Ghosts, Rogues and Highwaymen: 20 Stories from British History

by Geraldine McCaughrean

Twenty stories about Oliver Cromwell, the Moonrakers, the Plague, the Great Fire of London, Glencoe, the South Sea Bubble, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Battle of Trafalgar, all taken from "Britannia: 100 Stories from British History". Each is followed by a note explaining the historical facts.

106 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

These 3-4 page sketches of incidents or stories of the title subjects are written vividly and clearly, with paragraph long sketches of the basic historical context or important person involved at the end of each of the 20 sketches. Small illustrations add another invitation to youth readers to enjoy history instead of dreading it. Adults interested in fairly obscure but interesting bits of English history will enjoy this book aimed at (7-9th grade?) younger readers.

[Elease · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did this as a read-aloud with my 3rd grade homeschool son, per the recommendation of Story of the World 3. It was a nice companion of stories to go along side our history readings, although at times the lack of context getting into the story was tough. It would have been nice to have just a touch more context at the beginning of some of the stories.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

20 brief tales of important events in British history, starting in 1626 and ending in 1805. Each one is followed by a quick summary of facts. All the stories are super short - the longest probably only six pages, the shortest just two - so it's a really quick read if you want a very rushed crash-course in British history! I did learn quite a few things as well; the story of Mary Jones and her Welsh bible, the South Sea Company, Winstanley's lighthouse. I couldn't help but laugh at the lack of common sense people showed which led to the Calendar riots as well! There was also of course a plague story, a witch-hunting story, and a great fire story, and lots of royal stuff - which I find I am really not interested in. There's just too much and it's all political and uninteresting to me; all that stuff about church and state... yawn, sorry! The only thing that surprised me was that there wasn't any mention of sending convicts to Australia, though the book did cover the right time period for that.