ABSTRACT
New books are emerging constantly that are in some ways reminiscent of books in the tradition of Henty, the prolific and hugely successful nineteenth century writer of historical fiction, and the twentieth century writer of adventure stories, notably The Thirty Nine Steps and Greenmantle, Buchan. In Victorian times, adventure stories, like R. L. Stevenson’s Treasure Island, tended to reflect the traditional world of men and boys often centred on dangerous journeys and exciting events on land and sea. Many adventure stories can be read online. As Dennis Butt observes, the Robinsonnade form is developed in some books by contemporary authors, including a hugely successful adventure story, Kensuke’s Kingdom, by Michael Morpurgo, with excellent illustrations by Michael Foreman. Read a historical review, like Sheila Ray’s for example, and teachers will find that until comparatively school stories have been mostly set in single sex, secondary boarding schools.
