R. M. Ballantyne
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(Excerpt): "On a certain breezy morning in October-not many years ago-a wilderness of foam rioted wildly over those dangerous sands which lie off the port of Yarmouth, where the Evening Star, fishing-smack, was getting ready for sea. In one of the narrow lanes or "Rows" peculiar to that town, the skipper of the smack stood at his own door, grumbling. He was a broad burly man, a little past the prime of life, but prematurely aged by hard work and hard...
63) Erling the Bold
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This is a tale of a Sea rover, or Viking as they're called. In the author's own words: The present tale is founded chiefly on the information conveyed in that most interesting work by Snorro Sturleson 'The Heimskringla, or Chronicles of the Kings of Norway.' It is translated from the Icelandic. On perceiving the intention of the Danes to attack him, Erling's heart was glad, because he now felt sure that to some extent he had them in his power. If...
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(Excerpt): "Dear Periwinkle,-Since that memorable, not to say miserable, day, when you and I parted at Saint Katherine's Docks, with the rain streaming from our respective noses-rendering tears superfluous, if not impossible-and the noise of preparation for departure damaging the fervor of our "farewell"-since that day. I have ploughed with my "adventurous keel" upwards of six thousand miles of the "main," and now write to you from the wild Karroo...
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Excerpt: "The hour was midnight. This fact was indicated by the family clock-a Dutch one, with a face which had once been white, but was now become greenish yellow, probably from horror at the profanity of the artist who had painted a basket of unrecognizable fruit above it, an irate cockatoo below it, and a blue church with a pink steeple as near to the center of it as the hands would admit of."
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(Excerpt): "Old Ravenshaw, as his familiars styled him, was a settler, if we may use such a term in reference to one who was, perhaps, among the most unsettled of men. He had settled with his family on the banks of the Red River. The colony on that river is now one of the frontier towns of Canada. At the time we write of, it was a mere oasis in the desert, not even an offshoot of civilisation, for it owed its existence chiefly to the fact that retiring...
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(Excerpt): "Wet, worn and weary-with water squeaking in his boots, and a mixture of charcoal and water streaking his face to such an extent that, as a comrade asserted, his own mother would not have known him-a stout young man walked smartly one morning through the streets of London towards his own home. He was tall and good-looking, as well as stout, and, although wet and weary, had a spring in his step, which proved beyond all question that he was...
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(Excerpt): "Everyone has heard of those ponies-those shaggy, chubby, innocent-looking little creatures-for which the world is indebted, we suppose, to Shetland. Well, once on a time, one of the most innocent looking, chubbiest, and shaggiest of Shetland ponies-a dark brown one-stood at the door of a mansion in the west-end of London. It was attached to a wickerwork vehicle, which resembled a large clothesbasket on small wheels. We do not mean, of...
69) Rivers of Ice
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Excerpt: "On a certain summer morning, about the middle of the present century, a big bluff man, of seafaring aspect, found himself sauntering in a certain street near London Bridge. He was a man of above fifty, but looked under forty in consequence of the healthful vigor of his frame, the freshness of his saltwater face, and the blackness of his shaggy hair."
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This is the story of Jasper Derry, a Canadian trapper who is traveling to Fort Erie to marry his fiancé and begin a family. It includes John Heywood's adventure with a ferocious grizzly bear and the evil machinations of Darkeye, an Indian chief. A classic for young readers, ages about 12-16 or so, and great for adults as an action/adventure tale set in the wilderness in the 1800's.
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Set in the outback of Canada this book unfolds in the area with which Ballantyne was so familiar. If you like to read about this area you will find lots in this book to amuse you. (Excerpt from Chapter I): "On the northern shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence there stood, not very long ago, a group of wooden houses, which were simple in construction and lowly in aspect. The region around them was a vast uncultivated, uninhabited solitude. The road...
73) Philosopher Jack
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(Excerpt): "In a humble abode near the said docks a bulky sea-captain lay stretched in his hammock, growling. The prevailing odors of the neighbourhood were tar, oil, fish, and marine-stores. The sea-captain's room partook largely of the same odors, and was crowded with more than an average share of the stores. It was a particularly small room, with charts, telescopes, speaking-trumpets, log-lines, sextants, portraits of ships, sou'-westers, oil-cloth...
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(Excerpt): "This family was not only Thorogood but thorough-going. The father was a blacksmith, with five sons and one daughter, and he used to hammer truth into his children's heads with as much vigour as he was wont to hammer the tough iron on his anvil; but he did it kindly. He was not a growly-wowly, cross-grained man, like some fathers we know of-not he. His broad, hairy face was like a sun, and his eyes darted sunbeams wherever they turned....
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(Excerpt): "It is almost allowable, I think, to say that this is a true story, for fiction has only been introduced for the purpose of piecing together and making a symmetrical whole of a number of most interesting facts in regard to Madagascar and the terrible persecutions that took place there in the early part and middle of the present century. I have ventured to modify time and place somewhat, as well as to mix my characters and their deeds a...
79) Martin Rattler
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Martin Rattler tells the story of a young boy, Martin, who is captured by Native Americans and must use all of his cunning and resourcefulness to escape. Ballantyne uses great detail to bring the setting to life. The characters are well-developed and engaging, and the plot is fast-paced and exciting. This is a great read for anyone interested in adventure stories or historical fiction.
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(Excerpt): "... Edward died in some outlandish place in North America, I never can remember the name, but it's in the papers, so you'll see it-somewhere on the other side of the something mountains-I forget-" "Rocky, perhaps." "Yes, that's it, the Rocky Mountains, and I wish they were not so rocky, for your sake, darling, for you've got to go there and take possession (or serve yourself heir to, or something of that sort) of the property. Not that...