Rattling Good Yarns for Dreaming Boys

G. A. Henty (1832-1902), the great author imperialist whose life closely paralleled the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), and whose works addressed many of her accomplishments and certainly the spirit of her rule, pioneered adventure and historical fiction and inspired boys of reading age. He combined the two into a remarkable series of action novels and short stories that accurately portrayed the background of the British Empire in its glory years while weaving in a young hero whose interaction with large world events entertained the reader while educating. He followed on the heels of Walter Scott, and developed his special genre to a point where scores of others looked to him for a blueprint.

Henty did even more than developing a great literary contribution. He brought the Empire to its citizens all over the globe. Through reading his novels, friends of England learned of the breath of the Empire and the moral values of loyalty, courage, dedication, and honesty. The exhilaration produced by the tales still inspire new generations of readers both young and old, not to mention collectors and educators, and earned Henty accolades like "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian."

During the 1880’s Henty books started to appear with regularity and create much anticipation among the large readership of older boys. With his books, Henty stirred many a youth’s interest in history. As an amateur historian and a writer of prose, he won over 25 million readers and became perhaps the first blockbuster author. Some similarities abound in the novels. Most feature a male hero in his middle to late teens. There are varieties of family misfortune, timely acts to save a life, rescues of young girls, captures, escapes, rewards, legacies, battles, and liaisons with historic figures. Happy endings abound, and the hero often ends up the husband of a fair damsel. In sea stories, the boys often start as midshipmen, and in land campaigns they might take on the duties of drummer boys. Medieval boys serve as pages, but in practically all cases the hero is of British descent.

Henty’s stories were influential on the generation that fought World War I — F. Scott Fitzgerald describes his protagonist in “This Side of Paradise” as having “all the Henty biases in history” — and continued to reach and inspire later readers, including historians A.J.P. Taylor and Barbara Tuchman and novelist Mordecai Richler.

In sum total G. A. Henty inspired six or seven generations to a study of history. He entertained millions and fathered a literary genre that features adventure and history combined into a historic novel. He wrote many more books than even the most prolific of authors and lived a life of adventure and danger that gave him license to speak of war and action. At least another six or seven generations will eagerly read Henty books.

- Adapted from G. A. Henty, An Introduction

Hat tip to Greg Benton