The Young Buglers (Annotated): A Tale of the Peninsular War

by G.A. Henty

G.A.Henty's books are full of adventures and exact historical details. In the novel "The Young Buglers" he describes the Peninsular War - the war between the Napoleon Empire and the allied forces of Spain, Great Britain and Portugal. The novel traces the fortunes of two brothers, Tom and Peter Scudamore, who join the British army in Portugal and serve with distinction during the hard-fought battles of the Peninsula War.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1880

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

[Angie Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Henty. Once we got to the war, things were interesting, and I liked being able to piece together bits of the Peninsular War that I had picked up on in other books (although this book started after the disastrous first campaign that I remembered from one of my favorites). However, the boys' behavior at the beginning of the book--for all the author's assurances that their jokes weren't mean-spirited--was absolutely appalling in some instances! Pulling a revenge prank that almost suffocates someone; injuring teachers; poisoning someone's dog; stealing property and smashing it, then returning it because "of course we wouldn't keep it"--um, no. Just no. It made it hard for me to root for them as heroes for a while. And then, after a lot of hemming and hawing about letting them into the army as buglers because they were much too young, after their first act of heroism, they're immediately made officers? Okay, I know the army's standards were different back then, and Henty's heroes are always promoted fast, but--that stretched the bounds of believability even for Henty. :P

The other main thing that bothered me were some aspects related to their black servant, Sam. I understand the stereotyped dialogue, and I liked some portions of his characterization, but the bits of him pretending to be "the devil" bugged me a bit, even if there was a good purpose behind at least one of them. Also, I would have been willing to overlook the derogatory "Sambo" as the product of some unsympathetic soldiers, especially since he clearly resented it--but when he was called that a number of times in the narration, it was harder to write off.

Overall, an interesting look at the Peninsular War, but not my favorite from the author. 2.5 stars

Content--some derogatory names used for a black man (see above), including "n---", used mostly by himself and once by another; stereotyped dialogue; a man dresses up as "the devil," including stripping off his clothes, to frighten the superstitious Spanish; some dangerous pranks (see above); mentions of war, battles, blood, wounds, and deaths; violence, including murder and attempted murder

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. This is a fun read. It condenses the Peninsular War much more than the Terence O’Connor books. Despite the setting it’s pretty light-hearted, though there is one or two really exciting scenes. There is a much-repeated euphemism; some discrimination against Sam, their black soldier servant; drinking and smoking; and several instances when Sam plays being the Devil to frighten Spaniards, during one of which he is undressed. It isn’t my favourite Henty book simply because none of the characters really call out to me, but it’s an humorous and exciting read.

A Favourite Quote: “The British were now, however, safe in the position which they ought to have taken up before the advance of the French, and had General Craufurd obeyed his orders not to fight beyond the Coa, the lives of 306 of his gallant troops, including the officers, would have been saved.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “The first faint blush of daylight was in the east when they arrived at the cottage[.]”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “...if the head-master's favorite white poodle appeared dyed a deep blue, if Mr. Jones, the most unpopular master in the school, upon coming out of his door trod upon a quantity of tallow smeared all over the doorstep, and was laid up for a week in consequence, there was generally a strong suspicion that Tom and Peter Scudamore were concerned in the matter.”

[Richard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid overall! Enjoyed Tom and Peter. At times a bit slow but would reccommend it.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely any bugles.

[Jim Apps · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little unusual and took a time to get used to the style, a fictional story within a factual book. Having read the two previous books it was very enjoyable and saved the problem of checking parts of the story to see which was fact and which fiction.

[James Craddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and great way to learn history