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Biographies
6,255 free books on the Biographies bookshelf, free to read online. Chapter 1 of any book is free, no account needed.
ReadSlave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XVI, Texas Narratives, Part 1
United States. Work Projects Administration
ReadWashington the Soldier
Henry B. Carrington
The work is a scholarly military study that treats George Washington primarily as a commander rather than a…
ReadThe life and works of Sir Charles Barry
Alfred Barry
The work is a biographical memoir of Sir Charles Barry, the eminent 19th‑century British architect, compiled…
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler
The Note‑Books of Samuel Butler are not a conventional narrative but a sprawling, self‑made archive of the…
ReadThe Life of a Conspirator Being a Biography of Sir Everard Digby by One of His Descendants
Thomas Longueville
Thomas Longueville’s work is a biographical study that intertwines the life of Sir Everard Digby with the…
ReadChristopher Columbus and the New World of His Discovery — Complete
Filson Young
Filson Young’s work is a scholarly narrative that seeks to bridge the gap between the massive body of…
ReadThe Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7.
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
The work is a meticulous account of Zebulon Montgomery Pike’s 1805‑1807 expeditions, presented in three…
ReadAnne Hyde, Duchess of York
J. R. Henslowe
The work is a nineteenth‑century biography of Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, assembled from the fragments of a…
ReadMemoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne Vol. 2 (of 2)
Mrs. A. T. Thomson
The work is a two‑volume memoir that records the lives of Sarah Jennings Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough,…
ReadThe Private Diary of Dr. John Dee, and the Catalog of His Library of Manuscripts
John Dee
The volume presents two distinct but complementary documents drawn from the original manuscripts of the…
Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume 2 (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings
Wiliam Cabell Bruce
The work is a scholarly biography that builds its portrait of Benjamin Franklin from the very words he left…
ReadVitus Bering: the Discoverer of Bering Strait
Peter Lauridsen
Peter Lauridsen’s work is a scholarly biography of the Danish‑Russian explorer Vitus Bering, whose voyages…
ReadSlave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume III, Florida Narratives
United States. Work Projects Administration
This volume is the third in the United States Work Projects Administration’s “Slave Narratives: A Folk…
ReadMemoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2
Thomas Jefferson
This volume gathers a series of letters penned by Thomas Jefferson during his 1786 diplomatic mission to…
ReadMy First Summer in the Sierra
John Muir
John Muir’s My First Summer in the Sierra is a natural‑history memoir that begins with a series of vivid…
The Life of Cicero, Volume One
Anthony Trollope
The work is a nineteenth‑century biographical study of Marcus Tullius Cicero, written by Anthony Trollope.
The Memoirs of Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
The Memoirs of Victor Hugo present a hybrid of history and personal reflection, offering a “haphazard…
ReadThe life, letters and work of Frederic Leighton. Volume II
Mrs. Russell Barrington
The volume is a meticulously compiled biography and catalogue of Frederic Baron Leighton, the eminent…
ReadThe Memoirs of François René Vicomte de Chateaubriand sometime Ambassador to England. volume 5 (of 6) Mémoires d'outre-tombe volume 5
Chateaubriand, François-René, vicomte de
The work is the fifth volume of François‑René Chateaubriand’s six‑part Mémoires d’outre‑tombe, a sprawling…
![Cover of Shakspeare and His Times [Vol. 1 of 2]
Including the Biography of the Poet; Criticisms on His Genius and Writings; A New Chronology of His Plays; A Disquisition on the on the Object of His Sonnets; And a History of the Manners, Customs, and Amusements, Superstitions, Poetry, and Elegant Literature of His Age](/covers/53625.jpg)
ReadShakspeare and His Times [Vol. 1 of 2] Including the Biography of the Poet; Criticisms on His Genius and Writings; A New Chronology of His Plays; A Disquisition on the on the Object of His Sonnets; And a History of the Manners, Customs, and Amusements, Superstitions, Poetry, and Elegant Literature of His Age
Nathan Drake
The work is a scholarly compendium that treats William Shakespeare not merely as a playwright but as a focal…
ReadLetters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
This volume is the first of a two‑part selection of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s private correspondence,…
ReadFamous composers and their works, Vol. 3
This volume is a biographical and critical survey of the German composer Joseph Joachim Raff, presented in…
ReadHistory of the Jews, Vol. 6 (of 6) Containing a Memoir of the Author by Dr. Philip Bloch, a Chronological Table of Jewish History, an Index to the Whole Work
Heinrich Graetz
The sixth volume of Heinrich Graetz’s monumental History of the Jews is a supplemental work that brings…
ReadLetters of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy from 1833 to 1847
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
This volume collects the letters Felix Mendelssohn‑Bartholdy wrote between 1833 and his death in 1847,…