wives, mothers and domestic organizers. But in the nineteenth century, the lives of women were changing, allowing those with drive to serve in other capacities. In this volume, we briefly examine the lives of eleven such women, ranging from 'Our Lady of the Red Cross', Clara Barton to 'A Champion of the Cause', Anna Howard Shaw and 'The White Mother of Darkest Africa', Mary Slessor. -
Group of Famous Women
It is a remarkable fact that little attention, if any, has been given to the study of the careers of distinguished women, and the question has often been asked why short biographies should not be prepared, in order that the pupils in our schools might become familiar with the noble and unselfish lives of the many remarkable women whose influence has been inspiring and uplifting. It is hoped that those who read the stories of the lives of the women whose names appear in this volume will find in them an incentive to guide their own lives into useful channels. -
Story of Garfield
A short biography of the 20th U.S. President. Garfield was raised in humble circumstances on an Ohio farm by his widowed mother and elder brother. Before he was elected president in the Republican party he was first elected to Congress in 1862 as Representative of the 19th District of Ohio. Then to the Senate in 1880. His presidency lasted just 200 days—from March 4, 1881, until his death on September 19, 1881, as a result of being shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881. -
Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen
Elbert Hubbard describes the homes of authors, poets, social reformers and other prestigious people, reflecting on how their surroundings may have influenced them. These short essays are part biography and part pontification of Hubbard's opinion of the subject and their oeuvre.
In this volume he reflects on the lives of American Statesmen, presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but also others like Alexander Hamilton, Henry Clay, or William H. Seward. -
Story of Garfield: Farm Boy, Soldier and President
A short biography of President James A. Garfield -
Making of an American
Jacob Riis was an esteemed reporter and documentary photographer in New York City. In his autobiography he movingly recounts his early life and unrelenting attempts at courtship in Denmark followed by his later experiences in the United States, first as a struggling itinerant immigrant and later as a journalist. He describes how he became a reporter and how his work in lower Manhattan’s teeming, squalid immigrant communities sparked his passion and activism for social reform. In his opening note he writes: “To those who have been asking if they are made-up stories, let me say here that they are not.”NOTE: Elizabeth's letter (In Chapter 7) is read by Ann Boulais. – Lee Smalley -
Woman on the American Frontier
Many books describe the role of men during American history. However, at the same time, women did much: comforted, fought, helped, raised children, and much more. This book is full of mini-biographies of women in many places, and many ages- each chapter telling about a different subject. -
Life of Benjamin Franklin
This little book was intended for the education of school children and includes tales, sketches and anecdotes of his life written for the children of the mid 1800's and written in the English language of that period. Each chapter has numerous questions intended for the the reader or the teacher to quiz themselves to see if they gathered the pertinent information. The quiz questions will not be recorded. Also part of this book are numerous short essays written by Franklin on various topics. These entertaining and insightful samples occupy sections 17 through 27. -
Log-Cabin Lady
'The story of The Log-Cabin Lady is one of the annals of America. It is a moving record of the conquest of self-consciousness and fear through mastery of manners and customs. It has been written by one who has not sacrificed the strength and honesty of her pioneer girlhood, but who added to these qualities that graciousness and charm which have given her distinction on two continents.'
(from the introduction) -
Four Masters of Etching
Frederick Wedmore presents short vignettes of influential artists of the 19th century who were noted for their mastery of etching: Seymour Haden, Jules Jacquemart, J. A. M. Whistler, and Alphonse Legros. -
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume 01
The author and Napoleon become boyhood friends when they are eight years old in Corsica. They separate when Napoleon is transferred from the Military College of Brienne to another college in Paris in 1784. Napoleon has a stern or disdainful personality. He looks down on the French, who have taken over Corsica. At age 16 Napoleon finds fault with the military education, sending his recommendations to the Minister of War. Because of this speaking out, he is speedily graduated and sent to a regiment of artillery. After diplomatic travel, the author again meets Napoleon in Paris at a time when both are in dire financial straits. After witnessing an angry-mob scene, the author goes to Stuttgart as Secretary of Legation while Napoleon returns to Corsica. In 1799 the two return to Paris. The French government wants to send Napoleon to a new location as brigadier-general of infantry. he rejects the offer and is thus struck off the list of general officers. Eventually Napoleon gets command of Paris. In 1796 Napoleon marries Josephine. His attentions to her alternate between violent outrages resulting in infidelity and the other other extreme of repentant gentleness. During the Napoleonic wars Napoleon's troops progress through Europe--first Italy, then Austria. -
War Stories for My Grandchildren
After years of telling these stories to his grandchildren, Foster was prevailed on to write them down for future generations. Rather than rely on his memory, he conducted research for accuracy. He served as a colonel for the Union Army during the American Civil War and later went on to serve as U.S. Secretary of State under President Benjamin Harrison. -
Lady Byron Vindicated
In 1869, the Atlantic published Stowe's article, The True Story Of Lady Byron's Life, a brief exposé of the famous poet Lord Byron's sordid private life which had led to a separation from his wife and drove him out of England, as told to her by Lady Byron herself before her death. Stowe wrote this article long after Lady Byron's death, when Lady Byron‘s impeccable reputation was being smeared across Europe by Byron's influential literary friends, and her trustees were doing nothing to defend her. Criticism against the article raged in the American and European press and damaged the Atlantic's circulation, but Stowe remained confident, and the following year, she expanded her article into this full-length exposé. Sprinkled throughout with Byron's biting poetry, Lady Byron's and other notable correspondence, and Stowe's outrage at the way women were belittled and treated as property during the Victorian period, the invectives in this book are, even by modern standards, intense! -
Biographical Notice Of Nicolo Paganini With An Analysis Of His Compositions And A Sketch Of The History Of The Violin
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (1782 – 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. François-Joseph Fétis (1784 – 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. -
Curiosities of Street Literature
This is a collection of broadsides from London. Broadsides are short, popular publications, a precursor to today's tabloid journalism. The collection contains sensationalist and sometimes comical stories about criminal conduct, love, the Royal Family, politics, as well as gallows' literature. Gallow's literature (confessions, verses etc. relating to individuals condemned to public execution) were often sold at the execution. As a collection these broadsides are a reminder of how important the printer was at this time -- it is surely no coincidence that the printers are printed at the end of every broadside, while the authors remain anonymous. -
Mentor: Famous English Poets
This is Vol. 1, No. 44, Serial No. 44 of The Mentor, published in 1913.
This edition of the Mentor Magazine focuses on six of England's most well-known poets - Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Shelley, William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning. -
Gutenberg and the Art of Printing
This book is readable account of one of the greatest inventions of modern time: moveable type. Gutenberg's work lays the foundation for the printing press, without which the world would look very different... It reads both as biography and as historical fiction, in addition to being an introduction to the history of printing. We follow along on the ups and downs of Gutenberg himself and his family life, and the collaborations with others that lead to printing. -
Life of St. Vincent de Paul
Vincent De Paul [c. 1581 - 1660] was a man renowned during his own century for his compassion, humility and generosity. During the days when galleys were part of any countries' war machine and these galleys were rowed by convicts who were in reality slaves, Vincent's special call was to provide what spiritual comfort he could to these wretched men. When a young man he himself had been captured by Turkish pirates, who brought him to Tunis and sold him into slavery, so he had a special understanding of their lot. He escaped in 1607 and went on to become a priest with a ministry to the poor. In 1625 de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission, a society of missionary priests commonly known as the Vincentians or Lazarists and with the assistance of Louise de Marillac he later founded the Daughters of Charity whose selfless nursing work in hospitals throughout the world and during many plagues is well known. (They were the nuns with the large and easily recognized 'flying nun' wimples.) -
Henry James At Work
Bosanquet (1880-1961) was secretary or amanuensis to James from 1907 to his death in 1916. She wrote this essay (1924) eight years after his death as part of the series Hogarth Essays by the Hogarth Press. It is a narrative of her experience of his methods, values, and life. -
Royal Romances of Today
"In the year 1907, the Woman’s Home Companion commissioned me to go to Russia to write the story of the early days, courtship and marriage of her whom the world knows to-day as the 'Tsaritsa,' The following year, the same periodical sent me to Italy to write a similar account of the life of Queen Elena; and in 1910 I was once more sent abroad, this time to Spain, to learn all about Queen Victoria Eugenie....'Your task is difficult,'remarked a friend to whom I had just explained that I was writing the lives of the Empress of Russia, the Queen of Spain, and the Queen of Italy. 'Your task is difficult, because these are three good Queens, and good Queens, like all good women, have no history.' Now that I have told the stories of these three good Queens, I wonder if my friend will not grant that they have been worth the telling?" (from the Foreword) -
Life of Washington, Volume 3
Volume 3 of The Life continues the Revolutionary War from the incursion into Jersey in 1778 to its conclusion with the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in 1781 at Yorktown, with emphasis on the role of George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the United States forces. -
Book of Sibyls: Mrs. Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Opie, Miss Austen
This book is a biography of four woman authors whose names were well known by readers at the time of its publication (1883) : Anna Barbaud, Maria Edgeworth, Amelia Opie, and Jane Austen. Though most of us today are only familiar with the writings of Austen, all four of these women are well worth taking the time to get to know. The author, Anne Thackeray Ritchie, was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. -
Life of Washington, Volume 5
Volume five of John Marshall's biography follows Washington through his second term ending in the election of John Adams and Washington's retirement to Mount Vernon. This narrative continues the careful and intriguing analysis of the subjects of the previous volume as America navagtes with Washington's wise captaincy the complicated and sometimes violent foreign and domestic conflicts of the young, developing nation. -
Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss
This memoir was undertaken at the request of many of Mrs. Prentiss' old and most trusted friends, who felt that the story of her life should be given to the public. Much of it is in the nature of an autobiography. Her letters, which with extracts from her journals form the larger portion of its contents, begin when she was in her twentieth year, and continue almost to her last hour. They are full of details respecting herself, her home, her friends, and the books she wrote. A simple narrative, interspersed with personal reminiscences, and varied by a sketch of her father, and passing notices of others, who exerted a moulding influence upon her character, completes the story. A picture is thus presented of the life she lived and its changing scenes, both on the natural and the spiritual side. While the work may fail to interest some readers, the hope is cherished that, like STEPPING HEAVENWARD, it will be welcomed into Christian homes and prove a blessing to many hearts; thus realising the desire expressed in one of her last letters: Much of my experience of life has cost me a great price and I wish to use it for strengthening and comforting other souls. -
Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald, Vol 2
Lord Cochrane was a Napoleonic-era sea captain, whose adventures were the source material for many popular series of naval fiction. He started to write a biography but passed away after completing only two volumes. This work, by Cochrane's secretary and son, completes his "Autobiography of a Seaman". In this volume, Cochrane aids the Greeks against their Ottoman overlords, joins the House of Lords, gets his knighthood back and re-enters the Royal Navy. -
Catharine de Bora; or, Social and Domestic Scenes in the Life of Luther
"There are many interesting and characteristic incidents in the domestic life of Luther which are not found in biographies of the great Reformer. The character of his wife has not been portrayed in full, and who does not wish to become better acquainted with a woman who mingled many a drop of balsam in those numerous cups of sorrow which her celebrated husband was compelled to drink?This little book is the result of extensive research, and exhibits facts attested by the most reliable authorities, many of which will be new to those of my readers who have not investigated this particular subject." from the Preface by John G. Morris, a noted Lutheran scholar from Baltimore, Maryland. These chapters start with a discussion of celibacy and marriage in the church, describe Lutheran's marriage to and life with Catharine de Bora, and her life after the reformers death, and accounts of their children. -
Richard Strauss
There was not much truly spectacular about the course of [Strauss's] life, which was most happily free from the material troubles which bedeviled the existence of so many great masters... If “Salome” and “Elektra”, “Ein Heldenleben” and “Till Eulenspiegel” were in their day scandalously “sensational” did not the whirligig of time reveal them as incontestable products of genius, irrespective of inequalities and flaws? However Richard Strauss compares in the last analysis with this or that master he contributed to the language of music idioms, procedures and technical accomplishments typical of the confused years and conflicting ideals out of which they were born. His works are most decidedly of an age, whether or not they are for all time! From Author's Foreword. -
History of the Four Georges, and of William IV, Volume 4
In Volume IV of this series on the Hanoverian kings, Justin McCarthy and his son, Justin Huntly McCarthy, both Liberal Irish MPs., bring on the stage that bulky, big-spender, George IV, his bumbling brother, William IV, the impulsive Liberal loose cannon, Lord Brougham, George Canning, true author of the Monroe Doctrine, and Earl Grey and Lord John Russell and their struggle to pass the great Parliamentary Reform Bill of 1832. -
Confession of a Child of the Century
In this autobiographic novel, an aging man reflects on his past. We are witness to the relationships he has along the way, his mistakes, and finally-- in the most unexpected and honorable way-- the sudden development of his belief in God. -
My Life in the South
My Life in the South is the vivid and touching autobiography of African-American former slave, Jacob Stroyer. It recounts experiences from his early childhood on the planation up to his involvement in Confederacy's war effort and eventually his experience of becoming a free man. -
True Life Story of Swiftwater Bill Gates
The life of American frontiersman, adventurer, and prospector "Swiftwater" Bill Gates as told by his mother in law. During the Klondike gold rush of the 1890's, Gates made and lost several fortunes. He once gave a dance house girl her weight in gold. His exploits in the Yukon are still talked about today. -
Two Diaries From Middle St. John's, Berkeley, South Carolina, February - May, 1865
Two diaries from Middle St. John’s, Berkeley, South Carolina, February – May, 1865. Journals kept by Miss Susan R. Jervey and Miss Charlotte St. Julien Ravenel, at Northampton and Poooshee Plantations, and reminiscences of Mrs. (Waring) Henagan. With two contemporary reports from Federal officials. Published by the St. John’s Hunting Club, Middle St. Johns, Berkeley, South Carolina, 1921. -
Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women
A fascinating account of the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. She writes of her struggles in being accepted to a medical school (at one point she is advised to disguise herself as a male). She details her experiences while in the process of obtaining her degree, and her work both with patients and administratively, helping to found medical schools and hospitals for women