Historic Boys Part 29

_BUNYIP LAND:_

The Story of a Wild Journey in New Guinea. By G. MANVILLE FENN.

With 12 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

"Bunyip Land" is the story of an eminent botanist, who ventures into the interior of New Guinea in his search for new plants. Years pa.s.s away, and he does not return; and though supposed to be dead, his young wife and son refuse to believe it; and as soon as he is old enough young Joe goes in search of his father, accompanied by Jimmy, a native black. Their adventures are many and exciting, but after numerous perils they discover the lost one, a prisoner among the blacks, and bring him home in triumph.

"Mr. Fenn deserves the thanks of everybody for 'Bunyip Land'

and 'Menhardoc,' and we may venture to promise that a quiet week may be reckoned on whilst the youngsters have such fascinating literature provided for their evenings'

amus.e.m.e.nt."--_Spectator._

"One of the best tales of adventure produced by any living writer, combining the inventiveness of Jules Verne, and the solidity of character and earnestness of spirit which have made the English victorious in so many fields of labour and research."--_Daily Chronicle._

_A TERRIBLE COWARD._

By G. MANVILLE FENN. With 2 full-page Ill.u.s.trations in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 1_s._ 6_d._

The tale of a lad who never bounced, bragged, or bullied. When the testing time came, however, the "coward" was found to be the one who distanced all by his cool unflinching English courage.

"Just such a tale as boys will delight to read, and as they are certain to profit by."--_Aberdeen Journal._

#BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.#

"Mr. Fenn is in the front rank of writers of stories for boys."--_Liverpool Mercury._

_YUSSUF THE GUIDE:_

Being the Strange Story of the Travels in Asia Minor of Burne the Lawyer, Preston the Professor, and Lawrence the Sick. By G.

MANVILLE FENN. With 8 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by JOHN SCHoNBERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

Deals with the stirring incidents in the career of Lawrence Grange, a lad who has been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly recovers health and strength in a journey through Asia Minor with his guardians "The Professor" and "The Lawyer." Yussuf is their guide; and in their journeyings through the wild mountain region in search of the ancient cities of the Greeks and Romans they penetrate where law is disregarded, and finally fall into the hands of brigands. Their adventures in this rarely-traversed romantic region are many, and culminate in the travellers being snowed up for the winter in the mountains, from which they escape while their captors are waiting for the ransom that does not come.

_MENHARDOC:_

A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. By G. MANVILLE FENN. With 8 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by C. J. STANILAND, R.I., in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth, elegant, 5_s._

The scene of this story of boyish aspiration and adventure is laid among the granite piles and tors of Cornwall. Here amongst the hardy, honest fishermen and miners the two London boys are inducted into the secrets of fis.h.i.+ng in the great bay, they learn how to catch mackerel, pollack, and conger with the line, and are present at the hauling of the nets, although not without incurring many serious risks. Adventures are pretty plentiful, but the story has for its strong base the development of character of the three boys. There is a good deal of quaint character throughout, and the sketches of Cornish life and local colouring are based upon experience in the bay, whose fis.h.i.+ng village is called here Menhardoc. This is a thoroughly English story of phases of life but little touched upon in boys' literature up to the present time.

"They are real living boys, with the virtues and faults which characterize the transition stage between boyhood and manhood.

The Cornish fishermen are drawn from life, they are racy of the soil, salt with the sea-water, and they stand out from the pages in their jerseys and sea-boots all sprinkled with silvery pilchard scales."--_Spectator._

"Mr. Fenn has written many books in his time; he has not often written one which for genuine merit as a story for young people will exceed this."--_Scotsman._

#BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.#

"No one can find his way to the hearts of lads more readily than Mr. Fenn."--_Nottingham Guardian._

_PATIENCE WINS:_

Or, War in the Works. By G. MANVILLE FENN. With 8 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

This is a graphic narrative of factory life in the Black Country. The hero, Cob, and his three uncles, engineers, machinists, and inventors, go down to Arrowfield to set up "a works." They find, however, that the workmen, through prejudice and ignorance, are determined to have no new-fangled machinery. After a series of narrow escapes and stirring encounters, the workmen by degrees find that no malice is borne against them, and at last admiration takes the place of hatred. A great business is built up, and its foundation is laid on the good-will of the men.

"An excellent story, the interest being sustained from first to last. This is, both in its intention and the way the story is told, one of the best books of its kind which has come before us this year."--_Sat.u.r.day Review._

"Mr. Fenn is at his best in 'Patience Wins.' It is sure to prove acceptable to youthful readers, and will give a good idea of that which was the real state of one of our largest manufacturing towns not many years ago."--_Guardian._

"Mr. Fenn has written many a book for boys, but never has he hit upon a happier plan than in writing this story of Yorks.h.i.+re factory life. The whole book, from page 1 to 352, is all aglow with life, the scenes varying continually with kaleidoscopic rapidity."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

_NAT THE NATURALIST:_

A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seas. By G. MANVILLE FENN.

Ill.u.s.trated by 8 full-page Pictures by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

This is a pleasant story of a lad who has a great desire to go abroad to seek specimens in natural history, and has that desire gratified. The boy Nat and his uncle d.i.c.k go on a voyage to the remoter islands of the Eastern seas, and their adventures there are told in a truthful and vastly interesting fas.h.i.+on, which will at once attract and maintain the earnest attention of young readers. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their black comrade, and of the scenes of savage life, are full of genuine humour.

"Mr. Manville Fenn has here hit upon a capital idea.... This is among the best of the boys' books of the season."--_The Times._

"This sort of book encourages independence of character, develops resource, and teaches a boy to keep his eyes open."--_Sat.u.r.day Review._

"We can conceive of no more attractive present for a young naturalist."--_Land and Water._

"The late Lord Palmerston used to say that one use of war was to teach geography; such books as this teach it in a more harmless and cheaper way."--_Athenaeum._

#BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD.#

"Mr. G. A. Henty has found a formidable rival in Mr.

Collingwood."--_Academy._

_THE LOG OF THE "FLYING FISH:"_

A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure. By HARRY COLLINGWOOD. With 12 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by GORDON BROWNE.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

In this story the aim of the author has been, not only to interest and amuse, but also to stimulate a taste for scientific study. He has utilized natural science as a peg whereon to hang the web of a narrative of absorbing interest, interweaving therewith sundry very striking scientific facts in such a manner as to provoke a desire for further information.

Professor Von Schalckenberg constructs a gigantic and wonderful s.h.i.+p, appropriately named the _Flying Fish_, which is capable of navigating not only the higher reaches of the atmosphere, but also the extremest depths of ocean; and in her the four adventurers make a voyage to the North Pole, and to a hitherto unexplored portion of Central Africa.

In common with all this author's stories, "The Log of the Flying Fish" is thoroughly healthy and unexceptionable in tone, and may be unhesitatingly placed in the hands of "our boys," who will enjoy in its perusal a literary treat entirely after their own hearts.

_THE CONGO ROVERS:_

A Tale of the Slave Squadron. By HARRY COLLINGWOOD. With 8 full-page Ill.u.s.trations by J. SCHoNBERG, in black and tint.