"Young reader have no better friends than Blackie & Son."--_WestminsterGazette_.
Blackie & Son's Story Books for Boys
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G. MANVILLE FENN
Quicksilver! or, The Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. With 6 pageIllustrations by F. DADD. 3_s._ 6_d._
Dr. Grayson has a theory that any boy, if rightly trained, can be madeinto a gentleman. He chooses a boy from the workhouse, with a badreputation but with excellent instincts, and adopts him, the storynarrating the adventures of the mercurial lad. The restless boyish nature,with its inevitable tendency to get into scrapes, is sympathetically andhumorously drawn.
"Quicksilver is little short of an inspiration. In it that prince of story-writers for boys--George Manville Fenn--has surpassed himself. It is an ideal book for a boy's library."--_Practical Teacher_.
"Not only a most engrossing story, but full of noble impulses and lessons."--_Newcastle Journal_.
--In the King's Name. Illustrated. 3_s._ 6_d._ _New Edition._
A spirited story of the Jacobite times, concerning the adventures ofHilary Leigh, a young naval officer on board the _Kestrel_, in thepreventive service off the coast of Sussex. Leigh is taken prisoner by theadherents of the Pretender, amongst whom is an early friend and patron,who desires to spare his life, but will not release him. The narrative isfull of exciting and often humorous incident.
"Mr. Fenn has won a foremost place among writers for boys. This is, we think, the best of all his productions in this field."--_Daily News_.
--The Golden Magnet: A Tale of the Land of the Incas. With 12 pageIllustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 3_s._
The tale is of a romantic youth, who leaves home to seek his fortune inSouth America. He is accompanied by a faithful companion, who, in thecapacity both of comrade and henchman, does true service, and shows thedogged courage of an English lad during their strange adventures.
"There could be no more welcome present for a boy. There is not a dull page, and many will be read with breathless interest."--_Journal of Education_.
Capt. F. S. BRERETON, R.A.M.C.
Foes of the Red Cockade: A Story of the French Revolution. Illustrated byWILLIAM RAINEY, R.I. 6_s._
Two English lads, wrecked at St. Malo, are persecuted as Aristocrats. Theysee the Reign of Terror in all its horror, but fortunately escape to thechateau of an uncle in La Vendee. A quarrel with a cousin ensues, andfighting occurs at the same time with the Republicans. As a scout theelder does gallant service till captured and taken to Paris, where heconfronts Robespierre and falls into his cousin's hands. Again, however,he escapes, and after many exciting experiences finally reaches safety andfriends.
"Cannot fail to give great enjoyment to many boys and girls, and not a little profit."--_Literary World_.
--In the Grip of the Mullah: A Tale of Adventure in Somaliland. Illustratedby CHARLES M. SHELDON. With a Map. 5_s._
The hero organizes a search-party and advances into Somaliland to rescuehis father, who has fallen into the hands of the Mullah. The little forceis opposed from the outset, but undaunted they push forward, and in spiteof many difficulties and dangers succeed in accomplishing their object.The interest increases as the story advances, and becomes intense when thehero penetrates alone into the heart of the Mullah's camp.
"A fresher, more exciting, and more spirited tale could not be wished for."--_British Weekly_.
--One of the Fighting Scouts: A Tale of Guerilla Warfare in South Africa.Illustrated by STANLEY L. WOOD. With a Map. 5_s._
This story deals with the guerrilla aspect of the Boer War, and shows howGeorge Ransome is compelled to leave his father's farm and take servicewith the British. He is given the command of a band of scouts as a rewardfor gallantry, and with these he punishes certain rebels for a piece ofrascality, and successfully attacks Botha's commando. Thanks to hisknowledge of the veldt he is of signal service to his country, and evenoutwits the redoubtable De Wet.
"Altogether an unusually good story."--_Yorkshire Post_.
--Under the Spangled Banner: A Tale of the Spanish-American War. With 8Illustrations by PAUL HARDY. 5_s._
Hal Marchant is in Cuba before the commencement of hostilities. A Spaniardwho has been frustrated in an attempt to rob Hal's employer attacks thehacienda and is defeated, but turns the tables by denouncing Hal as a spy.The hero makes good his escape from Santiago, and afterwards fights forAmerica both on land and at sea. The story gives a vivid and at the sametime accurate account of this memorable struggle.
"Just the kind of book that a boy would delight in."--_Schoolmaster_.
HERBERT STRANG
Tom Burnaby: A Story of Uganda and the Great Congo Forest. Illustrated byCHARLES M. SHELDON. With 3 Plans. 5_s._
Field-Marshal Lord Wolseley writes:--"It is just the sort of book I would give to any school-boy, for I know he would enjoy every page of it."
The Rev. Dr. Wood, Head-master of Harrow, writes:--"I have read it through with interest. It is an excellent book for boys, full of vigour and romance."
"The fierce struggles between the Bahima and the Arabs, with their Manyema allies, are told with a vigour and enthusiasm that will stir the heart of any boy.... When we add that Mr. Strang gives us a really graphic and thrilling impression of travel in the forests of Africa, and an almost living acquaintance with Arab and Negro, it is scarcely necessary to recommend it to boys as a delightful story of African adventure."--_Spectator_.
Dr. GORDON STABLES, R.N.
In the Great White Land: A Tale of the Antarctic Ocean. With 6Illustrations by J. A. WALTON. 3_s._ 6_d._
This is a most fascinating story from beginning to end. It is a truepicture of what daring healthful British men and boys can do, written byan author whose name is a household word wherever the English language isspoken. All is described with a master's hand, and the plot is just suchas boys love.
"The narrative goes with a swing and a dash from start to finish."--_Public Opinion_.
ERNEST GLANVILLE
In search of the Okapi: A Story of Adventure in Central Africa.Illustrated by WILLIAM RAINEY, R.I. 6_s._
Two school chums join an expedition into the unexplored reaches of thevast central forest which the Okapi inhabits. The search for the strangeanimal, however, serves merely as an excuse for the journey, and once thelittle party is afloat on the Congo they go whither fortune leads them,and many and exciting are their adventures in the unknown wilds.
"A story to make a boy's heart throb with eager interest."--_Birmingham Gazette_.
The Diamond Seekers: A Story of Adventure in South Africa. With 8Illustrations by WILLIAM RAINEY, R.I. 6_s._
The discovery of the plan of the diamond mine, the dangers incurred inreaching the wild, remote spot in an armoured wagon, and the manyincidents of farm and veldt life, are vividly described by an author whoknows the country well.
"We have seldom seen a better story for boys."--_Guardian_.
FREDERICK HARRISON
The Boys of Wynport College. With 6 Illustrations by HAROLD COPPING. 3_s.__New Edition._
The hero and his chums differ as widely in character as in personalappearance. We have Patrick O'Flahertie, the good-natured Irish boy; JackBrookes, the irrepressible humorist; Davie Jackson, the true-heartedlittle lad, on whose haps and mishaps the plot to a great extent turns;and the hero himself, who finds in his experiences at Wynport College awholesome corrective of a somewhat lax home training.
"A book which no well-regulated school-boy should be without."--_Whitehall Review_.
LEON GOLSCHMANN
Boy Crusoes: A Story of the Siberian Forest. Adapted from the Russian byLEON GOLSCHMANN. With 6 page Illustrations by J. FINNEMORE, R.I. 3_s._6_d._
Two Russian lads are so deeply impressed by reading _Robinson Crusoe_ thatthey run away from home. They lose their way in a huge trackless forest,and for two years are
kept busy hunting for food, fighting against wolvesand other enemies, and labouring to increase their comforts, before theyare rescued.
"This is a story after a boy's own heart."--_Nottingham Guardian_.
MEREDITH FLETCHER
Every Inch a Briton: A School Story. With 6 page Illustrations by SYDNEYCOWELL. 3_s._ 6_d._
This story is written from the point of view of an ordinary boy, who givesan animated account of a young public-schoolboy's life. No moral is drawn;yet the story indicates a kind of training that goes to promote veracity,endurance, and enterprise; and of each of several of the characters itmight be truly said, he is worthy to be called, "Every Inch a Briton".
"In Every Inch a Briton Mr. Meredith Fletcher has scored a success."--_Manchester Guardian_.
EDGAR PICKERING
In Press-Gang Days. With 4 Illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 2_s._ 6_d._ _NewEdition._
In this story Harry Waring is caught by the Press-gang and carried onboard His Majesty's ship _Sandwich_. He takes part in the mutiny of theNore, and shares in some hard fighting on board the _Phoenix_. He is withNelson, also, at the storming of Santa Cruz, and the battle of the Nile.
"It is of Marryat, that friend of our boyhood, we think as we read this delightful story; for it is not only a story of adventure, with incidents well-conceived and arranged, but the characters are interesting and well-distinguished."--_Academy_.
FRED SMITH
The Boyhood of a Naturalist. With 6 page Illustrations. 3_s._ 6_d._ _NewEdition._
Few lovers of Nature have given to the world a series of recollections soentertaining, so vigorous, and so instinct with life as these delightfulreminiscences. The author takes the reader with him in the rambles inwhich he spent the happiest hours of his boyhood, a humble observer of themyriad forms of life in field and copse, by stream and hedgerow.
"We cannot too highly recommend the book to all readers."--_Guardian_.
--The World of Animal Life. Edited by FRED SMITH. Profusely Illustratedwith Engravings after F. SPECHT and other eminent artists. 5_s._
The aim of _The World of Animal Life_ is to give in non-scientificlanguage an account of those inhabitants of the land, sea, and sky withwhose names we are all familiar, but concerning whose manner of life themajority of us have only the haziest conceptions.
"An admirable volume for the young mind enquiring after Nature."--_Birmingham Gazette_.
J. CHALMERS
Fighting the Matabele: A story of Adventure in Rhodesia. Illustrated bySTANLEY L. WOOD. 3_s._ _New Edition._
A story of the great Matabele rising in 1896. The hero and his friends aresurprised by the revolted natives in the heart of the Matopo mountains,and after many stirring adventures make their way back to Buluwayo. Thehero subsequently joins the Africander Corps, and distinguishes himself inthe operations by which the insurrection is crushed.
"The stormy times of the recent insurrection in Matabeleland are described with a piquantness which will ensure the book becoming a favourite."--_Liverpool Courier_.
CLIVE PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY
Gold, Gold in Cariboo: A Story of Adventure in British Columbia. With 4Illustrations by G. C. HINDLEY. 2_s._ 6_d._ _New Edition._
Ned Corbett, a young Englishman, and his companion set out with apack-train in order to obtain gold on the upper reaches of the FraserRiver. After innumerable adventures, and a life-and-death struggle withthe Arctic weather of that wild region, they find the secret gold-minesfor which they have toilsomely searched.
"It would be difficult to say too much in favour of _Gold, Gold in Cariboo_. We have seldom read a more exciting tale of wild mining adventure in a singularly inaccessible country. There is a capital plot, and the interest is sustained to the last page."--_The Times_.
ROBERT LEIGHTON
The Wreck of the Golden Fleece. Illustrated by FRANK BRANGWYN. 3_s._ _NewEdition._
The hero is apprenticed on board a Lowestoft fishing lugger, where he hasto suffer many buffets from his shipmates. The storms and dangers which hebraved are set forth with intense power. The narrative deals with ahighway robbery, the trial of the accused fisherman, his escape, and themad chase after the criminal out upon the high seas.
"Excellent in every respect, it contains every variety of incident. The plot is very cleverly devised, and the types of the North Sea sailors are capital."--_The Times_.
S. BARING-GOULD
Grettir the Outlaw: A Story of Iceland in the days of the Vikings. With 6page Illustrations by M. ZENO DIEMER. 3_s._
A narrative of adventure of the most romantic kind. No boy will be able towithstand the magic of such scenes as the fight of Grettir with the twelvebearserks, the wrestle with Karr the Old in the chamber of the dead, thecombat with the spirit of Glam the thrall, and the defence of the dyingGrettir by his younger brother.
"Has a freshness, a freedom, a sense of sun and wind and the open air, which make it irresistible."--_National Observer_.
C. J. CUTCLIFFE HYNE
The Captured Cruiser: or, Two Years from Land. With 6 page Illustrationsby F. BRANGWYN. 3_s._ 6_d._
The central incidents deal with the capture, during the war between Chiliand Peru, of an armed cruiser. The heroes and their companions break fromprison in Valparaiso, board this warship in the night, overpower thewatch, escape to sea under the fire of the forts, and finally, aftermarvellous adventures, lose the cruiser among the icebergs near Cape Horn.
"The two lads and the two skippers are admirably drawn. Mr. Hyne has now secured a position in the first rank of writers of fiction for boys."--_Spectator_.
--Stimson's Reef: With 4 Page Illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 2_s._ 6_d._
This is the extended log of a cutter which sailed from the Clyde to theAmazon in search of a gold reef. It relates how they discovered thebuccaneer's treasure in the Spanish Main, fought the Indians, turned asidethe river Jamary by blasting, and so laid bare the gold of _Stimson'sReef_.
"Few stories come within hailing distance of _Stimson's Reef_ in startling incidents and hairbreadth 'scapes. It may almost vie with Mr. R. L. Stevenson's _Treasure Island_."--_Guardian_.
_From IN THE GRIP OF THE MULLAH_ BY CAPT. F. S. BRERETON (See page 10)]
_From THE DISPUTED V.C._ BY FREDERICK P. GIBBON (See page 15)]
PAUL DANBY
The Red Army Book. With many Illustrations in colour and inblack-and-white. 6_s._
This book includes chapters on the various branches of the regular army,and also on such attractive subjects as "Boys who have won the V.C.","Pets of the Regiment", "The Colours", "Famous War Horses", &c. Eachchapter, besides dealing generally with its subject, is full of capitalanecdotes, and the book as a whole is excellently illustrated with colourand black-and-white illustrations.
"Every boy would glory in the keeping and reading of such a prize."--_Daily Telegraph_.
FREDERICK P. GIBBON
The Disputed V.C. Illustrated by STANLEY L. WOOD. 5_s._
"A tale of the Great Mutiny which should stir a boy's blood, and will tell him all he cares to know of that memorable death-struggle for our supremacy.... Even Lord Roberts scarcely gives a more spirited account of the defence of Delhi, of the difficulties to be overcome, and of the good service of the gallant little army which so long held stubbornly to the Ridge."--_Times_.
A. J. CHURCH
Two Thousand Years Ago. Illustrated. 3_s._ 6_d._ _New Edition._
Lucius Marius, a Roman boy, has a very chequered career, being now acaptive in the hands of Spartacus, again an officer on board a vesseldetailed for the suppression of the pirates, and anon a captive once moreon a pirate ship. He escapes to Tarsus, is taken prisoner in the war withMithridates, and detained in Pontus for a number of years.
"Adventures well worth the telling. The book is extremely entertaining as well as useful, and there is a wonderful freshness in the Roman scenes and characters."--_Times_.
OLIPHANT SMEATON
 
; A Mystery of the Pacific. Illustrated by WAL PAGET. 3_s._ _New Edition._
The _Fitzroy_, a small sailing vessel, discovers an extraordinary islandin the South Seas, that has been hidden for ages behind a wide belt ofsea-weed. The country is peopled by descendants of colonists from ImperialRome, and by a yet older race who trace their origin to the long-lostAtlantis. In graphic language the author describes the strange experiencesthat befell the crew of the _Fitzroy_ among these remarkable people.
"A tale of unprecedented adventure in unknown lands.... Boys will revel in the book."--_Birmingham Gazette_.
R. STEAD
Grit will Tell: The Adventures of a Barge-boy. With 4 Illustrations by D.CARLETON SMYTH. Cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._
A lad whose name has been lost amidst early buffetings by hard fortunesuffers many hardships at the hands of a bargeman, his master, and runsaway. The various adventures and experiences with which he meets on theroad to success, the bear-hunt in which he takes part, and the battle atwhich he acts as war correspondent, form a story of absorbing interest andafter a boy's own heart.
"A thoroughly wholesome and attractive book."--_Graphic_.
HARRY COLLINGWOOD
The Pirate Island. With 6 page Illustrations by C. J. STANILAND and J. R.WELLS. 3_s._ _New Edition._
By a deed of true gallantry the hero's whole destiny is changed, and,going to sea, he forms one of a party who, after being burned out of theirship in the South Pacific, are picked up by a pirate brig and taken to the"Pirate Island". After many thrilling adventures, they ultimately succeedin effecting their escape.
"A capital story of the sea; indeed in our opinion the author is superior in some respects as a marine novelist to the better-known Mr. Clark Russell."--_Times_.
FLORENCE COOMBE
Boys of the Priory School. With 4 page Illustrations by HAROLD COPPING.2_s._ 6_d._
The interest centres in the relations of Raymond and Hal Wentworth, andthe process by which Raymond, the hero of the school, learns that in theperson of his ridiculed cousin there beats a heart more heroic than hisown.
"It is an excellent work of its class, cleverly illustrated with 'real boys' by Mr. Harold Copping."--_Literature_.
JOHN C. HUTCHESON
Afloat at Last: A Sailor Boy's Log. With 6 page Illustrations by W. H.OVEREND. 3_s._ 6_d._
From the stowing of the vessel in the Thames to her recovery from thePratas Reef on which she is stranded, everything is described with theaccuracy of perfect practical knowledge of ships and sailors; and theincidents of the story range from the broad humours of the fo'c's'le tothe perils of flight from, and fight with, the pirates of the China Seas.
"As healthy and breezy a book as one could wish."--_Academy_.