Project Gutenberg
LightNews LightNews
banner
gutenberg.org
Project Gutenberg
@gutenberg.org
6.4K followers 160 following 2.4K posts
Project Gutenberg, founded in 1971, is the oldest producer and distributor of free ebooks.

For more information, visit our website at:
https://www.gutenberg.org/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
gutenberg.org
Project Gutenberg @gutenberg.org · Apr 1
Thanks to Neel Lopes for an interview podcast with Greg Newby, Director of the PGLAF. The podcast covers Greg's early involvement with Project Gutenberg, and discussion about the background and status of Project Gutenberg's role in the world of online literature.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-HG...
Dr. Greg Newby on being CEO of Project Gutenberg and being with the Government of Yukon Territory
YouTube video by Knowledge and Mind
www.youtube.com
gutenberg.org
#OTD in 1975, humorist P. G. Wodehouse died.

Wodehouse "was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._G._W...

Books by Wodehouse at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature
Photograph of P. G. Wodehouse. He standing by a railing wearing a coat and a hat.
February 14, 2026 at 2:10 PM
gutenberg.org
The Ur-“Conspiracy”: History of a Pseudoconcept

By Barrett Brown

www.theparisreview.org/blog/2026/02...

#books #literature #literarycriticism
Theophilus Schweighardt, The Temple of the Rose Cross, 1618, The representation was created around 1604 and was published in the Speculum sophicum Rhodostauroticum by Theophilus Schweighart. At the center of the picture is a wheeled, fortress-like building. Look at the picture from the OCCIDENS, i.e. from the west. The lower image caption provides us with an indication of this (it is difficult to recognize here in the picture). The entrance to this building, which is directly revealed to the viewer, is marked by a lettering. Above the archway you can read "VENITE DIGNI" ("COME HERE, WORTHY"). To the right of the archway you can see a cross and to the left a rose. Directly below the entrance you can read the word "MOVEAMVR" spread over two lines. Above the archway there are two windows along which the lettering "IESVS NOBIS OMNIA" ("JESUS [IS] EVERYTHING FOR US") runs along. It therefore becomes clear that, in addition to all the many other symbolic representations, it could be a rose cruiserical representation. The cross and rose can be clearly identified, but not presented united, as in today's form. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Templeofrosycross_highres.png
February 14, 2026 at 10:37 AM
gutenberg.org
Don’t fall in love this Valentine’s Day – read Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë’s novel celebrates the head-spinning, hair-raising, all-consuming experience of falling in love.

by Andrew McInnes

theconversation.com/dont-fall-in...

Wuthering Heights at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/768

#books
Photo of Sir Laurence Olivier knighted 1947-page 144 and Merle Oberon from the 1939 film Wuthering Heights. This is a publicity still from the 1939 film adaptation of "Wuthering Heights," showing Laurence Olivier (later knighted in 1947) as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Catherine Earnshaw seated together on the Yorkshire moors. The romantic scene captures the passionate, doomed lovers from Emily Brontë's classic novel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Heights#/media/File:Laurence_Olivier_Merle_Oberon_Wuthering_Heights.jpg
February 14, 2026 at 10:29 AM
gutenberg.org
Valentine’s Day cards too sugary sweet for you? Return to the 19th-century custom of the spicy ‘vinegar valentine’

theconversation.com/valentines-d...

#holiday #history
"A "Vinegar Valentine" card dated to the 1870s ("c. 1875"). Brighton Royal Pavilion and Museums ID 19110. Illustration shows an unhappy moustached man in a top hat, bearing a placard showing a red heart symbol pierced by six arrows and the text "PITY A POOR WOUNDED HEART". Caption below the illustration: 'Tis said you share your love with many. But I believe you have not any At least enough to give away. You keep it for yourself they say." - picryl.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:48 PM
gutenberg.org
7 of the Most Scandalous Romantic Plot Twists in Classic Literature

By Paul Anthony Jones

www.mentalfloss.com/literature/b...

#books #literature
Cover image of Bleak House by Charles Dickens. The cover features a decorative gold-stamped coat of arms or heraldic emblem with the title "BLEAK HOUSE" at the top and "Charles Dickens" at the bottom, along with what appears to be a motto banner reading "IN CHANCERY." Published serially from 1852-1853. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1023/pg1023-images.html Cover image Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. This is an ornate Victorian-era cover of "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen, featuring elaborate gold Art Nouveau-style floral and vine patterns on a dark green background. The decorative design frames the title and author name in elegant lettering. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/161/pg161-images.html
February 13, 2026 at 10:26 AM
gutenberg.org
Subverting hell

In their visions of the underworld Dante and Milton were truly subversive, incorporating predecessors into their own repudiation

by Charlie Ericson

aeon.co/essays/feel-...

Dante & Milton at PG
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature
Dante and Virgil in the Ninth Circle of Hell (1861) by Gustave Doré. The painting depicts a scene from Dante Alighieri's Inferno, showing Dante (in orange/red robes) and his guide Virgil (in blue) standing on an elevated position, looking down upon the frozen lake of Cocytus, the ninth and deepest circle of Hell where traitors are punished. The damned souls are shown frozen in ice in various states of torment, emerging from the misty, icy landscape. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Dante_et_Virgile_dans_le_neuvi%C3%A8me_cercle_de_l%27Enfer.jpg
February 13, 2026 at 10:12 AM
gutenberg.org
Why Do We Keep Telling the Same Stories? Archetypes in Pop Culture

www.thecollector.com/archetypes-p...

Books by Jung at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature #psychology

Odysseus und Nausicaa
Painting of Odysseus und Nausicaa by Carl Fielgraf. Odysseus is sitting on a rock with a cloth around him, and he is about to drink from a bowl. He is looking at Nausicaa who is standing and pointing to the right. A servant kneels at the foot of Odysseus and is offering him a bowl of fruit.
February 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM
gutenberg.org
Forget flowers: lovers in 18th- and 19th-century Ireland exchanged hair

by Leanne Calvert

theconversation.com/forget-flowe...

Saint Valentine at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc...

#books #history #ireland
Only a Lock of Hair by John Everett Millais The portrait shows a young woman in a dress russet-coloured fabric with areas of blue (possibly a shot silk, giving an iridescent effect) with lace at the collar and cuffs, in the process of cutting off a lock of her hair with a small pair of silver scissors, while she gazes off to her left. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_a_Lock_of_Hair#/media/File:Only_a_Lock_of_Hair,_by_John_Everett_Millais.jpg
February 12, 2026 at 10:43 AM
gutenberg.org
Inside Switzerland's extraordinary medieval library

By Mike MacEacheran

www.bbc.co.uk/travel/artic...

Medieval library at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc...

#books #literature #library
PLATE XXV DUKE HUMFREY’S LIBRARY, OXFORD The image captures the historic reading room with its magnificent barrel-vaulted wooden ceiling with decorative coffers, tall windows providing natural light at the far end, and rows of bookshelves lining both sides. Reading desks are positioned along the central aisle. Duke Humfrey's Library, the oldest reading room of the Bodleian, dates to the 15th century and was named after Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447), younger brother of Henry V, who donated his collection of manuscripts to Oxford University. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1615/pg1615-images.html
February 12, 2026 at 10:35 AM
gutenberg.org
Ten Medieval Discoveries That Shaped How We Understand Sleep

www.medievalists.net/2026/01/medi...

Books about sleep at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...

#science #sciencehistory
Baby sleeping on a pillow
February 11, 2026 at 1:51 PM
gutenberg.org
Rediscovered photograph sheds light on Jeanne Duval – Manet’s Lady with a Fan

by Maria C. Scott

theconversation.com/rediscovered...

Manet (as illustrator) at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #history #art #photography
Baudelaire's Mistress (Portrait of Jeanne Duval), 1862. By Manet. Manet shows Jeanne Duval reclining on a green sofa or chaise lounge, wearing a voluminous white crinoline dress and holding a green fan. Her dark hair and direct gaze create a striking contrast with the white dress. The background features decorative wallpaper or fabric panels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Manet#/media/File:Portrait-of-jeanne-duval-1862.jpg!Large.jpg
February 11, 2026 at 10:25 AM
gutenberg.org
A White Historian Claimed That Black People ‘Had No History.’ This Trailblazing Scholar Dedicated His Life to Proving Otherwise

by Meilan Solly

www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-...

Carter G. Woodson at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature #blackhistorymonth
The formal portrait shows Dr. Carter Woodson in a suit and patterned tie, representing him as a distinguished scholar and educator. During the dawning of the twentieth century, it was widely-presumed that people of African descent had little history besides the subjugation of slavery. Of course, it is obvious today that Africans have significantly impacted the development of the social, political and economic structures of not just the United States but also the world. Credit for the evolving awareness of the true place of blacks in history can, in large part, be bestowed upon one man, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Dr. Woodson's parents had been enslaved, so he understood the importance of a proper education. Though he didn't begin his formal education until the age of 20, he earned his high school diploma, bachelor's and master's degrees in the span of a few years. Then, in 1912, he became the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and was the first person of enslaved parents to earn a PhD in history! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_G._Woodson#/media/File:Dr._Carter_G._Woodson_(1875-1950),_Carter_G._Woodson_Home_National_Historic_Site,_1915._(18f7565bf62142c0ad7fff83701ca5f6).jpg
February 11, 2026 at 10:07 AM
gutenberg.org
Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/samu...

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/203

#blackhistorymonth #ushistory
Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book
After buying his own liberty, the Marylander covertly assisted conductors on the Underground Railroad, including Harriet Tubman. But his possession of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" turned him into an abolitioni...
www.smithsonianmag.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:05 PM
gutenberg.org
What a Renaissance plate reveals about a woman who shaped literary history

by Maria Clotilde Camboni

theconversation.com/what-a-renai...

Renaissance art at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...

#books #history #art
Portrait of Isabella d'Este by Leornardo da Vinci. Black and red chalk with stump, ochre chalk, white highlights on the face, throat, and hand. Original black chalk lines are visible in several places: face, hair, veil on the forehead, neck, garment covering the breast, left shoulder. Paper prepared with white in the upper left and right parts. The drawing shows Isabella in profile, facing right, wearing Renaissance dress with a striped bodice and her hair covered by a headdress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Isabella_d%27Este_(Leonardo)#/media/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci,_Portrait_of_Isabella_d'Este.jpg
February 10, 2026 at 11:22 AM
gutenberg.org
Dorothy Parker: Sharp-Witted Writer, Bitter Professor

Dorothy Parker’s year as a visiting professor shows how a celebrated literary voice struggled to adapt to the realities of academic teaching.

By: Emily Zarevich

daily.jstor.org/dorothy-park...

#books #literature #education
American writer Dorothy Parker (1893-1967), c. 1910s-1920s. The image shows Parker as a young woman with short, dark bobbed hair and a contemplative expression in three-quarter profile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Parker#/media/File:Young_Dorothy_Parker.jpg
February 10, 2026 at 10:46 AM
gutenberg.org
Why Do Colors Matter in Our Lives?

www.thecollector.com/why-do-color...

"Goethe's Theory of Colours" at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50572

Books by Jung at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#science
colorful marker pens
February 9, 2026 at 12:46 PM
gutenberg.org
How Bertolt Brecht and Walter Benjamin Pioneered a New Way of Creating

Katherine Hollander on Intellectual, Political and Artistic Collaboration Among the Exiled Mitarbeiter

lithub.com/how-bertolt-...

#books #literature #literarycriticism
Photo d'identité sans auteur, 1928 - Akademie der Künste, Berlin - Walter Benjamin Archiv. The portrait shows Benjamin at age 36, wearing round glasses, a mustache, suit and tie, with a serious, contemplative expression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin#/media/File:Walter_Benjamin_vers_1928.jpg
February 9, 2026 at 9:39 AM
gutenberg.org
Recreating the smells of history

Using chemistry, archival records and AI, scientists are reviving the aromas of old libraries, mummies & battlefields

By Kaja Šeruga

knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Smells of history at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc...

#books #science #olfactory_system
David Ryckaert (III) - Old women smelling a carnation (Allegory of smell). The painting depicts an elderly woman in dark clothing with a white collar and head covering, delicately holding and smelling a pink carnation. She also cradles a small dog in her other arm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_of_smell#/media/File:David_Ryckaert_(III)_-_Old_women_smelling_a_carnation_(Allegory_of_smell).jpg
February 9, 2026 at 9:31 AM
gutenberg.org
When Historians Rediscovered These Frederick Douglass Letters, They Were Surprised by His Candid Opinions About Abraham Lincoln

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hist...

Books by Frederick Douglass at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#history #americanhistory #blackhistorymonth
Photograph of Frederick Douglass. He sitting in profile.
February 8, 2026 at 2:20 PM
gutenberg.org
Polar Plunge: An Exploration of Antarctic Publishing

by: Callie Beattie

blogs.loc.gov/bibliomania/...

Antarctica -- Discovery and exploration at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje...

#books #Antarctica
Frontispiece “A sledging experience”, illustrated by Dr. E. A. Wilson. South Polar Times, Volume 1. 1907. Rare Book and Special Collections Division. The atmospheric illustration depicts two figures struggling to pull a sledge with flags through a fierce Antarctic blizzard, their forms barely visible against the swirling snow and wind.
February 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM
gutenberg.org
Nancy Reddy on Researching Beyond the Archives

Reading sideways requires a willingness to re-read, to wander through a set of sources, to widen your gaze. Sometimes, though, the answers continue to elude us and the record remains incomplete.

lithub.com/nancy-reddy-...

#books #literature
People working in Card Division in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Card Division, United States Library of Congress, 1910s or 1920s The image shows librarians and staff working at long tables covered with catalog cards laid out in rows for sorting and processing. In the background, an enormous card catalog cabinet with thousands of drawers lines the wall. Multiple workers, mostly women dressed in white blouses typical of the era, are engaged in the meticulous work of organizing, filing, and maintaining the library's card catalog system - the primary method of cataloging and accessing library materials before computerization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_catalog#/media/File:Card_Division_of_the_Library_of_Congress_3c18631u_original.jpg
February 8, 2026 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Project Gutenberg
artistichope.bsky.social
I found a mistake on @wikipedia.org so I fixed it. Though it needs footnotes. I added this section to lord byron: "However..... (to) four known copies of the 1806 publication that survived the burning."
they were destroyed but Im reading them? @gutenberg.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_By...
Lord Byron - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
February 8, 2026 at 3:36 AM
gutenberg.org
#OTD in 1823 novelist Ann Radcliffe died.

She "was an English novelist who pioneered the Gothic novel, and a minor poet."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Rad...

Books by Radcliffe at PG:

www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature
"Emily discovering a body in Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)." - picyrl.com The drawing shows a woman holding a lantern. She is pulling back a curtain which reveals a dead man lying on a bed.
February 7, 2026 at 1:22 PM
gutenberg.org
An epic border: Finland’s poetic masterpiece, the Kalevala, has roots in 2 cultures and 2 countries

by Thomas A. DuBois

theconversation.com/an-epic-bord...

Kalevala at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc...

#books #literature #poetry
Mistress of the North, Louhi attacking Väinämöinen in the form of a giant eagle with her troops on her back. (The Defense of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1896), Turku Art Museum. The scene depicts an episode from the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, showing the sorceress Louhi (the Mistress of the North) transformed into a giant eagle attacking the hero Väinämöinen and his companions as they flee in a boat with the magical Sampo. Louhi carries her warriors on her back as she swoops down, her enormous wings spread across the green-gold sky. The heroes in the boat below defend themselves with weapons, fighting desperately to protect the Sampo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalevala#/media/File:Sammon_puolustus.jpg
February 7, 2026 at 10:52 AM
gutenberg.org
A Community-Curated Nancy Drew Collection

by elizabethmays via @OpenLibrary@mastodon.archive.org

blog.openlibrary.org/2026/01/30/a...

Carolyn Keene at PG:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

#books #literature #publicdomain
Cover of the book The hidden staircase Author: Carolyn Keene Illustrator: Russell H. Tandy The cover shows Nancy Drew, the iconic teenage detective, holding a flashlight while descending a hidden staircase in what appears to be a mysterious old house. The illustration uses warm tones of orange and gold, with Nancy wearing a blue outfit and green cape. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/77602/pg77602-images.html
February 7, 2026 at 10:24 AM