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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
G. A. Henty's "Tales of Daring and Danger" is a riveting collection of adventure stories that transport readers to dynamic historical settings, characterized by Henty's trademark vivid descriptions and dramatic narratives. The tales unfold with a blend of excitement and moral lessons, reflecting the Victorian ideals of courage, perseverance, and heroism. Each story not only entertains but also educates, offering insights into various historical contexts, including military exploits and colonial adventures, that were quintessential to the era. G. A. Henty, a renowned British author and war correspondent, was deeply influenced by his experiences in the field and a fervent interest in history. His background, which included first-hand encounters with military conflicts and a commitment to both education and moral upbringing, permeate his works. This led him to craft engaging narratives centered around young protagonists who exemplify bravery and resourcefulness, providing readers with role models in an age of burgeoning imperialism. "Tales of Daring and Danger" is highly recommended for readers seeking a thrilling escape into the past, as well as for educators wishing to inspire young minds about history through captivating storytelling. Henty's skillful weaving of adventure with moral integrity promises to leave a lasting impression on all who delve into his exhilarating tales. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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Tales of Daring and Danger
Table of Contents
Introduction
Across perilous frontiers and storm-tossed margins, mettle is tested, judgment is proved, and character emerges under the press of danger. Tales of Daring and Danger gathers a sequence of adventure narratives by G. A. Henty that foreground resolve, ingenuity, and the moral weight of action when circumstances turn hazardous. Written for a young audience yet paced to draw in general readers, the collection showcases the author’s signature blend of brisk incident and practical problem-solving. Each episode invites readers to consider how courage operates moment by moment, not as mere bravado but as disciplined attention, steadiness, and care.
G. A. Henty, a British writer and late Victorian journalist known for adventure fiction, composed this volume within the flourishing tradition of nineteenth-century boys’ literature. First published in the late nineteenth century, the collection reflects the period’s appetite for tales set in far-flung locales and testing situations. Rather than a single, continuous plot, it offers several self-contained stories that move across diverse terrains, with dangers arising from nature, conflict, and human miscalculation. The result is a compact survey of scenarios in which quick thinking and fortitude matter, shaped by an era that prized enterprise, duty, and perseverance.
Readers encounter a deliberately varied palette of crises: sudden reversals, calculated risks, and narrow escapes that emphasize decision-making under pressure. Henty’s storytelling favors clear stakes, uncluttered prose, and action sequences that turn on practical details—navigation, planning, timing, and teamwork. The voice is confident and explanatory, guiding younger readers through cause and effect while maintaining momentum. Each narrative is designed to be entered and exited cleanly, making the book well suited to episodic reading. The mood balances excitement with instruction, presenting danger as both a thrill and a teacher, where outcomes hinge as much on judgment as on raw nerve.
Several themes recur with quiet insistence. Courage appears less as spectacle than as consistency, the refusal to panic when circumstances narrow and consequences loom. Resourcefulness—reading terrain, repurposing scant tools, coordinating with companions—provides the means by which courage takes form. Duty and loyalty bind individuals to one another in the face of risk, prompting choices that weigh personal safety against shared responsibility. A respect for skill, discipline, and preparedness undergirds the tales, suggesting that chance favors the trained. Together, these elements shape a vision of maturity forged not by age alone but by repeated encounters with difficulty and uncertainty.
The collection also carries the imprint of its time. Produced in the late Victorian era, it reflects perspectives common to British imperial culture, including assumptions about geography, conflict, and hierarchy that today invite scrutiny. Modern readers may find in these pages both the momentum of classic adventure and viewpoints that need contextual framing. Approached critically, the book serves as a window into period attitudes about exploration and order, offering opportunities to discuss how narratives of bravery can be intertwined with national and cultural vantage points. Such awareness broadens the reading from simple excitement to informed engagement.
For contemporary audiences, the book offers multiple points of entry. Fans of fast-paced survival scenarios will appreciate the economy with which situations are set up and resolved. Educators and parents may value the way the stories present cause-and-effect thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and the ethics of leadership and followership under stress. The episodic format supports reading in short sittings, while the varied settings invite curiosity about history and geography. Whether approached for entertainment or for reflection, the collection readily spurs questions: What does it mean to act bravely, who benefits from such action, and at what cost?
Tales of Daring and Danger thus stands as a concise introduction to Henty’s larger project: adventure as a proving ground for character. Its enduring appeal lies in the tension between hazard and prudence, initiative and responsibility, individual resolve and collective welfare. Read today, the book rewards both the appetite for peril well told and the impulse to examine the values that such peril reveals. It is an invitation to traverse testing ground—narrative and ethical alike—where readers can enjoy the pull of action while considering how courage, skill, and judgment continue to matter in challenging times.
Synopsis (Selection)
Tales of Daring and Danger is a collection of self-contained adventure stories by G. A. Henty, each following young protagonists confronted by sudden peril and demanding circumstances. The narratives range across land and sea, placing capable but untested characters in situations that require quick judgment, endurance, and cooperation. As episodes unfold, routine tasks give way to emergencies, prompting improvised plans and calculated risks. The book maintains a brisk pace, using clear stakes and concrete objectives to move each plot forward. While settings differ, the stories share a consistent emphasis on level-headed resourcefulness, disciplined action, and loyalty under stress, presented in straightforward, chronological sequences.
The opening tale unfolds at sea, beginning with an apparently uneventful voyage that swiftly escalates into crisis. The crew confronts hazards that demand precise navigation and steady nerve, with the protagonists tasked to relay messages, manage sail or steam, and keep order amid confusion. A critical decision turns on reading weather and water correctly, while an unforeseen complication forces a change of plan under pressure. Communication between officers and youths is essential, and missteps have immediate consequences. The turning point arrives when the characters accept a dangerous course to avoid a worse outcome, placing responsibility and initiative into younger hands at a decisive moment.
A subsequent story moves to a rugged borderland, where a small party undertakes reconnaissance in uncertain terrain. The narrative emphasizes observation, concealment, and the management of limited supplies. A sudden ambush compels a retreat through difficult ground, using local knowledge to evade pursuit. The protagonists weigh the risks of doubling back, splitting the group, or attempting a night passage. Signals, decoys, and careful pacing help stretch their advantage. The key pivot comes when they must choose between holding a defensible position or attempting a stealthy passage to warn others, with timing and silence as crucial as courage in determining what follows.
Another tale follows a caravan along exposed tracks, where the elements and human threats combine to test endurance. The story begins with orderly travel and watch schedules, then introduces shifting sand and waning water stores. Suspicious movements on the horizon prompt precautionary measures, negotiating skills, and rehearsed drills for defense. The protagonists manage animals, guard rations, and weigh the cost of speed against exhaustion. A tense standoff develops, punctuated by feints and signals, with the balance of advantage changing as day turns to night. The turning moment revolves around a bid to break contact under cover, minimizing losses while preserving the group’s core mission.
In a forested wilderness episode, river navigation, weather, and unfamiliar tracks complicate a seemingly straightforward journey. The plot progresses through mapping, scouting ahead, and establishing temporary camps with strict discipline. A chance encounter with local hunters introduces uncertainty that the protagonists address through caution, signs of goodwill, and readiness for retreat. Tracking, counter-tracking, and reading the ground become as important as direct confrontation. When supplies run thin, the group must decide between pressing forward along a known hazard or detouring into unknown country. The pivotal choice hinges on trust, judgment of terrain, and the need to safeguard an injured companion.
The collection also includes a port-side narrative centered on dockyards, warehouses, and the movement of cargo. Routine inspections and night watches set the stage for a suspected smuggling operation, bringing the protagonists into contact with sailors, carters, and officials. Small details—unusual marks on crates, altered manifests, poorly timed lanterns—build to a pattern that demands action. A warehouse fire, whether accidental or staged, becomes both obstacle and cover, forcing rapid rescue efforts and a chase through crowded alleys. The turning point is an insight drawn from a minor discrepancy, which guides a calculated interception without divulging the precise outcome or later retribution.
A riverine expedition in a tropical climate presents different dangers: disease, heat, shifting channels, and predatory wildlife. The narrative stresses routine—boiling water, rationing, and patrol rotations—as much as emergency response. A sudden squall complicates transport of critical equipment, and an illness among the party strains manpower. Improvised rafts, makeshift shelters, and careful timing of crossings become essential. The protagonists must decide whether to jettison gear to save time or conserve resources for the unknown ahead. A crucial juncture occurs when a guide suggests an alternate route; the choice measures prudence against momentum, shaping the risks carried into the next stretch of river.
The concluding adventure returns to the coast in severe weather, where lifeboat crews and shore parties coordinate under strict constraints of tide and visibility. Orders are brief and exacting, and every delay has consequences. The protagonists take on roles that demand strength and precision—handling lines, reading signals, and securing passengers under relentless spray. A damaged hull and a narrow channel force a debate about attempting a second approach. Leadership under pressure—impartial, direct, and focused on essentials—guides the effort. The story centers on timing and teamwork rather than spectacle, culminating in a resolution that aligns with the collection’s emphasis on duty and composure.
Across these stories, the book presents variations on a common pattern: danger emerges quickly, practical measures are taken, and character reveals itself through action. The emphasis falls on cool judgment, preparedness, and mutual reliance. Settings change from ship to shore, from open desert to tangled forest, but the core challenges remain recognizable—scarce resources, unreliable information, and pressing time. Without dwelling on introspection, the narratives show how disciplined habits and steady leadership can steady inexperienced hands. The overarching message is straightforward: facing uncertainty with courage, clarity, and cooperation offers the strongest chance of preserving life, accomplishing the task, and returning to tell the tale.
Historical Context
Set in the late Victorian world of global empire, Tales of Daring and Danger situates action across the sprawling geography of British power, from African interiors and the Mediterranean littoral to Asian frontiers and European battlefields. The period roughly spans the 1850s to the 1880s, under Queen Victoria’s reign (1837–1901), when steamships, railways, and telegraph cables compressed distance and enabled rapid imperial intervention. Ports like Alexandria, Cape Town, and Bombay, and inland corridors such as the Nile and the Khyber Pass, form the strategic landscape. This multipolar setting reflects the author’s journalistic eye for campaigns, logistics, and the hazards faced by scouts, dispatch riders, and naval landing parties.
Egypt and the Sudan supply one of the most decisive contexts. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and became a strategic lifeline to India; in 1875 Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli purchased the Khedive’s shares, strengthening British leverage. Domestic revolt followed in Egypt under Ahmed Urabi (1881–1882), culminating in the British victory at Tel el-Kebir on 13 September 1882 and occupation of Cairo. In the Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi in 1881, defeating Egyptian forces and besieging General Charles Gordon in Khartoum. The Nile Expedition under Sir Garnet Wolseley sought relief in 1884–1885, but Khartoum fell on 26 January 1885. Henty’s reportage and narrative preoccupations with desert marches, riverine transport, reconnaissance, and last-minute rescues resonate strongly with these events, and episodes of perilous communication and small-unit initiative in the collection mirror the strategic tensions that Egypt and the Sudan posed for Britain.
West and southern Africa, sites of rapid British expansion and conflict, also shaped the work. The Second Anglo–Ashanti War (1873–1874) under Sir Garnet Wolseley featured the battle of Amoaful on 31 January 1874 and the occupation of Kumasi, showcasing jungle campaigning, supply difficulties, and coordinated columns. The Anglo–Zulu War of 1879 saw disaster at Isandlwana on 22 January and a defensive stand at Rorke’s Drift the same day, before the crushing of the Zulu army at Ulundi on 4 July. The First Boer War (1880–1881) ended with British defeat at Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 and a negotiated autonomy. Henty reported from West Africa and wrote extensively on southern African warfare; the collection’s emphases on scouting, forts, frontier skirmishes, and the perils of overconfidence align with these campaigns’ lessons in terrain, mobility, and leadership.
Continental upheavals provided another wellspring. The Franco–Prussian War (1870–1871) included the encirclement and capitulation of Napoleon III at Sedan on 1 September 1870 and the siege of Paris through the winter, followed by the Paris Commune (March–May 1871) and its violent suppression. Henty covered the war as a correspondent, and his exposure to modern mobilization, siege conditions, and civilian vulnerability informs his brisk depictions of improvisation under fire, intelligence-gathering behind lines, and the moral tests of urban warfare that recur in tales of daring escapes and perilous missions.
The Eastern Question and the waning Ottoman Empire framed crises that drew Britain to the Mediterranean. The Russo–Turkish War (1877–1878) ended with the Treaty of San Stefano and was revised at the Congress of Berlin (June–July 1878), redrawing Balkan borders and prompting the Cyprus Convention (1878), which gave Britain administrative control of Cyprus as a strategic base. Volunteer bands, irregular warfare, and contested mountain passes typified the region. Henty’s familiarity with Balkan reportage is reflected in episodes that evoke brushes with Ottoman or irregular forces, where terrain, ambush, and diplomacy are as decisive as firepower.
On the northwest frontier of British India, the Second Anglo–Afghan War (1878–1880) tested imperial logistics and resolve. Following pressure on Emir Sher Ali Khan, the Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879) ceded foreign policy influence to Britain; the subsequent Kabul uprising and the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari on 3 September 1879 triggered punitive expeditions. General Frederick Roberts’s celebrated march from Kabul to Kandahar in August 1880 relieved the city after a 300-mile advance. The collection’s recurrent motifs of mountain scouting, convoy protection, and hazardous message-carrying through hostile valleys echo the tactical realities of Afghan and frontier campaigning.
The political culture of New Imperialism and social changes in Britain undergird the collection’s outlook. The 1870 Elementary Education Act, compulsory attendance in 1880, and free elementary schooling by 1891 expanded mass literacy, fueling a market for juvenile adventure and war reportage. Newspapers such as the Standard, for which Henty served as a special correspondent, brought distant campaigns into British homes, fostering jingoistic enthusiasm and debates over cost and morality. Telegraphic dispatches and illustrated weeklies shaped public expectations of swift, heroic action. These forces inform the book’s emphasis on duty, technical competence, and the valorization of disciplined service in distant theaters.
As a social and political critique, the book works indirectly, revealing the era’s contradictions. It celebrates merit and the professionalization of soldiers and sailors while exposing the costs of bureaucratic delay, poor intelligence, and complacent command that Victorian campaigns repeatedly displayed, from Isandlwana to Khartoum. It affirms class mobility through courage and skill, yet it also normalizes imperial hierarchies and racialized assumptions embedded in British policy. By dramatizing logistical strain, underfunded posts, and the human toll of frontier wars, the collection highlights strategic overreach and uneven governance, even as it endorses order, discipline, and a paternal vision of imperial responsibility.
