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"My object has been to teach history and still more to encourage manly and straight living and feeling amongst boys. But the historical element is all important. I trust I have attained that object!" ~ G.A. Henty

A journalist and children’s author, George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) translated his experience as a correspondent travelling to France, Germany, Wales, Russia, West Africa, India, and other countries abroad into exciting tales of adventure stories for boys which spanned centuries of history across several continents.

Henty was a prolific author who wrote three to four books a year, “frequently dictating 6500 words a day[,]… insisted on historical accuracy, and relied on leading historians for background material, not always eschewing plagiarism” (Newbolt, 2006). Henty’s works were illustrated by many well-known illustrators, including Gordon Browne, H.M. Paget, William Rainey, and Ralph Peacock, and “the designs on his covers were dishonestly reproduced” (Hannabuss, 1983, p. 81).

This exhibit features covers and frontispieces from a selection of Henty’s novels, showcasing the stunning artwork which helped draw child readers into the novels’ pages.

The G.A Henty Virtual Exhibit was created from materials in The James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collections as part of the Archives and Research Collections Centre (ARCC) at the University of Western Ontario. To view the ARCC’s holdings of G.A. Henty novels, visit the catalogue.

References:

Hannabuss, S. (1983). The Henty phenomenon. Children's Literature in Education, 14(2), 80-93. doi: 10.1007/BF01127458

Newbolt, P. (2006). Henty, George Alfred (1832-1902). In L. Goldman (Ed.), Oxford dictionary of national biography. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33827