Some Recent Q's And A's

November 24, 2008

Dear Joshua, I have observed that most of Ballantyne's stories are in the West and not in the East. (China, Australia, Middle East, Spain, and ect...) Do you know why that is? Thanks -Dakota

Dear Dakota,

Thank you for this insightful question. After writing his first couple of books, Ballantyne developed an important rule for himself: He would not write a book unless he had A) visited the location of the story, B) knew someone very close who had visited said location, or C) read a book which covered the location in depth. These points helped him avoid glaring mistakes in his books. I don't believe that Ballantyne ever had the opportunity to visit Asia, and thus apparently did not write any books about it. (It is interesting to note that he actually died while visiting Rome. I can only imagine what great books he would have written about that location had he lived longer.) He did include Asian characters in a couple of his stories, but it appears that he tried to "play it safe" and kept it to characters instead of a whole book. Thank you for your question. -Joshua Titus

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:27 PM | Permalink

November 24, 2008

What do you recommend as the entry level age for boys reading the Henty books? My oldest grandson is 10. Would Beric the Briton be appropriate for his age? Thank you, Mrs. T

Dear Mrs. Taylor,

I definitely think that a ten year old would enjoy Henty. (I started when I was nine.) The language is a little bit harder to comprehend at first than Ballantyne. But I definitely think that a ten year old could understand Henty. Out on the Pampas is a little bit easier to understand than Beric the Briton, so I would probably start a ten year-old off with Out on the Pampas.

AGB, Joshua Titus

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:25 PM | Permalink

November 24, 2008

Hi, Thanks for your website. I heard about you on Prime Time America. I am wondering what books of both Henty and Ballantyne you would recommend if we were only going to read a few of each. Can you put what your favorites are on your website or what ones you think are best to read in what order? Thanks, Mrs C. (Mother of five boys.)

Dear Mrs. C.,

Wow, that is a tough question. But, if I could only pick three Ballantyne books and three Henty books, I would probably pick the following:

BALLANTYNE:
The Coral Island
The Wild Man of the West
The Young Fur Traders.

HENTY:
In Freedom's Cause
Saint Bartholomew's Eve
The Cat of Bubastes (This probably ties with Out on the Pampas.)

These would probably be my top six. But every time I read or re-read a book by either author, I tend to add it to the "top favorite" list. So, this list changes over time.

Alba Gu Bra, Joshua Titus

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:21 PM | Permalink

November 24, 2008

My family and I have read a few of G.A.Henty's books together. However, I am a visual person and get more out of a book when I can read it for myself. That way I can stop and mull things over in my head. Because of this, I have been thinking about reading the Henty books on my own. Do you have any suggestions of what would be best to start out with? Which ones are some of your family favorites Blessings, Jessica

Well, it depends on whether you are looking for an exciting story, captivating history, or both. But with Henty, that isn't too hard of a mix to find.

In Freedoms Cause

One of my all time favorite Henty books is In Freedoms Cause. I really enjoyed it when I first read it because I had never read a captivating story that had so much history packed into it before. William Wallace has always been one of my heroes, and to read Henty give such a vivid account of his fight for freedom was inspiring. The first half of the book is about Wallace, his life and his ultimate ruin and execution. The second half is about Robert Bruce picking up the mantle of leadership and not backing down from Longshanks (King Edward.)

Out on the Pampas

If you are looking for one of his more character based stories, I would recommend Out on The Pampas. This is about a family, the Hardys, who decides to go out to the South American plains and start a new life. The story is fascinating, but contains less history than some of his other books. If you want to see a couple of notes about the book, you can read an article here.

As far as family favorites, these are two of my top five. A few others would include The Cat of Bubastes, Bonny Prince Charlie, In Greek Waters, and Under Drakes Flag. Let me know what you pick!

AGB, Joshua Titus

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:19 PM | Permalink

1620: Signing of The Mayflower Compact

November 21, 2008

The Mayflower

The Mayflower Compact

"In the name of GOD, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of GOD, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of GOD, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of GOD and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:36 AM | Permalink

Book Review Of The Island Queen

By John Horn — November 19, 2008

The Island Queen is about two brothers, Dominick and Otto Rigonda, and their sister Pauline. The Rigonda siblings are traveling to meet their father in Java, when their ship sinks in a storm [Read more...]

A Complete list of Ballantyne and Henty Titles

November 19, 2008

Hi, I was wondering if you have a list of Henty and Ballantyne's books in the order they wrote them. I think it would be interesting to read them in the order that they wrote them! I would love to see how their writing developed as they wrote. We don't have all of the Ballantyne's, but I have read over forty Henty's in just under a year and LOVE them! I love historical fiction and write it too (seriously)! Thanks, Caitria

Dear Caitria, That is great that you have read forty of Henty's books! Yes, it is a lot more fun to read books in the order that they were written because then you can see how an author's view of the world grows and/or changes over time. To view a complete list of Ballantyne's and Henty's books, in order of the years they were written, you can click on the above links. - AGB, Joshua Titus

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 08:56 AM | Permalink

Complete list of all Henty Titles. Sorted by Year Published.

November 18, 2008

Complete list of all Henty titles. Sorted by year.

Henty's Books
By order of the year published

A Search for a Secret (1867)
The March to Magdala (1868)
All But Lost (1869)
Out on the Pampas (1871)
The Young Franc-Tireurs (1872)
The March to Coomassie (1874)
Seaside Maidens (1880)
The Young Buglers (1880)
The Cornet of Horse (1881)
In Times of Peril (1881)
Facing Death (1882)
Winning His Spurs (1882)
Friends Though Divided (1883)
Jack Archer : A Tale of the Crimea (1883)
Under Drake's Flag (1883)
By Sheer Pluck (1884)
With Clive in India, (1884)
The Young Colonists (1885)
True to the Old Flag (1885)
In Freedom's Cause (1885)
St George for England (1885)
The Lion of the (1886)
The Dragon and the Raven (1886)
For Name and Fame (1886)
Through the Fray (1886)
Yarns on the Beach : A Bundle of Tales (1886)
The Young Carthaginian (1887)
The Bravest of the Brave (1887)
A Final Reckoning (1887)
With Wolfe in Canada (1887)
The Sovereign Reader (1887)
In the Reign of Terror (1888)
Sturdy and Strong (1888)
Orange and Green (1888)
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1888)
For the Temple (1888)
Gabriel Allen MP (1888)
Captain Bayley's Heir (1889)
The Cat of Bubastes (1889)
The Lion of St Mark (1889)
The Curse of Carne's Hold (1889)
The Plague Ship (1889)
By Pike and Dyke (1890)
One of the 28th (1890
Tales of Daring and Danger (1890)
With Lee in Virginia (1890)
Stories of Sea and Land (1890)
Those Other Animals (1891)
By England's Aid (1891)
By Right of Conquest or with Cortez in Mexico (1890)
Maori and Settler (1891)
A Chapter of Adventures (1891)
A Hidden Foe (1891)
Redskin and Cowboy (1891)
The Dash for Khartoum (1891)
Held Fast for England (1892)
The Ranch in the Valley (1892)
Beric the Briton (1892)
Condemned as a Nihilist (1892)
In Greek Waters (1893)
Tales from Henty (1893 )
Rujub the Juggler (1893)
Through the Sikh War (1893)
A Jacobite Exile (1893)
A Tale of Waterloo (1894)
St Bartholomew's Eve (1894)
Dorothy's Double (1894)
In the Heart of the Rockies (1894)
When London Burned (1894)
Wulf the Saxon (1894)
A Woman of the Commune (1895)
Through Russian Snows (1895)
A Knight of the White Cross (1896)
Bears and Dacoits (1896)
Surly Joe (1896)
White-Faced Dick (1896)
The Tiger of Mysore (1896)
On the Irrawaddy (1896)
At Agincourt (1896)
With Cochrane the Dauntless (1896)
The Queen's Cup (1897)
Among Malay Pirates (1897)
A March on London (1897)
With Moore at Carunna (1898)
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret (1898)
With Frederick the Great (1898)
Under Wellington's Command (1899)
At Aboukir and Acre (1898)
Both Sides the Border (1898)
The Lost Heir (1899)
The Golden Canon (1899)
On the Spanish Main (1899)
A Roving Commission (1900)
Won by the Sword (1900)
No Surrender! (1900)
Do Your Duty (1900)
Out with Garibaldi (1900)
In the Irish Brigade (1900)
With Buller in Natal (1900)
The Sole Survivors (1901)
Courage and Conflict (1901)
John Hawke's Fortune (1901)
Queen Victoria (1901)
At the Point of the Bayonet (1901)
To Herat and Cabul (1901)
With Roberts to Pretoria (1902)
In the Hands of the Cave Dwellers (1902)
At Duty's Call (1902)
The Treasure of the Incas (1902)
With Kitchener in the Soudan (1902)
With the British Legion (1903)
Through Three Campaigns (1904)
With the Allies to Pekin (1904)
By Conduct and Courage (1905)
Gallant Deeds (1905)
In the Hands of the Malays (1905)
Among the Bushrangers (1906)
The Young Captain (1906)
The Two Prisoners (1906)
Cast Ashore (1906)
Charlie Marryat (1906)
Cornet Walter (1906)
A Highland Chief (1906)
An Indian Raid (1906)
A Soldier's Daughter (1906)

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:19 PM | Permalink

November 18, 2008

Complete List of Ballantyne Titles.

Sorted by the year published

1848:

Hudson's Bay

1853:

Northern Coasts of America

1855:

Life and Adventures of Simon Gupple

1856:

Snowflakes and Sunbeams, or the Young Fur traders
Three Little Kittens

1857:

Butterfly's Ball and Grasshopper's Feast
Life of a Ship from Launch to Wreck
Mister Fox
My Mother

1858:

Coral Island
Handbook to the New Goldfields . . . of the Fraser
and Thompson River Gold Mines
Martin Rattler
Robber Kitten
Ungava

1859:

Environs and Vicinity of Edinburgh
How Not to Do It. A Manual for the Awkward Squad
Lakes of Killarney
Mee-a-ow, or Good Advice to Cats and Kittens
Ships; Great Eastern and Lesser Craft

1860:

Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas
Volunteer Levee
World of Ice

1861:

Dog Crusoe
Ensign Sopht's Illustrated Volunteer Almanack

Golden Dream
Gorilla Hunters
Red Eric

1863:

Man on the Ocean
Wild Man of the West
Fighting the Wales
Away in the Wilderness
Fast in the Ice

1864:

Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader
Lifeboat
Chasing the Sun

1865:

Freaks on the Fells
Lighthouse

1866:

Shifting Winds

1867:

Fighting the Flames
Silver Lake

1868:

Deep Down
Photographs of Edinburgh (by A. Burns)

1869:

Erling the Bold
Sunk at Sea
Lost in the Forest
Over the rocky Mountains
Saved by the Lifeboat
Cannibal Islands
Hunting the Lions
Digging for Gold
Up in the Clouds
Battle and the Breeze

1870:

Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands

1871:

The Iron Horse

1872:

Norsemen in the West
Pioneers

1873:

Black Ivory
Life in the Red Brigade
Tales of Adventure on the Sea

1874:

Ocean and its Wonders
Pirate City
Tales of Adventure by Flood, Field and Mountain
Tales of Adventure or Wild Work in Strange Places

1875:

Rivers of Ice
Tales of Adventure on the Coast
Pioneers
Story of the Rock
Wrecked but not Ruined

1876:

Under the Waves

1877:

Settler and the Savage

1878:

In The Track of the Troops
Jarwin and Cuffy

1879:

Six Months at the Cape

1880:

Lonely Island
Philosopher Jack
Post Haste
Red Man's Revenge

1881:

Collected Works of Ensign Sopht
My Doggie and I

1882:

Giant of the North
Kitten Pilgrims

1883:

Battery and the Boiler

Battles with the Sea
Madman and the Pirate
Thorogood Family

1884:

Dusty Diamonds
Young Trawler

1885:

Island Queen
Rover of the Andes
Twice Bought

1886:

Prairie Chief
Red Rooney
Lively Poll

1887:

Big Otter
Fugitives

1888:

Blue Lights
Middy and the Moors

1889:

Blown to Bits
Crew of the Water Wagtail
Eagle Cliff

1890:

Charlie to the Rescue
Garrett and the Garden

1891:

Buffalo Runners
Coxswain's Bride

1892:

Hot Swamp
Hunted and Harried

1893:

Personal Reminiscences in Book-Making
Walrus Hunters

1896:

Reuben's Luck

Other works with contributions by Ballantyne

1855:

Naughty Boys, or the Sufferins of Mr. Delteil. (By Champfleury)
(R.M.B. supplied all the illustrations for this book, and also edited the text after his sister had translated it from the French)

1888:

The Music of the Waters-- by Laura A. Smith
(Introductory note by R. M. B.)

Note: A few of the above stories were re-issued after the author's death with the title and format entirely different, but with identical text. These re-issues with substitute titles have not been included in the above list.

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:14 PM | Permalink

G A Henty

November 16, 2008

I thought it fitting to remind the young gentlemen and ladies reading this blog that one hundred and six years ago today G.A. Henty died. I thought that rather than writing up a post today I would just post Mr. Henty's obituary from 1902.

The Late G.A. Henty.

Special Cable to The New York Times.

LONDON, Nov. 22.-The death of G. A. Henty, the author, will be regretted by boys and girls throughout the British Empire.

Mr. Henty, of whom I can speak as a personal friend, was a splendid type of the bluff, burly Englishmen, full of the milk of human kindness, brave, and the cause of bravery in others. His death occurred at a moment when his works were on the eve of giving new pleasure to thousands of young people. A Christmas without Mr. Henty's installment of books for boys and girls- for girls read their brothers' books, especially when written by Henty- would hardly seem like Christmas. He was spared to see this years contribution safely launched.

Mr. Henty's body was accompanied to its last resting place to-day by the universal regrets of those to whom he was a very real hero.

Published: November 23, 1902. To see a scan of the original document click here

G.A. Henty was:
Born December 8, 1832
Died November 16, 1902 (aged 69)

To read more about G.A. Henty check out the three articles listed below.

G.A. Henty
A Few Thoughts on G.A. Henty
Ballantyne and Henty: The Gentlemen Adventurers of the World of Boys' Literature

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 06:08 AM | Permalink

Two Quotes on Civil Disobedience and the Bible

November 13, 2008

Knox

True it is that God hath commanded kings to be obeyed, but like true it is, that in things which they commit against His glory or when cruelly without cause they rage against their brethren, the members of Christ's body, He hath commanded no obedience. Rather, He hath approved, yea, and greatly rewarded such as have opposed themselves to their ungodly commandments and blind rage. --John Knox

Rushdoony

Law is inseparable from sovereignty; every word from a sovereign power is a binding word. Logically, there can only be one sovereign, and He is the Lord God of Scripture. ...To deny His laws in favor of another set of laws is to deny His doctrine in favor of a rival system. It is also a denial of His sovereignty in favor of another. --R. J. Rushdoony, Sovereignty

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 01:01 AM | Permalink

Henty on a Good Mixture of Instruction and Adventure

November 12, 2008

Joshua Horn, who won second place in the 2008 Ballantyne Essay contest, had a very interesting insight that he found in one of Henty's books about writing interesting, but instructive, stories.

Here is a quote that I found from the Preface of "The Young Buglers" by G. A. Henty.

"To my Young Readers, I remember that, as a boy, I regarded any attempt to mix instruction with amusement as being as objectionable a practice as the administration of powder in jam; but I think that this feeling arose from the fact that in those days books contained a very small share of amusement and a very large share of instruction. I have endeavored to avoid this, and I hope that the accounts of battles and sieges, illustrated as they are by maps, will be found as interesting as the lighter parts of the story." -G.A. Henty

I think that this is very true. It makes history books a lot more interesting to have a fictional character who has exciting adventures in it.

Joshua also had a follow-up question.

I also have a question. I know that Henty normally placed his characters in different wars in history while Ballantyne put his characters in interesting geographical places. But Ballantyne also wrote some historical novels, such as Hunted and Harried. Did he write a lot of those? - Joshua Horn

Thank you, Joshua, for your comment and question. Ballantyne did write a number of "historical novels." Not nearly as many as Henty, but he did write a number. Here are six of the most well known "historical fiction" books by Ballantyne.

• Ungava : A Tale of Esquimaux Land

• The Norseman in the West, or America Before Columbus

• The Pioneers: A Tale of the Western Wilderness

• In the Track of the Troops: A Tale of Modern War

• The Lonely Island, or The Refuge of the Mutineers

• Hunted and Harried : A Tale of the Scottish Covenanters

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 04:26 PM | Permalink

Winner of the Weekly Book Give Away

November 11, 2008

For this week's winner I picked the below email.

Hello, I am fifteen, and I've been reading Henty books to my brothers over breakfast for years now, with some other historical fiction thrown in there too (No Ballantyne yet, though). Now the boys are now getting a little bit restless with the similarities of the main characters in the books. We almost always know exactly what the character is going to be like. (Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Henty! And I am by no means complaining about this.) I was wondering, first of all, what are some differences between Henty and Ballantyne, and secondly, how do Ballantyne's books differ from each other in terms of characters and plot? God bless, Hannah

Dear Hannah, I completely understand what you mean about Henty. The boys of England so loved Henty's books that it didn't matter to them if the book followed a rather commonly used story line and character formula. Honestly, you can't really blame Henty for this problem; he wrote 120 books. I understand how anyone would start repeating himself writing that many! (Comment: This was a problem that many 19th century authors suffered from.)

Post Haste

Note: Hannah will be getting a copy of Post Haste for her question.

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 11:03 PM | Permalink

Recent Comments

November 11, 2008

Well, I thought I would put up some recent comments and questions that I have received over the last couple of weeks. These are some of my favorites, and I hope to put up more soon.

What advice would you give to a young man desiring to read quality literature such as that by Ballantyne and Henty, but struggles with the complex language and vocabulary?

To answer in short, it is my personal opinion that if a person can read the Bible, they can read R.M. Ballantyne and G.A. Henty. In fact, after a few books, most people become very comfortable with the literary style and vocabulary of both authors. At first, it may be a bit of a stretching experience, but this is a wonderful way to build your vocabulary. I recommend having a dictionary nearby to look up words with which you are unfamiliar. Alba Gu Bra, Joshua Titus

Do you have the complete set of the Ballantyne books? Is it possible that there are other books written about other travels and adventures? What a clever way to tell about history through adventure and discovery. I must get a book and begin my adventure! Talley ho! J.

Dear J, Well, it depends on what your definition of "complete set" is. R.M. Ballantyne wrote about ninety books. No, I do not have all of them. But I am in the process of trying to collect them all. So far I have not succeeded.

You are right. Adventure novels are a great way to get people interested in both history and geography. Thank you for your question. Alba Gu Bra, Joshua

Hello my name is Florence and I was wondering if you knew of an R. M. Ballantyne autobiography. My Dad wanted it for Christmas but I can't find any on the internet. Best Wishes, Florence

Ballantyne The Brave

Posted by Joshua Phillips at 07:39 PM | Permalink