While many people believe that Christmas caps the gift-giving season, New Year’s Day heralds fresh gifts galore: new contributions to the public domain. The public domain, a collection of works that no longer fall under copyright protection and can therefore be freely shared, grows year by year. When many people think of the public domain, they picture books. This is just the beginning. Other types of works that are a part of the public domain include photos, audio recordings, and videos, just to name a few.
So, what are some of the “new” old gems to be included in this year’s list? Read on to view some of the most notable titles.
American literature fans will be delighted to learn that two novels frequently taught in composition classes are included in this year’s offerings. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway’s tale of love between an ambulance driver and a nurse during World War I, joins this year. Additionally, William Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury is included. He is considered by many to be the South’s greatest writer. Completing the triad of classic American authors is John Steinbeck. His first novel, Cup of Gold, also joins the repository.
British contributions to the public domain this year include Virginia Woolf’s feminist essay A Room of One’s Own. Based upon her previous lectures, Woolf wrote the piece to underscore the necessity of women having the ability to receive an income and therefore be able to become independent and possess a room of their own. Another British work comes from mystery writer Agatha Christie, who already has a few novels in the public domain. This year, The Seven Dials Mystery joins the list.
Last year, Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front joined the public domain, but to understand it, readers had to know German. Fortunately, this year the first English version joins its German sibling on the list.
Video additions in 2024 made a huge splash with the addition of Walt Disney’s film Steamboat Willie. This year the public domain receives Disney’s “The Karnival Kid.” This is the first film in which Mickey talks. Notably, it also shows his white gloved hands for the first time. Another cartoon great to join the list is Popeye, who was first featured in the Thimble Theatre with a strip called “Gobs of Work.”
Two of Hollywood’s great directors also have pieces included in this year’s offerings. Cecil B. DeMille’s film Dynamite and Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Blackmail take their place among a small but growing list of films.
Finally, there are two especially notable songs that are included in this year’s offerings. “Singin’ in the Rain” with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown is one. The other is “Tiptoe through the Tulips,” the lyrics of which were penned by Alfred Dublin and the music by Joseph Burke. Bear in mind, however, that the recording by Tiny Tim is still protected by copyright, but feel free to do your best to replicate Tiny Tim’s piercing falsetto with impunity.
Are you interested in reading or listening to books in the public domain? You can access titles through a variety of means, but Project Gutenberg is a popular place to look. For people who prefer listening to books, take a peek at LibriVox. Keep in mind that brand new titles might take some time to appear on LibriVox because the readers are volunteers. One other great place to search, which is now available to everyone to use as of January 1, 2025, is Google’s book search.
Consider this caveat. Not all books in the public domain are suitable for children, so exercise due diligence before you assign one to your students. Nevertheless, there are many, many titles that will delight readers of all ages, so enjoy digging for that free literary treasure!
Past blog posts on public domain:
by Jennifer Mauser
