The Grand Library of Kiwi Farms - Farms based Archive of great Public Domain works

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas

Jules Verne
Originally Serialized in the Magazine of Education and Recreation. 1869.
Omnibus book compiled and published by Warde, Lock and Company ltd.
Obtained from Internet Archive
4/24/2024

The world of 1866 is abuzz at the rumors of a glowing sea monstrosity that has been sighted in numerous locations. Concerned about the threat posed to its whaling industry, the United States Federal Government commissions an expedition to find and kill the beast. French natural scientist Pierre Arronax and his manservant Conseil are on sabbatical in New York City, and at the last minute are offered a place in the expedition. They embark on a grand nautical adventure that takes them to the furthest reaches of the earth in the company of a man who has grown weary of the terrestrial life and instead pursues an existence of pure exploration and study. Or so it may seem.

The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires)

Alexander Dumas
Translated and Published by George Rutledge and Sons of London. 1878.
French Edition by J.B. Fellens et L.P Dufours, 1849
First Edition English edition scanned by Google as part of the 2012 great books preservation initiative
Both Retrieved from internet Archive
4/24/2024


A Young Man named D'Artagnan dreams of becoming an elite Musketeer of the King of France, Louis XIII in the year 1625. While he fails, he is befriended by the three most formidable Musketeers of the age; Athos, Porthos and Aramis. The Four set out on an adventure during the upheaval of French politics as the King of France ascends to his age of majority, with the powers of the State firmly in the hands of the Regent Armand Jean du Plessis, the Cardinal Duke of Richelieu.

Nobody's posted this yet?

Ambrose Bierce
The Devil's Dictionary
Originally published as a weekly column, it was ripped off as "The Cynic's Word Book," before Bierce himself published it under his own preferred title.

While he wasn't generally a /pol/ shitposter by trade, this is fairly exemplary of his sense of humor.

An Outstretched Arm: A History of the Jewish Colonization Association​

Theodore Norman
Jewish Colonization Association - 1985 published by Routledge & Kegan Paul , London, Boston, Melbourne and Henley
Library of Congress and Internet Archive (Archive)
Downloaded 30/4/24

Assistance for Jewish westward immigration from Eastern Europe was given transnational form by the founding of the Jewish Colonisation Association, which drew upon the huge Baron de Hirsch Fund established in 1891. The Fund was co-founded by Nathaniel Rothschild, Frederick Mocatta, Julian Goldsmid and Benjamin Cohen, all from the Cousinhood, with several French equivalents, and Maurice de Hirsch who provided millions of pounds. The Fund and the JCA assisted Jews to settle and find work in America, and sponsored the Anglo-Jewish Association and the Alliance Israélite Universelle to do likewise in Britain and France. As one of the oldest refugee movements in modern times the success and acceptance of mass migration of Jewish refugess has set the precedent for today's phenomenon of mass migration.

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Heidi: a book for children and those who love them
Two part omnibus edition, illustrated
Introduction by Adeline Zachert, Librarian of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.


Johanna Spyri

Published by The John C. Winston Company. 1924.
Retrieved from Internet Archive
05/01/2024


Two brothers in Switzerland could not be more different. The older having inherited the family wealth squandered it on gambling and drink. The younger, seeking to make something of himself joined the Italian Wars on the side of Naples. He returned with a bastard son named Tobias and was ostracized by the village. Tobias would go on to grow up, get married and have a daughter named Adelheid, lovingly nicknamed Heidi. However, when she turned 5, her father Tobias would die in an accident and her mother of shock from news of her husband's death. Now orphaned, the girl was handed over to her Aunt who wished to pursue a career as a Maid and did not wish to take responsibility for the girl. so she sought out Tobias' father who having grown embittered over the ostracization of the village, his trauma from the war and loss of class due to his brothers profligate waste of the family wealth, had retreated to live the life of a hermit high up in the Swiss Alps. Heidi would be unceremoniously dumped on his door step.

Considered one of the most definitive works of South German literature from the 19th century, the book would also serve as the inspiration for the first major animation production of a young Hayao Miyazaki and his new startup, Studio Ghibli.

The Brothers Karamazov
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
Serialized in the Russian Messenger from 1879-1880; PDF released by Project Gutenberg February 12, 2009
Downloaded from Project Gutenberg 5/4/2024

The Brothers Karamazov follows the titular Karamazov brothers as they navigate through life. The tale touches on religious and philosophical themes, such as Christianity versus Atheism, questions of free will and morality, and dealing with problems of faith, doubt, and reason, all set against the background of a modernizing Russia. It is widely considered one of the greatest literary works produced, and was published a mere four months before Dostoevsky died.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Published in 1818 anonymously, republished in 1820 under her name
Downloaded from archive.org 5/4/2024

Captain Robert Walton, exploring the North Pole on a scientific expedition, spots a dog sled being driven by a colossal man. Hours later, he encounters the emaciated and dying Victor Frankenstein, who informs Walton that he's pursuing the colossal man. Recognizing Walton has an obsessive personality similar to his own, Frankenstein seeks to dissuade Walton by recounting the tale of how his unethical experiments gave birth to the colossal man, the horrors that followed, and the tragic path that led Frankenstein to the North Pole.

The novel itself was first written in 1816, when Mary, her lover Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori had a contest to see who could write the best horror story. The novel draws on Gothic and Romantic themes such as obsession, man seeking knowledge he wasn't meant to have, tragic love, and the meaning of life and death. It was also influenced by her parents' political activism and writing, tales like Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Milton's Paradise Lost. The novel's main settings are based around Mary's own travels, including the real-life Castle Frankenstein, from which she drew Victor's surname.

The novel's enduring popularity has led to the misconception that the monster is named Frankenstein. In reality, the monster has no name and is simply referred to as The Creature.

Paradise Lost
John Milton (Edited by Gordon Teskey)

Published in 1667 (Edited and published in 2005)
Downloaded from archive.org 5/4/2024

A poetic retelling of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, Paradise Lost tells of how and why Satan first set himself against God. Cast out of Heaven, Satan leads his fallen angels to seize Hell for themselves, before Satan returns to Earth with the intention of corrupting Adam and Eve, and through them, the paradise that is Earth. The poem touches on themes of sin, rebellion, and idolatry, with many claiming it makes God out to be evil and just as many refuting this. Few poems have been discussed as much as Paradise Lost, and it is widely considered one of the greatest works of English literature ever written.

Paradise Regained
John Milton

Published in 1671
Downloaded from preterhuman.net on 5/4/2024

The sequel to Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained is a poetic retelling of Christ's temptation by Satan. Despite having successfully corrupted the world, Satan remains haunted by God's promise that a Messiah would come to break his power and restore humanity. Recognizing this figure in Jesus, Satan immediately goes to tempt Him into sin, confident that if perfect Adam and Eve could not withstand temptation in Paradise, Jesus certainly cannot withstand temptation in a fallen, corrupt world.

Despite being a sequel to Paradise Lost, this poem is noticeably shorter than its predecessor, spanning 2,065 lines compared to Paradise Lost's 10,565 lines. The themes of the first poem are expanded upon, not only showing how much greater Satan's power has become in the intervening time but also Christ's imperviousness to such temptations, despite His obvious humanity. While not as epic in scale and scope as its predecessor, Paradise Regained is nonetheless considered a classic of English writing.

A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens

Serialized from April to November 1859 before being published in book form that same year
Downloaded from preterhuman.net on 5/4/2024

Dr. Alexandre Manette is released from his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in France, traveling to London to meet his daughter, Lucille, who long believed he was dead. Amid tensions and intrigue, Dr. Manette attempts to rebuild his shattered life, only for the French Revolution to break out and threaten all he loves. With his past returning to haunt him, Manette must rely on a colorful cast of characters to save him, Lucille, and his family from the bloodthirsty mob and the sinister Madame Defarge.

Moby Dick; or, The Whale
Herman Melville

Published in 1851; this is a PDF version of the book published in 1930
Retrieved from Archive.org 5/5/2024

Bored of life on land, Ishmael signs up with the whaling ship Pequod, hoping to see more of the ocean. However, under the command of the sinister Captain Ahab, he soon learns the Pequod's mission is not simply to hunt whales, but rather, hunt one particular whale: the legendary Moby Dick. Not only a mythic beast known for actively hunting and sinking whaling ships, the Great White Whale was responsible for the loss of Ahab's leg, giving him a very personal reason to hunt Moby Dick.

The book draws on Biblical characters and themes for inspiration, weaving a grand, nautical tale of revenge, obsession, and camaraderie. It also displays a sober, unflinching look at the life of a whaler in the mid-19th century. It is widely considered one of the great American novels and one of the best books ever written.

The War of the Worlds
HG Wells

Serialized in 1897, published in 1898
Downloaded from archive.org 5/10/2024

In response to their dwindling resources, the Martians launch an invasion of Earth, starting in a small English town called Woking. British armies prove powerless to stop the Martians as they commence their genocidal campaign against mankind and the terraforming of Earth through their "red weed." The unnamed narrator can do nothing but run and hide, giving a play-by-play as the technologically superior aliens obliterate all in their path.

The Divine Comedy (La divina commedia)
Dante Alighieri

Written in 1321
Posted edition by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Translator
Published by Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 1867
Italian Edition by Ulrico Hoepli, Milan. 1920.
Retrieved from internet archive 05/10/2024

A Foundational part of the modern Italian Language and arguably one of Western Civilizations greatest works, The Divine Comedy, also known as "Dante's Inferno", is a narrative poem of late middle ages fantasy, that seeks to incorporate themes of Greek and Roman antiquity into the, then, modern era of the 14th century. Reflecting the mindset and ideals of the time. The story tells of the Author Dante himself who upon finding himself lost in the woods and assailed by wild animals is rescued by the Roman Poet Virgil, who then guides Dante on a grand tour of the underworld.

The Aeneid
Written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC

Project Gutenberg ebook
Translated by J.W. Mackail
Retrieved from internet archive 05/11/2024

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The Aeneid is widely regarded as Virgil's masterpiece and one of the greatest works of Latin literature.

AnOminous said:

Only one "l" in "Iliad," as it is named after Ilium.

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I don't know why but in my retardation I continually add the extra l, fixed now.

The Iliad
Attributed to Homer.

Composed around 8th century BC.
Translated by Robert Fagles
Publication date 1991
Retrieved from internet archive 05/11/2024

Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks. In particular, it depicts a fierce quarrel between King Agamemnon and a celebrated warrior, Achilles. It is a central part of the Epic Cycle. The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature.

The Odyssey
Attributed to Homer.

Composed around 8th century BC.
Translated by Robert Fagles
Retrieved from internet archive 05/11/2024

It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey from Troy to Ithaca, via Africa and southern Europe, lasted for ten additional years during which time he encountered many perils and all of his crewmates were killed. In his absence, Odysseus was assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had to contend with a group of unruly suitors who were competing for Penelope's hand in marriage.

The Stranger
Albert Camus

Written in 1942

Format
159 pages, Paperback

Published
March 28, 1989 by Vintage International

Language
English

Published in 1942 by French author Albert Camus, The Strangerhas long been considered a classic of twentieth-century literature. Le Monde ranks it as number one on its "100 Books of the Century" list. Through this story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."

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Black Beauty
The Autobiography of a Horse

Anna Sewell
Illustrated by Cecil Aldin
Short Biography in memory of the Author by William T. F. Jarrolds

Published by Jarrolds Publishers of London ltd, on recommendation by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
1930 edition
Obtained from Internet Archive

Black Beauty is a first person fictional autobiography told from the perspective of a horse in England. The book is among the foundational canon of Animal Rights in western literature, and is one of the best examples of an author writing from the perspective of not just an entirely different person, but an entirely different species. It tells the story of "Darkie", a horse from his earliest childhood to his oldest age. Intended to be read for children, it has entered the pantheon of classics with its uncompromising depictions of mans cruelty towards the creatures of the world, as well as mans unbounded capability for compassion.

Online Censorships Institutional Power

Joshua Connor Moon

Published on X and Substack
Released into Creative Commons and Public Domain by the Author
Retrieved from Kiwi Farms 5/16/2024

An exhaustive essay by the administrator of the website Kiwi Farms, that goes into the danger posed to the free and open internet by a confluence of money, corporations, and individuals who use their reputation as a tradeable commodity.

In a Glass Darkly

Sheridan Le Fanu

Published 1872 by R. Bentley and Son, London
Retrieved from the Internet Archive 05/14/2024

A collection of five short stories in the horror and mystery genres, presented as the posthumous papers of the occult detective Dr Hesselius:

"Green Tea", a haunting narrative of a man plagued by a demonic monkey

"The Familiar", a slightly revised version of Le Fanu's 1847 tale "The Watcher". M. R. James considered this to be the best ghost story ever written.

"Mr Justice Harbottle", another panorama of Hell and much loved by M. R. James

"The Room in the Dragon Volant", not a ghost story but a notable mystery story that includes the theme of premature burial

"Carmilla", a compelling tale of a female vampire, set in central Europe. It has inspired several films, including Hammer's The Vampire Lovers (1970), Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses (1960), and Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr (1932). Scholars like A. Asbjørn Jøn have also noted the important place that "Carmilla" holds in shifting the portrayal of vampires in modern fiction.