01
Exploration Survival Adventure Tales
Stories of childhood, exploration, resilience and imaginative adventure represented across the current public-domain collection.
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Independent digital catalogue
Browse 94 Public Domain Books from 76 Authors at COALH Library
This catalogue organizes 94 public-domain novels and stories into four browsing categories—exploration and adventure, juvenile fantasy, speculative time travel, and historical or psychological fiction. The categories are navigation aids, not strict labels; many works fit more than one. For practical entry, three reading paths are suggested: maritime adventure (Marmaduke Merry, The Three Cutters, Rattlin the Reefer), social comedy (The House, Buying a Horse, Mrs. Christy's Bridge Party), and war and memory (An Echo Of Antietam, One Man's Initiation—1917, The Lost Despatch). Each book page provides a synopsis, author, keywords, and an editorial note by the catalogue project.
94 public-domain works76 represented authorsSource-attributed catalogue records
Subject gateways
Explore by Theme
Browse the catalogue by literary type, historical era, or the nature of the source material.
02
Fantasy Juvenile Worlds
A focused group of public-domain works connected by subject, literary setting and recurring questions.
03
Time Travel Speculative Futures
Works exploring technology, imagined futures, discovery and speculative changes in society and everyday life.
04
Historical Psychological Social Fiction
Texts connected with historical lives, social customs, institutions and the worlds in which people lived.
Literature — Editor’s Selection
A closer look
Collection Spotlight
One work and three nearby readings from the current catalogue.
Time Travel Speculative Futures
In Blue Creek Cañon — Key Ideas ...
Authored by Authors: Ray, Anna Chapin, 1865-1945, 'In Blue Creek Cañon — Key Ideas ...' stands as a notable and significant work within the Time Travel Speculative Futures category. This editorial note examines how Anna Chapin Ray's 1892 novel uses its opening ice-skating scene, domestic interiors, and a gulch walk to establish setting and character dynamics, guiding a first reading through these early excerpts. Discover the unique thematic elements that make this specific work highly regarded.
View catalogue recordNewly Catalogued by COALH
The River of Darkness; Or, Under...
In Explora...
The Lost Despatch — Reading Notes
In Time Tr...
One Man's Initiation—1917 — A Re...
In Explora...
The Tinted Venus: A Farcical Rom...
In Fantasy...
Waring's Peril — Context and Dis...
In Fantasy...
The Northern Iron — Story, Setti...
In Histori...
Cousin Henry — Story, Setting & ...
In Histori...
Shadows of Shasta — Key Ideas to...
In Fantasy...
Routes through the collection
Reading Paths
Four routes into the collection for readers approaching the catalogue with different questions.
Begin with Exploration Survival Adventure TalesOpen a focused route to works connected with Exploration Survival Adventure Tales.Explore Fantasy Juvenile WorldsCompare authors, source types and recurring questions within Fantasy Juvenile Worlds.Read through Time Travel Speculative FuturesMove from introductory records to related works in Time Travel Speculative Futures.Browse Historical Psychological Social FictionUse this theme as a starting point for nearby catalogue records in Historical Psychological Social Fiction.
Record framework
How This Catalogue Works
Explain the way records are organized and cross-linked, without changing the source texts they represent.
Source connection
Connect each catalogue entry to the corresponding source files and reference materials on hand.
Metadata organization
Display the name of the work, its author, and edition details at a glance for easier searching.
Collection grouping
Group titles according to shared themes, narrative settings, and the historical questions they address.
Context layer
Show how entries relate to one another while keeping the language of the original source texts intact.
About these records
Frequently Asked Questions
How the collection is organized, presented and corrected.
It generally means that the represented source text is no longer protected by copyright in the applicable jurisdiction or has been released for public use. Status may vary by country and edition.
A record may include the title, author, category, cover, description, edition information, source references and available reading or download options.
A category reflects a work’s principal subjects, literary setting, source type and relationship to nearby records in the collection.
The catalogue adds navigation, metadata and editorial context. The represented source text retains its wording, edition information and rights status.
Use the contact page and include the work title, page address and the exact attribution, category, metadata or source detail requiring attention.
Catalogue stewardship
COALH Catalogue
Catalogue information
This section documents the scope of the digital library, listing the number of books, authors, and categories, with oversight of the collection's structure.
