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The Books of G.A. Henty - Do you read them?

Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:51 pm
by Histo-Sci
Hello,

Spurred on by the comments of many people about Henty and my own experience with his wondrufl turn-of-the-century books (indeed, I would likely still be in the dark ages were I not a reader of his works), I was wondering how many of you read his books, and which medieval one is your favorite? (For those unacquainted with him, this is a good place to start.) If you post, please vote in the poll, and if you don't post, please don't vote.

My favorites are (in order):

In Freedom's Cause (medieval, William Wallace)
The Dragon and the Raven (medieval, Vikings)
With the Allies to Pekin (Boxer rebellion)
With Lee in Virginia (American Civil War)
Both Sides the Border (medieval, Welsh uprising)
Wulf the Saxon (Hastings)
The Young Carthaginian (Hannibal vs. Rome)


All Henty's books take place in history during some war or another relevant period, and all center around a young boy who grows up during the war into a man (don't cringe, newbies; they are by no means childish, if it sounds that way). I love them, the values they promote and preserve, like defending the helpless, fighting in defense of women and children, and being willing to die for one's cause. So, what do you have to say?

In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Histo-Sci

My Brickshelf Gallery
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/galle ... =Histo-Sci

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:19 am
by Hothir Ethelnor
Nice topic,
I've already seen some others that read his books here, my favorite medieval one is... I don't know every time I try to pick one I think of one part out of another one that I like, :D :lol: anyhow I'll choose In Freedoms Cause, I've read it over fifty times (in part) and I still come back to it for inspiration or when I get bored (which isn't very often) I would love to go to Scotland someday... anyhow I'll stop before this post gets too long. :D

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:39 am
by Anubisconq
THANK YOU, HISTO-SCI!!!!

My favorite is definitely "In Freedom's Cause". The only problem is that Wallace drops out far too fast. I also enjoy "Beric the Briton," but not quite as much. "The Young Carthiginian" is another good one. I've read some of "The Cat of the Bubbastes (?)," and it is pretty good.

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:28 am
by HenrytheV
Hmmmm....

So hard to decide which ones I like the most. I really like At Agincourt (for obvious reasons) and Winning His Spurs

Here are all the ones I've read:
The Cat of Bubastes
Wulf the Saxon
Winning His Spurs
In Freedom's Cause
Both Sides of the Border
At Agincourt
Under Drake's Flag
By Right of Conquest
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Treasure of the Incas
With Lee In Virginia


I'd like to read more of them, but sadly my "local" library doesn't have any :cry:

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:13 am
by Histo-Sci
Oh, yeah, Beric and Bubastes were good, and I liked Charlie too. Thanks for all the replies! So, who else reads (or doesn't read) Henty?

In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Histo-Sci

My Brickshelf Gallery
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/galle ... =Histo-Sci

Edit: And by the way, if you vote can you please post? Thanks!

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:03 pm
by Azaghal
The only ones I've read are In Freedom's Cause, Beric the Briton, and The Cat of Bubastes. I think Beric is my favorite of those, but there are others I'd like to read. What's Wulf the Saxon about?

Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:14 pm
by Histo-Sci
Wulf the Saxon is about the Norman invasion of England in 1066 (Hastings). It centers around the main character, again a young hero, named Wulf (obviously), and the book tells of his adventures fighting the Welsh during the uprising, getting blown ashore in Normandy on a ill-fated hunting expedition and then held captive although called "friends" by the enterprising weasel,William, Duke of Normandy, battling Harold Hardraada's Vikings (who came to trouble King Harold because of Harold's traitorous brother stirred them up) before Hastings at Stamford Bridge, and finally the story culminates at Hastings. It's really great, but does not make my top five for the reason that it is so, so sad, obviously, because of the subject. It's a good read though, and even includes some treachery. Hope you choose to read it Azaghal, and if you do, hope you like it!

In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Histo-Sci

My Brickshelf Gallery
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/galle ... =Histo-Sci

Edit: Hey HenrytheV, perhaps you should buy your books instead of checking them out from the library? If you would like to, I can tell you where to get them.

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:33 am
by Hothir Ethelnor
HenrytheV wrote:Hmmmm....

So hard to decide which ones I like the most. I really like At Agincourt (for obvious reasons) and Winning His Spurs

Here are all the ones I've read:
The Cat of Bubastes
Wulf the Saxon
Winning His Spurs
In Freedom's Cause
Both Sides of the Border
At Agincourt
Under Drake's Flag
By Right of Conquest
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Treasure of the Incas
With Lee In Virginia


I'd like to read more of them, but sadly my "local" library doesn't have any :cry:
Hey HenrytheV have you ever looked into buying the other titles instead of just using your Library? because I know of at least two places that sell them one doesn't sell all of the yet but the other one has all 140 titles or so here are links to the places I referred to,
http://www.henty.com/
http://www.visionforum.com/booksandmedi ... egoryid=69
:D

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:45 am
by Sir Dillon
The only books I've read of his were:
Winning His Spurs
Knight of the White Cross
I thought they were good, but not great.

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:10 pm
by The Green Knight
Good topic. Lets see, I’ve read:

The Cat of Bubastes
For the Temple
The young Carthaginian
Wulf the Saxon
In the Reign of Terror

The young Carthaginian is my favorite I think. I’ll side with anyone who had the guts to take on Rome. Um, just curious here, but am I the only one who thinks Henty’s books can be a little repetitive? I haven’t read an enormous amount, but in the books I have read the plot always seems the same.

Guy gets involved in some kind of war, or conflict—
Guy fights, but eventually loses the war along with some member of his family—
Guy gets the girl—

That’s the way it's been in every book I’ve read with the exception of The Cat of Bubastes, where he gets the girl and his country back too.

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:22 pm
by Hothir Ethelnor
I'd say that some of his books are repetative but I don't think you've read enough of his books to really tell, I guess he usually does get the girl, but thats how all good stories go, your second point really isn't a very good one because there are lots of stories where the main character's side wins. I've read 76 of his books and while there are repetitious plots, for the most part he has been pretty good at giving each book a different feel to it, if you want something different of his to read try Into The Rockies, or one of his other tales set in the American west. :D

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:19 pm
by HenrytheV
Hothir Ethelnor wrote:Hey HenrytheV have you ever looked into buying the other titles instead of just using your Library? because I know of at least two places that sell them one doesn't sell all of the yet but the other one has all 140 titles or so here are links to the places I referred to,
http://www.henty.com/
http://www.visionforum.com/booksandmedi ... egoryid=69
:D
Yes, I just got 2 more Henty's from Vision Forum.

And Green Knight, his books are a bit repetitive, but still fun to read.

Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:58 am
by wunztwice
Hmm. I had never heard of this author before, but might take a look at some of his stuff, that is if my college courses aren't too heavy this next term. Thanks for bringing him to my attention!

Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 12:50 pm
by Hothir Ethelnor
For all of you Henty fans I thought I might bring this post to your attention.
viewtopic.php?t=7322
enjoy! :D