Held Fast for England

by G.A. Henty

The story of a young orphan who is sent to Gibraltar to live with his sister, who is married to an Irish officer. Soon after his arrival Gibraltar is sieged by the French and the Spanish.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1892

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

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars & 5/10 hearts. This is one of my favourite Henty books. It is very fast-paced; there are very few long historical parts; and it is very humorous. Gerald is my favourite—he is so humorous, kind, and loving. There are many Irishmen (actually most of the characters are Irish soldiers), therefore as aforementioned there is many humorous parts, but also quite a few mentions of drinking in a humorous fashion, and perhaps a few very mild euphemisms and insinuations. 

*review to be updated*

A Favourite Quote: “‘A gentleman will never tell a lie to screen himself, when he has got into a scrape. I wouldn't keep the smartest young officer in the service on board a ship of mine, if I caught him telling a lie; for I should know that he would not only be a blackguard, but a coward. Cowardice is at the bottom of half the lying of the world. I would overlook anything, except lying. Upon my word, I would rather that a boy were a thief than a liar.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘Here we have had all the trouble in life to get Carrie to agree to your going while, had she read this letter first, she would not have had a leg to stand upon—at least, metaphorically speaking; practically, no one would doubt it, for a minute.’
“‘Practically, you are a goose, Gerald; metaphorically, uncle is an angel.[‘] ...
“‘My dear,’ Captain O'Halloran said solemnly, ‘I believe that you expressed, today, the opinion that your uncle was, metaphorically, an angel. I beg that the word metaphorically be omitted. If there was ever an angel in a pigtail, and a stiff cravat, that angel is Mr. John Bale, of Philpot Lane.’”

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh, it's always so nice to read a book with a happy ending. :) A fun tale of a young man who has the opportunity to go to Gibralter during the war with Spain in the 1700's. There he has many adventures as a volunteer soldier and sailor to fight for his country of England. Spies, bombardments, nightly raids, saving a damsel in distress...this book has it all! The historical context was expertly written into the story. I learned a great deal about the English navy of this time, the political tensions between Spain and England, and a great many things about soldiery and manerisms and such that I've never read elsewhere. {Great resource for writers and homeschoolers!}

The only slight drawback was a few times of repetition of an event, as it was told to several characters at separate times...I simply skimmed past these parts. ;)