...wrote around 250 books and several short stories. He lived in the 1800's and narrated them all to his nimble fingered secretary! His books are being published, a few at a time, by Preston Speed.
These stories are all historical fiction. Mr. Henty strove to be as accurate as possible, and sometimes parts of his stories read more like a history book than a novel - but he always takes you back to the story at hand.
All have a basic theme, with variations, upon which the history is woven. The hero of the story is a youth of impeccable character, and amazing intelligence, who possesses mad battle skills. He knows important people and often becomes fast friends with them. He wins the respect of friend and foe alike. And somewhere in the story, there is a girl. She is his equal in brain and beauty (for our hero is handsome beyond belief) and she captures his heart.
Of course, true love must wait for history to play out, and dangers to pass. In the end, they marry and live happily ever after, usually on the vast sums he has either won, or been awarded for his bravery and considerable contribution to the cause.
In spite of this predictable plot, they are delightful tales, well worth reading. I have learned much history through them, and always enjoy the details Henty attends to.
The first book that we read by Henty was The Cat of Bubastes. It is the only one I read aloud to my kids, (they were still just kids then) and Fibonacci and Kate wouldn't let me stop reading until the chapter ended (usually 17 pages long), which was very hard on my vocal cords. The story is set in Egypt, at the time that Moses fled to Midian. We loved it. One of the most interesting things was a detailed explanation of embalming.
I have read several of his books, Orange and Green, By Pike and Dyke, For The Temple, The Dragon & The Raven, The Young Carthaginian (one of my favorites), and Beric The Briton. I am currently reading Wallace and Bruce, though it appears that Preston Speed has not published it. Mine is a paper back published by Christian Liberty Press.
If the Lord tarries, I will continue to collect and read as many as I can.
These stories are all historical fiction. Mr. Henty strove to be as accurate as possible, and sometimes parts of his stories read more like a history book than a novel - but he always takes you back to the story at hand.
All have a basic theme, with variations, upon which the history is woven. The hero of the story is a youth of impeccable character, and amazing intelligence, who possesses mad battle skills. He knows important people and often becomes fast friends with them. He wins the respect of friend and foe alike. And somewhere in the story, there is a girl. She is his equal in brain and beauty (for our hero is handsome beyond belief) and she captures his heart.
Of course, true love must wait for history to play out, and dangers to pass. In the end, they marry and live happily ever after, usually on the vast sums he has either won, or been awarded for his bravery and considerable contribution to the cause.
In spite of this predictable plot, they are delightful tales, well worth reading. I have learned much history through them, and always enjoy the details Henty attends to.
The first book that we read by Henty was The Cat of Bubastes. It is the only one I read aloud to my kids, (they were still just kids then) and Fibonacci and Kate wouldn't let me stop reading until the chapter ended (usually 17 pages long), which was very hard on my vocal cords. The story is set in Egypt, at the time that Moses fled to Midian. We loved it. One of the most interesting things was a detailed explanation of embalming.
I have read several of his books, Orange and Green, By Pike and Dyke, For The Temple, The Dragon & The Raven, The Young Carthaginian (one of my favorites), and Beric The Briton. I am currently reading Wallace and Bruce, though it appears that Preston Speed has not published it. Mine is a paper back published by Christian Liberty Press.
If the Lord tarries, I will continue to collect and read as many as I can.
2 comments:
As far as the predictable plot goes, At Agincourt has been the only one to really break the cycle, though certainly not by much.
I agree.
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