When London Burned (Annotated): 6 Historical Novels Set in Britain

by G.A. Henty

This collection includes 6 historical novels by a well-known British author G.A. Henty:
IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE (A Story of Wallace and Bruce)
SAINT GEORGE FOR ENGLAND (A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers)
A MARCH ON LONDON (A Story of Wat Tyler's Insurrection)
BOTH SIDES THE BORDER (A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower)
FRIENDS THOUGH DIVIDED (A Tale of the Civil War)
WHEN LONDON BURNED (A Story of Restoration Times and the Great Fire)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Classics

1767 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1894

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

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up in 2014 in an old bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, the town of books. That was years ago. I finally read it as I prepare to head back to the Uk.
This was more 3.5 stars. There was a lot of interesting storyline and heroic tales of daring deeds. Some adventure and young Cyril had such a good character that he seems nearly flawless. But, often the author keep trying too hard to cram historical details and details of war at sea that it was sometimes a bit boring. All in all, great book and it really brought that time alive. He even managed to bring Sir Pepys into the story without the escapades.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars & 5/10 hearts. I really like this book. It is much less teachy than Henty's usual volumes and is more of a daily-life novel. The Captain and John are so much fun (Henty does a great job with their sailor jargon!), and Cyril can be quite entertaining as well. ;) Mr. Harvey, Mr. Wallace, and Dr. Hodges are admirable men, and Prince Rupert is much better as an older man, though less dashing. :P This is one of Henty's cleanest books—undetailed/passing mentions of drinking, smoking, gambling, & swearing, as usual, but I cannot think of anything else. The daily life is portrayed excellently and most of the book is humorous, with some excellent lessons.

A Favourite Quote: “‘This is a noble opportunity for holding high the banner of Christ. There is work to be done for all, and as the work is done, men should see by the calm courage, the cheerfulness, and the patience of those that do it, that they know that they are doing His work, and that they are content to leave the issue, whatever it be, in His hands.’”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “‘I have two editions, and can well spare one of them, so take the one on that upper shelf, and keep it when you have read it. There is but little difference between them, but I generally use the other, and have come to look upon it as a friend.’”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “‘I had expected to see you rather a solemn personage, for the Earl told me you had more sense in your little finger than I had in my whole body, which was not complimentary to me, though I dare say it is true.’”

[Angelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles is restored after the English Civil War, but then came the plague and burning of London.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cyril Shenstone, though English by birth is brought up in France, as his father supported the King when Cromwell took over. However, Charles is back on the British throne, so Cyril and his father return to England with his father hoping to get back their lands, though they have retained their title. Matters at court moving slowly, and Cyril being desirous to make his own way, he begins working as a clerk to help various store owners keep their account books tidy. When Cyril's father joins his mother in the afterlife, Cyril decides to move in with one of his customers, Captain Dave and family, to the great benefit of both. While living with them, Cyril faces the Plague, the Great London fire and the on again-off again war with the Dutch, as well as court doings.

So this was an area of history that I had vague knowledge of (knew all these events happened, okay, except for the war with the Dutch), but had no idea how close together in time they were! Because of that, there seems to be a lot more happening in this story than is usual for a Henty book, but it isn't like he's tweaking things or putting Cyril in weird places to make sure he's part of events, it's what a teen of the times would have gone through. And though the subjects are dark (I have yet to read a "happy" book that realistically depicted the plague), they are handled appropriately for the intended readers; the harsh reality of the plague and the death tolls are told matter of factly, but not dwelt upon, with only a couple chapters actually about this topic and though mentioning the things (and people) that made it worse, focusing on those that did their best to fight it. Character-wise, Cyril is a tough kid, but always shows he is a gentleman.

Content notes: No language issues, characters are mentioned swearing, but not what is said. A girl almost runs away with a guy who has been lying to her about his station, and the fact that had she done so would have made her life very sad is mentioned, but no details of what probably would have happened to her (loveless marriage at best, forced prostitution at worst). Cyril takes part in a couple military encounters at sea, mostly cannon and fireship warfare with resulting damages and injuries mentioned; the whole town suffers through the plague, with the illness' progress depicted and fighting the fire is shown, though focuses more on the overall damages than individual injuries or deaths.

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 stars

Oh, this has probably just become my favourite Henty! It had none of the elements I normally dislike about his books. I was invested in the story from the beginning...it didn't take long to get going at all. Each character was very well developed, and the story was exciting, suspenseful, and really good. Cyril was a typical Henty hero, but I loved him. And the setting was so interesting to read about, too, and the timeline covered a lot. The characters really stood out in this story... Captain Dave, John Wilkes, Nellie, Sidney, Mr Harvey... I was only minorly disappointed in the marriages at the end, because I had already seen the direction the story was taking and reconciled myself to not having the couple I wanted most ;) But as a second choice, the way things worked out was really satisfactory.
I loved Cyril's story, and his character, and the exciting suspense of the plot. Definitely a Henty book to keep and read again.

[Shannon B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apart from the hero's only flaw being an orphan, it's pretty good. He keeps my attention all throughout, despite life being handed to him without much of his own effort. That said, the historical context is clear and not boring, and he doesn't get carried away with facts as in some of his other books. All in all, would definitely read again

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, maybe it only deserves 4 stars but the 12 year old boy inside of me had to rate it 5 stars. Felt like when I read 61 years ago, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, LORD JIM, etc. Wonderful feel good book with a G rating . made my week a sunny pleasant one.

[Mike Glaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been looking for this book for awhile as I remembered reading it back in the 1970’s. One of the better YA books that I have read in a long time and I was not surprised to find out, it was used by home schoolers.

[CatJuggler · Rating 3 out of 5]

452 pages
With twelve page illustrations by J. Finnemore
Published in 1895, LONDON, Blackie & Son, Limited, 50 Old Bailey, E. C.
Glasgow and Dublin

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the better Henty books.

[Jennieowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for historical background but too much knight in shining armor.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical account or fiction

The story line was interesting. The events were exciting. The main character was almost too good to be true. Not one fault did he have throughout the book. Sometimes the historical account became boring.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henty's book was worth the read - good descriptions of sea battles and of the London fire (and plague), but the main character (Cyril Shenstone) was a little to good to be true. I can only liken him to a male version of Pollyanna. However, he is a fine chap, having made the best of every situation, helping others along the way. I enjoyed the book, but I tire of lengthy battle scene descriptions.

[Joseph Humphrey]

I loved this book. You get a true picture of London, but the book is exciting. I knew nothing about the London fire, but now I know all the events surrounding it. There is always multiple sub plots developing and the main character is always looking behind his shoulder. It is easy to hate the villains in the story. First, they are truly evil and despicable, and secondly, you care about the main characters’ wellbeing. I look forward to reading more of Henty’s books.

[G T · Rating 3 out of 5]

as always with henty books, i liked it alot. im not going to say anything discriptive on the story, just that i thought that the ending was kind of blah in the sence that it ended with " he passed quietly away." that wasn't talking about the main character, but john wilkes, his friend. the last 3 pages were just very quckly going through the rest of cyril's life

[J Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as an introduction to the history of england

I doubt that the people were as honest as portrait. an interesting
tail of valor and good deals being rewarded. altogether a good
read.

[Wesley Tullis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books by Henty. Well written, with descriptive battle scenes and interesting stories.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book. Brought the time period to life. Real heroes!

[Gordon Paisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Loved the hero--Cyril. What a great example of courage, humility and selfless service. Recommended for kids--great historical fiction story.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite part was when Cyril saved Nellie. to me, he saves to many people in his life! not a bad thing.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

God read, but enjoyed In The Reign of Terror much more.

[Susan]

Restoration, plague, London burning during reign of Charles II

[Bill Cosgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

another excellent book by Henty