R B: 2808 books

Another vintage Kingston book, this time with a background of the 1650s, when Cromwell and the Roundheads were in power. With acknowledgement to Chamber's Biographical Dictionary we read: Blake, Robert (1599-1657) English naval commander, the son of a merchant. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, he...

According to Wikipedia: "William Henry Giles Kingston (28 February 1814 - 5 August 1880), writer of tales for boys, was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant. His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys, Peter the Whaler,...

Adventure novel, first published in 1834.

19th century adventure novel, set in London.

According to Wikipedia: "George Manville Fenn (January 3, 1831, Pimlico - August 26, 1909, Isleworth) was a British writer. He worked as a teacher in Lincolnshire, until he became printer, editor and publisher of various magazines. He had eight children with his wife Susanna Leake, whom he had married...

19th century adventure novel.

Another book of great adventure, this time in the Pacific, where, at the time, many of the Islanders were, with good reason, ill-disposed towards Europeans, having been tricked so often in various unpleasant ways, even to the point where they would be invited on board to do some bartering, only to be...

Here is another Kingston novel about South America. As usual he makes the point that the Spaniards were very cruel, especially in the way they oppressed the Indian tribes. The family in the story are English, and they get pulled into helping an Inca chieftain, Manco, in his flight from the Spaniards....

This is quite a short book, taking only 2.5 hours to read, yet it packs quite a punch. It is devoted to the theme of Forgiveness. On a remote mountainside in Wales there dwells a broken-down old woman, whom the local children believe to be a witch. As such she will live for ever, and cannot be hurt,...

As per the title, the story revolves round the cliffs of the north shore of Devon, in South West England. It is 1752. There are three local teenage boys, who are all boarders at the nearby Barnstaple Grammar School. It is the summer holidays. Bob Chowne is the son of a local doctor, and is a bit...

In some ways this book is reminiscent of "The Lost Middy", by the same author, but I suppose that with a similar theme, a nosey midshipman taken prisoner by a gang of smugglers, there are bound to be other points of similarity. Anyway, it is a good fast-moving story, with lots of well-drawn human interest....

A number of the actors in this tale speak in a broad Lincolnshire Fenland dialect, which may make it a little hard for some readers. Some of the more unusual words are annotated in square brackets. The Squire sees the gradually encroaching bog and marsh in his land, and realises that with drainage he...

According to Wikipedia: "Victor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books. The following series have been published under the Victor Appleton name: Tom Swift, 19101941; Motion Picture Chums, 19131916; Moving Picture...

The Morrison family lose both parents in an epidemic. One little girl, Margaret, and two little boys, David and Donald are left. There is an old woman who has been a nurse in the family. There appear to be no resources, and after selling up what there is, all rather too well-used to fetch much money,...