Captain Bayley's Heir; a Tale of the Gold Fields of California

by G.A. Henty

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Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Audiobook, American History

402 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

George Alfred Henty, better known as G.A. Henty, began his storytelling career with his own children. After dinner, he would spend and hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories took weeks! A friend was present one day and watched the spell-bound reaction of his children suggesting Henty write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He did. Henty wrote approximately 144 books in addition to stories for magazines and was known as "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian." One of Mr. Henty's secretaries reported that he would quickly pace back and forth in his study dictating stories as fast as the secretary could record them.

Henty's stories revolve around fictional boy heroes during fascinating periods of history. His heroes are diligent, intelligent, and dedicated to their country and cause in the face, at times, of great peril... Henty's heroes fight wars, sail the seas, discover land, conquer evil empires, prospect for gold, and a host of other exciting adventures. Along the way, they meet famous personages... In short, Henty's heroes live through tumultuous historic eras meeting leaders of that time. Understanding the culture of the time period becomes second nature as well as comparing/contrasting the society of various cultures.

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I love this Henty book! Frank is a splendid hero, and I love the other characters too. Alice & Captain Bayley are very amusing; Harry is a lovely chap; and Evan is delightfully funny! This book mingles much humour, morals, and adventure, with excellent Plains Survival information and bits of daily life in the 1830s. There are mentions of drinking; a few words I wouldn’t use; and some discrimination/racism against blacks; but other than that, it’s a lovely story.

A Favourite Quote: “‘After all, the useful life of a tree begins with its fall.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘Do you know, Harry,’ he said, one day, ‘what a rum crest, as they calls it,—I asked the butler what it meant, and he says as how it was the crest of the family—Captain Bayley has; he's got it on his silver[.] “All families of distinction,” the butler said,—he is mighty fond of using hard long words—“all families of distinction,” says he, “as got their own crest, which belongs to them and no one else. Now this ‘ere crest of the guv'nor's is a hand holding a dagger, and the hand has only got three fingers.” I said as how there was two missing, and that the chap as did it couldn't have known much of his business to go and leave out two fingers. But the butler says, “That's your hignorance,” says he; “the hand 'as got only three fingers because a hancestor of the Captain's in the time of the Crusaders”——“And what's the Crusaders?” says I. “The Crusaders was a war between the English and the Americans hundreds of years ago,” says he.’
“Harry burst into a shout of laughter. ‘Mr. Butler does not know anything about it, for the Crusades were wars between people who went out to the Holy Land to recover the Holy Sepulchre from the Turks who held it.’

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adaption by Heirloom Audio (I listened to the abridged, dramatized CD). This tale starts in England, then travels to the Wild West to find gold! Filled with exciting twists, and secrets uncovered. It was an enjoyable listen.

[Laura Trombley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This play is quite pedantic.

[Angie Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to a dramatization and didn't like it much. Maybe it was the abridgment but the flow of the story lacked and the events seemed too tidy and serendipitous.

[Richard Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. He did do a good job with American history. Really enjoyed the book till he got to California. After that, acting seemed to go down. Other then that I liked it.

[Moss Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps Henty’s best novel in my opinion. Starts out slow at the beginning but is fun once the protagonist Frank gets accused of the theft. Good stuff!

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cool book! It's kind of cool how its not about a certain event in history, its more centered around a time period (if I remember correctly) The main character, as always, is awesome! Definitely a must read, especially for Henty fans.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is like a children's version of Henty's more adult, three volume All But Lost. It's a fun story.