This extremely prolific author from the late 1800s is still hugely popular for his exciting novels set throughout dozens of historical time periods. However, he has also faced harsh criticism (both historic and contemporary criticism) for racism and his positive view of British imperialism. You can read more here but always preread and be prepared to edit on the fly especially if you choose to read some of the more contentious titles.
To date, we have read just two of his novels and we found them to be historically interesting and exciting. But what would Charlotte Mason, who had so much to say about the best books for children say about Henty's exciting, mass-produced stories? To find out, I popped over to the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection. My search wasn't exhaustive and I know there are many more Henty references--I just looked at the first few results and here is what I found:
- An article in The Parents Review, [1890] Vol. 01, No. 05., Should Children Have a Special Literature? by Edward Salmon, where he writes favorably of Henty and lumps him together with Sir Walter Scott (a known Mason favorite), Jules Verne and others, saying that they are enjoyable to read for adults and children.
- A letter from 1918 to Mason speaks about how she (Mason) agrees that children should read fiction for pleasure and alludes to the fact that teachers need to understand what type of works they should have access to. The author describes how teachers have no problem giving the children Dickens, but don't feel the same about Henty . . . but they should!
- Finally, With Clive in India: Or, The Beginnings of an Empire actually appears on some programs from the 1920s (after Mason's death) for Form II reading.
So, Henty was definitely not considered unworthy for Mason's students to read. And there is much to recommend them to students of today as well. For that reason, I've collected together all of the best versions of free Henty books I can find and placed them in the chronological list below.
Want to know the exact year when these stories take place? This site has an easy-to-read list organized with the exact year of each story. My preference is for page-image versions because they preserve the formatting and illustrations of the originals. When multiple versions exist for free ebooks, my preference is Googe Books, but below I have linked to other versions if they were not available on Google. Please enjoy it and share it with your friends!
Huge List of G.A. Henty Books to Download for Free from Google Books
Huge List of G.A. Henty Books to Download for Free from Google Books
The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt
The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal
Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion
For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem
The Dragon and the Raven: Or, the Days of King Alfred
Wulf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest
Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce
St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poiters
The Lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century
A March on London: Being a Story of Wat Tyler's Insurrection
Both Sides of the Border: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower
At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris
A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes
By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic
Saint Bartholomew’s Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot War
Under Drake’s Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main
By England’s Aid: Or, the Freeing of the Netherlands
By Right of Conquest: Or, With Cortez in Mexico
The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Religion
Won by the Sword: A Tale of the Thirty Years' War
Friends Though Divided: A Tale of the English Civil War
When London Burned: A Story of the Plague and the Fire
John Hawke's Fortune: A Story of Monmouth's Rebellion - not available
Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick
A Jacobite Exile: Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman in the Service of Charles XII of
Sweden
The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars
The Bravest of the Brave: Or, With Peterborough in Spain
In the Irish Brigade: A Tale of the War in Flanders and Spain
Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden
With Wolfe in Canada: or, the Winning of a Continent
With Frederick the Great: A Tale of the Seven Year's War
True to the Old Flag: A Story of the American War of Independence
Held Fast for England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83)
With Clive in India: Or, The Beginnings of an Empire
In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminister Boy in the French Revolution
No Surrender! A Story of the Revolt in La Vendee
A Roving Commission: Or, Through the Black Insurrection of Hayti
The Tiger of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo Sahib
By Conduct and Courage: A Story of Nelson's Days
At Aboukir and Acre: A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt
At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War
With Moore at Corunna: A Story of the Penisular War
The Young Buglers: A Story of the Penisular War
Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots
Under Wellington's Command: A Story of the Penisular War
Through Russian Snows: A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo
With Cochrane the Dauntless: The Exploits of Lord Cochrane in South American Waters
On the Irrawaddy: A Story of the First Burmese War
In Greek Waters: A Story of the Grecian War of Independence
With the British Legion: A Story of the Carlist Uprising of 1836
To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War
The Plague Ship: A Story of a Ship and a Tragedy - not available
A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret: The Brahmin's Treasure
Through the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub
A Search of a Secret: An Heiress Searches for a Hidden Will
Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimean War
In Times of Peril: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny
Rujub the Juggler: A Tale of India During the Mutiny
All But Lost: A Novel of Cambridge and British Life, Vol I
All But Lost: A Novel of Cambridge and British Life, Vol II
All But Lost: A Novel of Cambridge and British Life, Vol III
Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California
Facing Death: Or, the Hero of the Vaughan Pit, A Tale of the Coal Mines
Sturdy and Strong: Or, How George Andrews made his Way
Gabriel Allen M.P. Or, Frank Allen's Search for His Identity - not available
In the Heart of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in Colorado
With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War
Out With Garibaldi: A Story of the Liberation of Italy
The March to Magdala: A Chronicle of the Abyssnian Campaign
Out on the Pampas: The Young Settlers
Redskin and Cowboy: A Tale of the Western Plains
A Hidden Foe: A Romantic Adventure of Inheritance
Dorothy's Double: The Story of a Great Deception
The Queen's Cup: A Novel
The Lost Heir: A Tale of Intrigue in India and England
The Curse of Carne's Hold: A Tale of Mystery in England and a Kaffir War (only available on Internet Archive)
In the Hands of the Cave Dwellers: A Tale of the American West
Maori and Settler: A Story of the New Zealand War
A Woman of the Commune: The Two Sieges of Paris
The Young Franc-Tireurs: A Tale of the Franco-Prussian War
By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War
The March to Coomassie: A Chronicle of the Ashanti Campaign
For Name and Fame: Or, Through Afghan Passes
The Young Colonists: A Tale of the Zulu and First Boer Wars
A Chapter of Adventures: Or, Through the Bombardment of Alexandria
The Dash for Khartoum: A Tale of the Nile Expedition
The Treasure of the Incas: A Tale of Adventure in Peru
Condemned As A Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia
Those Other Animals: A Humorous Tour of the Animal Kingdom (only available on Internet Archive)
With Kitchener in the Soudan: A Story of Atbara and Omdurman
With Buller in Natal: Or, A Born Leader, A Tale of the Second South African War
With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of the Second South African War
With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations
Queen Victoria: Scenes from her Life and Reign
Has your family read and enjoyed Henty? Which ones have you read?
You may also enjoy:
We really loved the Cat of Bubastes a few years ago. I had planned to read them In The Reign of Terror, but it didn't happen. Hopefully the next time we study that time period we'll read it. I'm thinking maybe we should try Lee in Virginia this year. :)
ReplyDelete