Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California
Page 39
BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.
"Mr. Manville Fenn may be regarded as the successor in boyhood's affections of Captain Mayne Reid."--_Academy._
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_QUICKSILVER:_
Or a Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. With 10 full-page Illustrations by FRANK DADD. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1.50.
Dr. Grayson has a theory that any boy, if rightly trained, can be madeinto a gentleman and a great man; and in order to confute a friendlyobjector decides to select from the workhouse a boy to experiment with.He chooses a boy with a bad reputation but with excellent instincts, andadopts him, the story narrating the adventures of the mercurial lad whothus finds himself suddenly lifted several degrees in the social scale.The idea is novel and handled with Mr. Manville Fenn's accustomedcleverness, the restless boyish nature, with its inevitable tendency toget into scrapes, being sympathetically and often humorously drawn.
"_Quicksilver_ is little short of an inspiration. In it that prince of storywriters for boys--George Manville Fenn--has surpassed himself. It is an ideal book for a boy's library."--_Practical Teacher._
"Mr. Fenn possesses the true secret of producing real and serviceable boys' books. Every word he writes is informed with full knowledge and, even more important, quick sympathy with all the phases of youthful life. In _Quicksilver_ he displays these qualities in a high degree."--_Dundee Advertiser._
_DEVON BOYS:_
A Tale of the North Shore. By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. With 12 full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1.50.
The adventures of Sep Duncan and his school friends take place in theearly part of the Georgian era, during the wars between England andFrance. The scene is laid on the picturesque rocky coast of North Devon,where the three lads pass through many perils both afloat and ashore.Fishermen, smugglers, naval officers, and a stern old country surgeonplay their parts in the story, which is one of honest adventure with themastering of difficulties in a wholesome manly way, mingled withsufficient excitement to satisfy the most exacting reader. The discoveryof the British silver mine and its working up and defence take up alarge portion of the story.
"We do not know that Mr. Fenn has ever reached a higher level than he has in _Devon Boys_. It must be put in the very front rank of Christmas books."--_Spectator._
"An admirable story, as remarkable for the individuality of its young heroes--the cynical Bob Chowne being especially good--as for the excellent descriptions of coast scenery and life in North Devon. It is one of the best books we have seen this season."--_Athenaeum._