Both Sides the Border

by G.A. Henty

When Oswald Forster is taken into Henry Percy’s household as a squire, his efficiency and discretion as a message-bearer, as well as his newly-gained ability to read and write, gain him Hotspur’s confidence, and he becomes a go-between for several very sensitive communications between the Percys and their allies. He takes part in a raid against Glendower, rescues his girl cousins, Jessie and Janet, from captivity by the Bairds, is knighted by King Henry for his loyal service, is captured by Glendower—with surprising consequences—and finally, participates in the fateful battle at Shrewsbury in which Hotspur takes his forces against the king’s army

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Adventure

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1898

About the author

George Alfred Henty, better known as G.A. Henty, began his storytelling career with his own children. After dinner, he would spend and hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories took weeks! A friend was present one day and watched the spell-bound reaction of his children suggesting Henty write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He did. Henty wrote approximately 144 books in addition to stories for magazines and was known as "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian." One of Mr. Henty's secretaries reported that he would quickly pace back and forth in his study dictating stories as fast as the secretary could record them.

Henty's stories revolve around fictional boy heroes during fascinating periods of history. His heroes are diligent, intelligent, and dedicated to their country and cause in the face, at times, of great peril... Henty's heroes fight wars, sail the seas, discover land, conquer evil empires, prospect for gold, and a host of other exciting adventures. Along the way, they meet famous personages... In short, Henty's heroes live through tumultuous historic eras meeting leaders of that time. Understanding the culture of the time period becomes second nature as well as comparing/contrasting the society of various cultures.

Reviews

[Gr Paisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it and all of the others of the Henty novels are satisfactory, I have noticed over this one the amount of "luck that befalls oswald. It often says something about how great oswald was, and although he was pretty cool, it seems unlikly that the king of england and many nobles even cared to talk to this young esquire, even though he did the things he did.

what i am trying to say is, Henty wrote things down that in my opinoin, is highly unlikly, and therefore unprobable.

now, I know that most of these stories are fictional, but they are usually close enough to the time period that I would rather see things that would actually happen, and not things that would be inprobable.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

1400-1404 Owen Glendower is leading a Welsh uprising and defeating English attempts to subdue him while the English are also dealing with issues with Scotland. This also a period in which Edmund Mortimer is leading an effort to overthrow the king and taking control and enabling an independent Wales. Henry’s victory at Shrewsbury puts an end to these efforts. Sixteen year old Oswald Forster finds himself in the middle of this turbulent period along the English-Scottish border. He leaves his family to take a position with his uncle in the household of a high ranking English noble where he rises through the ranks because of his intelligence, martial skills and courage. His saga is finally concludes with the Battle of Shrewsbury.

[Jim Conant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an original version of this book that came down to me from my English grandmother. It was nice to read a 120 year old book! The story itself was a well-written adventure story for boys and it was an interesting view on feudal England and its border wars. The book had lots of "knowing is half the battle" propaganda aimed at kids to convince them that book learning was a valuable skill. Notably lacking from the book is any reflection on the internal lives of any of its characters.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're interested in history these books are fantastic!

I enjoy Hentys novels for many reasons. But his use of history as he viewed then. The vernacular is to me most captivating. This makes me feel as though I was there as it's described. So far I have truly enjoyed at least in excess of 20 stories and will attempt to enjoy them all. I believe there over a hundred!!!👍👏

[Lynn Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most confusing Henty book I've read so far, though the story was engaging. I could not keep the characters straight, as the same character was sometimes addressed by his title plus last name and other times by his first name. Could be just me.

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

New author for me. Was recommended to me by a friend as a historical author that he enjoyed.

[Lorri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent historical details wrapped in a solid action and adventure story.

[Monica]

I don't know why it says that this book was first published in 2002. My copy indicates that it was published in 1898.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a lot of fun and encompasses all of Britain. The hero and his trusty servant rescue his cousins from some war lords, let some Welsh princesses escape an English encirclement and then are not killed by the Welshmen later on because of the token they recieved from the princesses out of gratitude.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard of Hotspur and Glendower but knew little about the conflicts in which they were involved. This book does rectify that. However, the deficiencies of Henty's writing style are glaringly evident. Parts of the book were boring, others confusing (especially in the dialogues). Not one of his best efforts.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

rtc

[Angelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same great young man in each book or they start sounding all alike but great history