The Girl Crusoes: A Story of the South Seas

by Oliver Optic

  By CAPTAIN CHARLES GILSON

  The Lost Empire

  A Tale of Many Lands.

  Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO. With Map. Crown 8vo, clothelegant, olivine edges, 6s.

  To found a great Empire in the East was one of the designs of NapoleonBonaparte, and he might possibly have carried it out, had not certainevents happened, which are related in this story. Amongst these werethe Battle of the Nile, and the discovery of Napoleon's plans ofcampaign, in each of which incidents the hero, Mr. Thomas Nunn,Midshipman, was concerned. He was captured and taken to Paris, and itwas here that the plans of campaign fell into his hands; what he didwith them forms the material of an exciting story.

  _Daily News_.--"It is a magnificent story, with not an error of phraseor thought in it.... This book is not only relatively good, butabsolutely so."

  The Lost Column

  A Story of the Boxer Rebellion.

  Illustrated in Colour by CYRUS CUNEO. With Map. Crown 8vo, clothelegant, olivine edges, 6s.

  At the outbreak of the great Boxer Rebellion in China, Gerald Wood, thehero of this story, was living with his mother and brother at MiltonTowers, just outside Tientsin. When the storm broke and Tientsin wascut off from the rest of the world, the occupants of Milton Towers madea gallant defence, but were compelled by force of numbers to retireinto the town. Then Gerald determined to go in quest of the reliefcolumn under Admiral Seymour. He carried his life in his hands, and onmore than one occasion came within an ace of losing it; but he managedto reach his goal in safety, and was warmly commended by the Admiral onhis achievement. The author has found opportunity in this record ofstirring events for some excellent characterisation, and, among others,the matter-of-fact James, Mr. Wang, and Mr. Midshipman Tite will befound diverting in the extreme.

  _Outlook_.--"An excellent piece of craftsmanship."

  _Ladies' Field_.--"All the sketches of Chinese character are excellent,and we read the book with delight from the first page to the last."

  By WILLIAM J. MARX

  For the Admiral.

  Illustrated. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 6s.

  The brave Huguenot Admiral Coligny is one of the heroes of Frenchhistory. Edmond le Blanc, the son of a Huguenot gentleman, undertakesto convey a secret letter of warning to Coligny, and the adventures hemeets with on the way lead to his accepting service in the Huguenotarmy. He shares in the hard fighting that took place in theneighbourhood of La Rochelle, does excellent work in scouting for theAdmiral, and is everywhere that danger calls. The story won the L100prize offered by the Bookman for the best story for boys.

  _Academy_.--"It is much the best book of its kind sent in for reviewthis season, and stands head and shoulders above its rivals."

  By DESMOND COKE

  The School Across the Road

  Illustrated in Colour by H. M. BROCK. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,olivine edges, 5s.

  The incidents of this story arise out of the uniting of twoschools--"Warner's" and "Corunna"--under the name of "Winton," a namewhich the head master fondly hopes will become known far and wide as agreat seat of learning. Unfortunately for the head master's ambition,however, the two sets of boys--hitherto rivals and enemies, nowschoolfellows--do not take kindly to one another. Warner's men ofmight are discredited in the new school; Henderson, lately head boy,finds himself a mere nobody; while the inoffensive Dove is exalted andmade prefect. The feud drags on until the rival factions have anopportunity of uniting against a common enemy. Then, in the enthusiasmaroused by the overthrow of a neighbouring agricultural college, thebitterness between themselves dies away, and the future of Winton isassured.

  _Sheffield Daily Telegraph_.--"Its literary style is above the averageand the various characters are thoroughly well drawn."

  The Bending of a Twig

  Illustrated in Colour by H. M. BROCK. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,olivine edges, 5s.

  When "The Bending of a Twig" was first published it was hailed bycompetent critics as the finest school story that had appeared since"Tom Brown." Then, however, it was purely a story about boys; now Mr.Coke has enlarged and partly rewritten it, and made it more attractiveto schoolboy readers. It is a vivid picture of life in a modern publicschool. The hero, Lycidas Marsh, enters Shrewsbury without havingpreviously been to a preparatory school, drawing his ideas of schoollife from his fertile imagination and a number of school stories he hasread. Needless to say, he experiences a rude awakening on commencinghis new career, for the life differs vastly from what he had been ledto expect. How Lycidas finds his true level in this new world andworthily maintains the Salopian tradition is the theme of thisentrancing book.

  _Outlook_.--"Mr. Desmond Coke has given us one of the best accounts ofpublic school life that we possess.... Among books of its kind 'TheBending of a Twig' deserves to become a classic."

  The House Prefect

  By DESMOND COKE, author of "The Bending of a Twig," etc. Illustratedin Colour by H. M. BROCK. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

  This story of the life at Sefton, a great English public school, mainlyrevolves around the trouble in which Bob Manders, new-made houseprefect, finds himself, owing to a former alliance with the two wildspirits whom, in the interests of the house, it is now his chief taskto suppress. In particular does the spirited exploit with which itopens--the whitewashing by night of a town statue and the smashing ofcertain school property--raise itself against him, next term, when hehas been set in authority. His two former friends persist in stillregarding him as an ally, bound to them by their common secret; and, ina sense, he is attracted to their enterprises, for in becoming prefecthe does not cease to be a boy. It is a great duel this, fought in thestudies, the dormitories and upon the field.

  _World_.--"Quite one of the books of the season. Mr. Desmond Coke hasproved himself a master."

  By A. C. CURTIS

  The Voyage of the "Sesame"

  A Story of the Arctic.

  Illustrated in Colour by W. HERBERT HOLLOWAY. Crown 8vo, clothelegant, olivine edges, 5s.

  The three Trevelyan brothers receive from a dying sailor a rough chartindicating the whereabouts of a rich gold-bearing region in the Arctic.They forthwith build a craft, specially adapted to work in the PolarSeas, and set out in quest of the gold. They do not have things alltheir own way, however, for a rival party of treasure seekers have gotwind of the old sailor's El Dorado, and are also on the trail. In therace and fighting that ensue, the brothers come off victorious; andafter a voyage fraught with many dangers, the Sesame returns home withthe gold on board.

  _Educational News_.--"The building of the stout ship Sesame at Dundeeis one of the best things of the kind we have read for many a day."

  The Good Sword Belgarde

  or, How De Burgh held Dover

  Coloured Illustrations by W. H. C. GROOME. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,olivine edges, 5s.

  This is the story of Arnold Gyffard and John Wottos, pages to SirPhilip Daubeney, in the days when Prince Lewis the Lion invaded Englandand strove to win it from King John. It tells of their journey toDover through a country swarming with foreign troops, and of manydesperate fights by the way. In one of these Arnold wins from a Frenchknight the good sword Belgarde, which he uses to such good purpose asto make his name feared. Then follows the great siege of Dover, fullof exciting incident, when by his gallant defence Hubert de Burgh keepsthe key to England out of the Frenchman's grasp.

  _Birmingham Post_.--"Evidently Mr. Curtis is a force to be reckonedwith. He writes blithely of gallant deeds; he does not make his heroespreposterously wise or formidable; he has a sense of humour; in fine,he has produced a book of sterling quality."

  By GEORGE SURREY

  A Northumbrian in Arms

  A Story of the Time of Hereward the Wake.

  Illustrated in Colour by J. FINNEMORE. Crown 8vo, cloth, olivineedges, 5s.

  Garald Ulfsson, companion of Hereward the Wake and conqueror of theWessex Champion in a great wrestli
ng bout, is outlawed by the influenceof a Norman knight, whose enmity he has aroused, and gees north toserve under Earl Siward of Northumbria in the war against Macbeth, theScottish usurper. He assists in defeating an attack by a band ofcoast-raiders, takes their ship, and discovering that his father hasbeen slain and his land seized by his enemy, follows him into Wales.He fights with Griffith the Welsh King, kills his enemy in a desperateconflict amidst the hills, and, gaining the friendship of Harold, Earlof Wessex, his outlawry is removed and his lands restored to him.

  _School Guardian_.--"With this story the author has placed himself inthe front rank of writers of boys' books."

  By FRANK H. MASON

  The Book of British Ships

  Written and Illustrated by FRANK H. MASON, R.B.A. Crown 8vo, cloth,olivine edges, 5s.

  The aim of this book is to present, in a form that will readily appealto boys, a comprehensive account of British shipping, both naval andmercantile, and to trace its development from the earliest times downto the Dreadnoughts and high-speed ocean liners of to-day. All kindsof British ships, from the battleship to the trawler, are dealt with,and the characteristic points of each type of vessel are explained.

  _British Weekly_.--"Mr. Mason has given us one of the best histories ofEnglish ships that exist. It is admirably written and full ofinformation."

  By Rev. J. R. HOWDEN

  Locomotives of the World

  Containing 16 Plates in Color, 5s. net.

  Many of the most up-to-date types of locomotives used on railwaysthroughout the world are illustrated and described in this volume. Thecoloured plates have been made from actual photographs, and show thepeculiar features of some truly remarkable engines. Thesepeculiarities are fully explained in the text, written by the Rev. J.R. Howden, author of "The Boy's Book of Locomotives," etc.

  _Daily Graphic_.--"An absolutely safe investment for every boy wholoves an engine."

  _Nation_.--"The large coloured pictures of the world's engines are justthe things in which the young enthusiast delights."

  THE ROMANCE SERIES

  Crown 8vo, illustrated, 5s. each.

  By EDWARD FRASER

  The Romance of the King's Navy

  "The Romance of the King's Navy" is intended to give boys of to-day anidea of some of the notable events that have happened under the WhiteEnsign within the past few years. There is no other book of the kindin existence. It begins with incidents afloat during the Crimean War,when their grandfathers were boys themselves, and brings the story downto a year ago, with the startling adventure at Spithead of Submarine84. One chapter tells the exciting story of "How the Navy's V.C.'shave been won," the deeds of the various heroes being brought alltogether here in one connected narrative for the first time.

  _Westminster Gazette_.--"Mr. Fraser knows his facts well, and has setthem out in an extremely interesting and attractive way."

  By A. B. TUCKER

  The Romance of the King's Army

  A companion volume to "The Romance of the King's Navy," telling againin glowing language the most inspiring incidents in the glorioushistory of our land forces. The charge of the 21st Lancers atOmdurman, the capture of the Dargai heights, the saving of the guns atMaiwand, are a few of the great stories of heroism and devotion thatappear in this stirring volume.

  By LILIAN QUILLER-COUCH

  The Romance of Every Day

  Here is a bookful of romance and heroism; true stories of men, women,and children in early centuries and modern times who took theopportunities which came into their everyday lives and found themselvesheroes; civilians who, without beat of drum or smoke of battle, withoutspecial training or words of encouragement, performed deeds worthy tobe written in letters of gold.

  _Bristol Daily Mercury_.--"These stories are bound to encourage andinspire young readers to perform heroic actions."

  By E. E. SPEIGHT and R. MORTON NANCE

  The Romance of the Merchant Venturers

  Britain's Sea Story.

  These two books are full of true tales as exciting as any to be foundin the story books, and at every few pages there is a fineillustration, in colour or black and white, of one of the stirringincidents described in the text.

  BOOKS FOR GIRLS

  By CHRISTINA GOWANS WHYTE

  The Five Macleods

  Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, giltedges, 6s.

  Nina's Career

  Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, giltedges, 6s.

  The modern Louisa Alcott! That is the title that critics in Englandand America have bestowed on Miss Christina Gowans Whyte, whose"Story-Book Girls" they declare to be the best girls' story since"Little Women." Mrs. E. Nesbit, author of "The Would-be Goods," inlikening Miss Whyte to Louisa Alcott, wrote: "This is high praise--butnot too high." "Nina's Career" tells delightfully of a large family ofgirls and boys, children of Sir Christopher Howard, the famous surgeon.Friends of the Howards are Nina Wentworth, who lives with three aunts,and Gertrude Mannering. Gertrude, because she is the daughter of theMrs. Mannering and grand-daughter of a peer, is conscious of alwaysmissing in her life that which makes the lives of the Howards so joyousand full. They may have "careers"; she must go to Court and throughthe wearying treadmill of the rich girls. The Howards get engaged,marry, go into hospitals, study in art schools; and in the end Gertrudealso achieves happiness.

  _Outlook_.--"We have been so badly in need of writers for girls whoshall be in sympathy with the modern standard of intelligence, that weare grateful for the advent of Miss Whyte, who has not inaptly beendescribed as the new Miss Alcott."

  The Story-Book Girls

  By CHRISTINA GOWANS WHYTE.

  Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Cloth elegant, 6s.

  This story won the L100 prize in the Bookman competition.

  The Leightons are a charming family. There is Mabel, the beauty, hernature strength and sweetness mingled; and Jean, the downright, blunt,uncompromising; and Elma, the sympathetic, who champions everybody, andhas a weakness for long words. And there is Cuthbert, too, the cleverbrother. Cuthbert is responsible for a good deal, for he savesAdelaide Maud from an accident, and brings the Story-Book Girls intothe story. Every girl who reads this book will become acquainted withsome of the realest, truest, best people in recent fiction.

  By WINIFRED M. LETTS

  The Quest of the Blue Rose

  Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Crown 8vo, cloth, olivineedges, 5s.

  After the death of her mother, Sylvia Sherwood has to make her own wayin the world as a telegraph clerk. The world she finds herself in is agirls' hostel in a big northern city. For a while she can only see theuncongenial side of her surroundings; but when she has made a friendand found herself a niche, she begins to realise that though the BlueRose may not be for her finding, there are still wild roses in everyhedge. In the end, however, Sylvia, contented at last with herhard-working, humdrum life, finds herself the successful writer of abook of children's poems.

  _Daily News_.--"It is a successful effort in realism, a book of livehuman beings that beyond its momentary interest, which is undoubted,will leave a lasting and valuable impression."

  By ELSIE J. OXENHAM

  Mistress Nanciebel

  Illustrated in Colour by JAMES DURDEN. Crown 8vo, cloth, olivineedges, 5s.

  This is a story of the Restoration. Nanciebel's father, Sir JohnSeymour, had so incurred the displeasure of King Charles by hispersistent opposition to the threatened war against the Dutch, that hewas sent out of the country. Nothing would dissuade Nanciebel fromaccompanying him, so they sailed away together and were duly landed ona desolate shore, which they afterwards discovered to be a part ofWales. Here, by perseverance and much hard toil, John o' Peace made anew home for his family, in which enterprise he owed not a little tothe presence and constant help of Nanciebel, who is the embodiment ofyouthful optimism and womanly tenderness.

  By E. EVERETT-GREEN
r />   Our Great Undertaking

  Illustrated. 5s.

  Miss Evelyn Everett-Green is one of the first favourites with girls andboys. This is how she tells about the beginning of "Our GreatUndertaking." The children have been asking granny for a story:--"Well,my dears, I will see what I can do. You shall come to me at this timeto-morrow night, and I will tell you the story of how, when I was alittle girl, we children undertook what seemed to many people at theoutset a labour of Hercules, and how we learned from it a number oflessons, which have lasted us through life." The grandmother smiles asthe happy children troop off to bed, and in these pages MissEverett-Green tells us the delightful story that grandmother told nextday.

  By M. QUILLER-COUCH

  The Carroll Girls

  Illustrated. 5s.

  The father of the Carroll girls fell into misfortune, and had to go toCanada to make a new start. But he could not take his girls with him,and they were left in charge of their cousin Charlotte, in whosecountry home they grew up, learning to be patient, industrious, andsympathetic. The author has a dainty and pleasant touch, and describesher characters so lovingly that no girl can read this book without keeninterest in Esther's housekeeping and Penelope's music, Angela'spoultry-farming, and Poppy's dreams of market gardening.