Adventure novels online

During the 70 years of the Victorian era, the British Empire nearly quadrupled its territory, exploring the interior of Africa and Pacific islands and colonizing Asian nations one after another. Against this backdrop, British people held an unprecedented strong interest in the world. The blossoming of adventure stories that responded to boys' longings for and interest in the unknown was inextricably linked to the extension of the British government's imperialist policy that bolstered hope and confidence in Great Britain as an invincible state

This category of literature continued to be popular through the Edwardian and later years.

This article is generally in respect of adventure stories for younger readers, written by authors such as George Manville Fenn, G A Henty, Herbert Strang and Percy F. Westerman, although some books below, by authors such as W J Blackledge, Bernard Cornwell, George MacDonald Fraser, and Allan Mallinson were specifically written for adults.

Also see

• Talbot Mundy who wrote adventure stories for adults.

External links

• George Manville Fenn
• G. A. Henty
• Herbert Strang
• Percy F. Westerman Wikipedia

Historical books online

Military Campaigns

Arranged according to the dates of the campaigns.

3rd Carnatic War

• In Clive's Command: A Story of the Fight for India by Herbert Strang . Also published with the title One of Clive's Heroes: A Story of the Fight for India by Herbert Strang 1938 reprint, first published 1906. gutenberg.org. An adventure story for younger readers.

4th Mysore War

• Sharpe's Tiger : Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799 by Bernard Cornwell 1999. 2nd file 1999. 3rd file 2005. All Archive.org Lending Library.

Recommended on the Fiction and poetry reading list

Seringapatam 1 and Seringapatam 2. bernardcornwellbookgroup.blogspot.com

2nd Maratha War

• At the Point of the Bayonet, a Tale of the Mahratta War by G A Henty 1902 Archive.org
• Sharpe's Triumph : Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 by Bernard Cornwell 2000. Archive.org Lending Library.
• Sharpe's Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Gawilghur December 1803 by Bernard Cornwell 2000. Archive.org Lending Library.

The two Sharpe books are recommended on the Fiction and poetry reading list

Battle of Assaye bernardcornwellbookgroup. "...background information on places and characters that are key to the context of the novel"

Siege of Gawilghur bernardcornwellbookgroup.

3rd Maratha War

• Honorable Company : a novel of India before the Raj by Allan Mallinson 2000. Archive.org Lending Library. The build up to the 3rd Maratha War. Also published in the UK under the title The Nizam's Daughters.

Allan Mallinson Wikipedia.

1st Burma War

• The Young Cadet, or, Henry Delamere's Voyage to India : with his travels in Hindostan, and his account of the Burmese War and the wonders of Elora by Mrs Hofland, 1831 Archive.org. Note: Missing final 2 pages (from another digital file).
• On the Irrawaddy : a Story of the First Burmese War by G A Henty 1897 Archive.org

Librivox Audio version Archive.org

• Marching to Ava : a Story of the First Burmese War by Henry Charles Moore, catalogued 1904. Archive.org
• The Sabre's Edge by Allan Mallinson 2004. Archive.org Lending Library. Set in the period of the 1st Burma War and the Siege of Bhurtpore.

Allan Mallinson Wikipedia.

1st Afghan War

• Flashman : from the Flashman papers 1839-1842 by George MacDonald Fraser 1984 edition, first published 1969. Archive.org Lending Library. Flashman in the 1st Afghan War.

The Flashman Papers Wikipedia.

1st Sikh War

• Flashman and the Mountain of Light : from the Flashman papers, 1845-46 by George MacDonald Fraser 1991. Archive.org Lending Library. Flashman in the 1st Sikh War.

The Flashman Papers Wikipedia.

2nd Sikh War

• Through the Sikh war: a tale of the conquest of the Punjaub by G. A. Henty 1902, first published 1893. Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers.

Indian Mutiny

• First Love and Last Love: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny by James Grant 1869 Archive.org
• Eight Days: a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by R E Forrest, first published 1891. Archive.org
• The Star of Fortune: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by J E Muddock 1894 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II

The Great White Hand or, The Tiger of Cawnpore: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by J E Muddock 1896 Archive.org

• On to the Rescue : a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Gordon Stables, Surgeon, Royal Navy. 1894 Archive.org
• The Red Year: a Story of the Indian Mutiny by Louis Tracy 1907 Archive.org
• The Devils Wind by Maj. Gen. G.L. Verney 1956. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. An account of the actions of the Naval Brigade of H.M.S. Shannon, which participated in the Relief of Lucknow, told through the eyes of a very young sailor.
• Flashman in the Great Game : from the Flashman papers, 1856-1858 by George MacDonald Fraser 1989. Archive.org Lending Library. Flashman in the Indian Mutiny. The Flashman Papers Wikipedia.

For younger readers

• Childhood in India; or, English Children in the East by the wife of an officer, late of H.M. service 1865 (Google Books) . A Tale for Children "Founded on Fact" based on the experiences of a family in India during the Mutiny of 1857.
• Begumbagh A Tale of the Indian Mutiny by George Manville Fenn 1879 Archive.org. George Manville Fenn 1831-1909, was a prolific writer of boys' adventure stories.

Gil the Gunner; or The Youngest Officer in the East by George Manville Fenn 1892 Archive.org. A boys’ adventure story about a young officer in the Bengal Horse Artillery.

• The Disputed V.C. : a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Frederick P Gibbon, c 1894 Archive.org. A boys’ adventure story.
• Barclay of the Guides by Herbert Strang probably 1908. HathiTrust Digital Library. 1928 reprint of 1908 original Gutenberg.org. Archive.org version. An adventure story for younger readers.
• Chaloner of the Bengal Cavalry: a Tale of the Indian Mutiny by Percival Lancaster R E. 1915 Archive.org An adventure story for younger readers.

2nd Burma War

• Britons at Bay: the Adventures of Two Midshipmen in the Second Burmese War by Henry Charles Moore 1900 Archive.org.

Chitral and Tirah Campaigns

• Through Three Campaigns: a Story of Chitral, Tirah, and Ashanti by G. A. Henty , illustrated by Wal Paget. c 1904 Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers.

3rd China War

• With The Allies To Pekin: a Tale of the Relief of the Legations by G A Henty 1904. An adventure story for younger readers. Archive.org

First World War

• Western Front adventure stories for younger readers by Herbert Strang. Gutenberg.org.

A Hero of Liége: A Story of the Great War 1914.

Fighting with French: A Tale of the New Army 1915.

Burton of the Flying Corps. 1916

• The Dispatch-Riders: The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War by Percy F Westerman 1915 Gutenberg.org

Percy F Westerman wrote many books with a WW1 background, available at Gutenberg.org

• The Boy Allies… Multiple titles by two authors, Robert Drake and Clair W Hayes, published from 1915. Archive.org. Multiple titles Gutenberg.org
• The Big Five Motorcycle Boys on the Battle Line, or With the Allies in France by Ralph Marlow 1916 Gutenberg.org Archive.org version
• Dastral of the Flying Corps by Rowland Walker. First published 1917. Gutenberg.org. Archive.org version About the author. The author was in the RFC. An adventure story.
• Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter by Captain W E Johns 1954. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Contains thirteen short stories, eleven of which were originally published in The Camels Are Coming (1932) and two of which were originally published in Biggles Of The Camel Squadron (1934), originally written for older adolescents. Note however Wikipedia states “The early First World War books were reprinted in the 1950s, when the Biggles books had acquired a younger readership and were bowdlerised.
• Gallipoli
  • "Legion of Lost Souls" by Captain W J Blackledge. “A vivid firsthand story of the tragic and Terrible Campaign at Gallipoli-The Peninsula of Death” From the deeply engraved memory of Digger Craven, Australian Trooper" Appeared in issues of the weekly magazine Liberty v13 n42 [1936-10-17] onwards.

  Part 1, part 2 not available online; Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

  Likely to be the text, or an abridged version, of Peninsula of Death, as told to W. J. Blackledge by Digger Craven. London, Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1937, which is accordingly also classified as fiction, although elsewhere classified as bibliography., and also see comments on page 4 of ‘’The Listening Post’’ 15 March 1937 (RSL WA) …"appears to be a novel whose author delights in much sordid detail" from the Prime Minister’s Department. For two more books by this author see below, under Mesopotamia, and General.

  • Of Guns and Mules by David Lawrence-Young 2010. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library. A historical novel set in the Zion Mule Corps.
  • At grips with the Turk : a story of the Dardanelles Campaign in the Great War by F S Brereton, first published 1915. Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
  • The Fight for Constantinople : a Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Percy F Westerman. Catalogued 1915. Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
  • On Land and Sea at the Dardanelles by T C Bridges c 1915. Gutenberg.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
  • Frank Forester: A Story of the Dardanelles by Herbert Strang 1915 Gutenberg.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
• East Africa
  • Wilmshurst of the Frontier Force by Percy F. Westerman. Illustrator Ernest Prater. 1918 gutenberg.org. Archive.org version
  • Tom Willoughby's Scouts: A Story of the War in German East Africa by Herbert Strang. Illustrator Wal Paget. 1919 gutenberg.org.
• Mesopotamia
  • On the Road to Bagdad; a Story of Townshend's Gallant Advance on the Tigris by Lieut-Col Brereton 1917. Archive.org. An adventure story.
  • Carry On! A Story of the Fight for Bagdad by Herbert Strang 1917 gutenberg.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
  • The Legion of Marching Madmen by W J Blackledge c 1936 Archive.org. This book is considered to be fiction, although classified by some as a personal narrative, as discussed in a Great War Forum topic.

General

Arranged by date of publication

• The Orchid of Fô; or, a Tale from Burma. By S. C. M. 1896 British Library Digital Collection.
• The Dacoit's Treasure, or, In the Days of Po Thaw : a Story of Adventure in Burma by Henry Charles Moore c 1897 Archive.org. With illustrations.
• Draw swords! : In the Horse Artillery by George Manville Fenn 1898. Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers about a young officer in the Bengal Horse Artillery, with 8 illustrations.
• The Gun-Runners by W. Dingwall Fordyce c 1900 Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers, with a Malayan setting.

The Jewelled Lizard by W. Dingwall Fordyce c 1908 Archive.org. An adventure story for younger readers, with a Sumatra setting.

Dingwall Fordyce also wrote "The Adventures of Babi. A pet mongoose in Sumatra", a chapter in Wide World Magazine, 1911, and Our Secret Society c 1910. However, it is unknown if the setting for the latter is also Malaysia/Indonesia.

• Bears and Dacoits and Other Stories by G A Henty c 1901. Archive.org. Includes "Bears and Dacoits. A Tale of the Ghauts".
• The Flying Boat: A Story of Adventure and Misadventure by Herbert Strang 1912. Gutenberg.org. Young British traders in China.
• The Air Patrol: A Story of the North-West Frontier by Herbert Strang 1913. Gutenberg.org. An adventure story for younger readers.
• The Old Man of the Mountain by Herbert Strang 1916 Gutenberg.org. Partially set in Assam, in the region around Dibrugarh, and an unexplored region of northern India or perhaps part of China. An adventure story for younger readers.
• The Elephant God by Gordon Casserly 1921 Gutenberg.org.

The Jungle Girl by Gordon Casserly 1922 Archive.org

Both these books were set in the North East of India, where the author, an officer in the Indian Army had been stationed. Also see his book Life in an Indian Outpost [Buxa Duar, North East India] by Major Gordon Casserly, Indian Army, first published c 1910. Archive.org.

• "The Wolf of Kabul" Rover and Wizard January 25th 1964. A transcription. britishcomics.20m.com. This appears to be a reprint, first published in the 1930s in Wizard, a weekly magazine for boys published by DC Thomson of Dundee . Story involving Bill Samson (“His real job is surveying the frontier and making maps of the mountains and passes”) and his offsider Private Chung whose weapon was the Clicky-Ba. Wolf of Kabul Wikipedia.
• "Ants" by W J Blackledge, page 471 Fifty Amazing Hairbreadth Escapes c 1937. Stated to be an extract from Hell’s Broth Militia [1936] Archive.org

"Company of the Damned" by Captain W J Blackledge. An Inside Picture of the Hunted Men’s Militia [Kurram Militia] in India. The story of Digger Craven, second in command. Appeared in issues of the weekly magazine Liberty from v13n14 1936-4-4. Part 1, part 2, part 3 Archive.org. Further episodes are not available online.

An examination of Part 1 shows it is an abridged version of "Ants" which in turn is an extract from Hell’s Broth Militia. Note some classify the latter as biography.