Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main

by G.A. Henty

The struggle between England and Spain for supremacy of the high seas, as seen through the eyes of a sixteenth-century teenager, Ned Hearne. Along with three friends, young Ned is swept up in one adventure after another as he accompanies the daring English mariner Francis Drake on amazing voyages of discovery across the Pacific. An eyewitness to the great naval battle between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada, Ned has firsthand views of England's rise as the world's most powerful sea-going nation.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Classics, Young Adult, War, Historical

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1883

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]

4 stars & 4/10 hearts. I love Henty, it’s no secret. His books are supposed to be inspiration and motivation to young men, encouraging them to live active lives, be good people, have initiative, and know the history of their people.

This story transpires during 1572 to 1577, set in South America and the islands around. Although there are frequent bits narrating pure history, there is plenty of adventure and action with our protagonists Ned Hearne, Gerald Summers, Tom Tressilis, and Reuben Gail. Henty’s writing style is perhaps a little repetitive, but it is quaint and active and still remains one of my favourites!

Henty’s heroes I either love or am indifferent to. These particular characters did not really stand out to me. They were nice fellows, active and brave and kind, but nothing especial. But I really liked Drake, in spite of his acts of borderline piracy… which, after all, was not seen as piracy but as lawful warfare in the days. Henty did a good job explaining the things that strike us as shocking or ludicrous.

The plot was enjoyable. I looked forwards to all Ned’s adventures and seeing how he got away each time. I particularly liked the one where he showed the Natives how to make fire! There was no romance at all in this story, even if according to Henty’s typical plots one would expect Ned to marry a certain young lady… but that would have made the book too long.

Overall, this was a good capture of the English-Spanish sea battles, the Inquisition, and at how the Spanish and Portuguese handled their colonies/conquests (which methods Henty condemned).

Content list: Mention of drinking. Several occasions where Natives consider the Whites gods and worship them. An obsolete and now offensive term is used for the Blacks but not meant derogatorily. A mention that “there is good in all religions.” List may be updated upon reread.

A Favourite Quote: “Be careful, my boys. I know that you will be brave, if necessary; but care and caution are the great things, and remember that our safety depends upon yours.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “It will be hard,” Reuben said, “if we do not meet with some adventure. This is the first time that I have been out with you, Ned. The others have had their share, and it will be hard upon me if, when I get home, I have not some tale to tell my friends.”
“I hope that it will not be so,” Ned said, “for more than story telling depends upon our success.”

[Donna]

As an English teacher, I was once tempted to assign outside reading of classics that had not yet been made into movies. Then I realized that if it was a good story it almost certainly had a film version of some kind; if it didn't there was a reason. This book as far as I know doesn't have a film version. And there is good reason.

Under Drake's Flag was written in the 1800's about a sea-faring adventurer who is lost overboard, castaway on tropical islands and mistaken for a god several times. The hero really doesn't spend much time at sea. Ned is taller, braver, smarter and more English than anyone out there. The plot is rather simplistic (it was written as a boy's adventure novel much like Treasure Island) as Ned overcomes one obstacle after another, converting savages, rescuing drowning Spanish sailors and impressing the natives in virtually every village in which he washes ashore. Ned is the Mary Poppins of English sailors: Practically Perfect in Every Way. He learns languages quickly, solves problems cleverly and incites hero worship regularly.

The most enjoyable part of reading this book was chuckling at its ethnocentrism and shaking my head at how politically incorrect it was. Shocking. I'm sure it has been banned or burned somewhere. Still, this was a valuable insight into the British mind of the Victorian era. Not one I will read again, but entertaining in a quaint way.

[Lilly]

I haven’t listened to this audio drama in such a long time. And what better time to revisit one’s favourite audio books than after a surgery and needing something to occupy one’s mind?
Ned and Gerald are an amazing duo and G.A. Gentry does a stupendous job of bringing this era of history back to life.
I shall leave you with the prayer of Sir Francis Drake himself titled Disturb Us Lord
“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

“Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

“Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

“We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.”
 — Sir Francis Drake — 1577

[Pamela]

Note: This review is based on an audiobook made from the book.

Under Drake's Flag: a Tale of the Spanish Main is a swashbuckling adventure filled with Christian themes. It teaches us to stay strong in our Faith no matter what. We follow Ned and Jerald on their adventures with famous English privateer Sir Francis Drake and their trials with the Spanish Inquisition.

Personally, I love this book and will definitely be listening to it again. The only thing I don't like about it, really, is that Ned and Jerald aren't very flawed characters. Sure, there's outburst of anger from them, but there is no character arch with the two changing a flaw. However, Coming of Age is a prominent theme throughout the book and there is a satisfying bit to tie it together in the denouement.

All in all, I would definitely recommend!

[Bailey Marissa]

2020: I did a chapter and I can't do it. Hopefully this review will actually show up



2017: It's over. It's finally over.

So I've read a lot of boring books over the years, but this one is definitely in the top ten. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do believe that this would be a better movie than a book. It also lies; he's only with Drake for like a half to a third of the book.

Recommended 11+ for violence, the unfortunately typical racial relations of the time period, and boredom from the lack of story.

[Karen]

Listened to the audio dramatized while folding laundry :)

[Viva]

Spoilers ahead.

This is your formulaic GA Henty young man's adventure book, this time following Drake around the world from west to east.

Ned Hearn is a vicar's son living in a Devonshire port (can't remember which since it was a couple weeks ago I read this). He saves live(s) by swimming out to the breakers during a storm and comes to Drake's attention and Drake allows him to go on his next trip to the Caribbean. During this trip, Ned is left behind on an island with a friend. He saves and befriends a young Spanish girl and her family and they escape into the hills where they meet and end up being the leader of a group of natives and escaped slaves. They have several adventures where they beat the Spanish who go into the hills to capture them but they eventually meet an English ship and go back home.

Drake then prepares for a bigger journey, this is the one around the world. Ned, with a little experience and money this time becomes a gentleman adventurer and places a small monetary investment in the voyage.

This voyage is fairly well known so I won't repeat it. They land first near the River Plata delta and Ned and a friend is left behind when natives attack. As Drake is planning to round the Cape, they decide to journey overland across the continent of S. America and hope to meet Drake in Chile. During the cross-continent journey we get fanciful stories of Ned's doings where the European way is almost always superior to the natives' ways.

They finally get to Chile where they embark on more adventures, saves a young Spanish gentleman's life who in turn saves them from the Spanish Inquisition, just in time to see Drake arrive in port.

They travel up the coast and then sail westward across the Pacific. There are encounters with natives and once again Ned and a friend are left behind. They have adventures with the natives (always being the leader) and arrive at a Portuguese settlement where again they lead the Portuguese into defeating a native attack. They then sail to Goa and then to Portugal and back home.

In this book, Drake's voyage is merely a setting where Ned is left behind at various places and have fanciful adventures. Pretty a much a stock boy's adventure book from that time period. It would have been exciting reading then.

[R.]

I was quite disappointed with Under Drake's Flag. I enjoyed Henty's The Dragon and the Raven, but for me, there is nothing positive to be found when comparing the two books.

While both books share plot elements, Drake's Flag couldn't maintain the narrative strength or the connection to actual history so prominent in Dragon/Raven.

Henty's views on the natives encountered in Drake's Flag really grated. He treats them as being virtually sub-human. For example, our young protagonists encounter tribes who
had yet to discover how to use fire. That beggars belief.

Finally, who is this "Drake" character? Henty gives Drake a few brief cameos in the first two-thirds of the book. Then, as if to make up for that, he gives us what amounts to a quick
mini-bio of Drake in the final chapter of the book. Too little, too late.

I'll probably read at least one more book by Mr. Henty. His books promise to give insight to so many parts of English history that interest me. We'll see...

[Alex Pierce]

Under Drake's Flag was an okay book because of the battles. I liked his other books better because they kept me interested. This book has high and low spots where it is interesting and others where you're like when will it end. My favorite part of this book is when Ned fights the shark and kills it while saving his friend. If you can get to chapter 5 without returning the book you will finally get interested and keep reading.

[John]

A fantastic adventure described in minute details. The tails of Captain Drake having led to himself Sir Francis Drake !

Here is an epoch tail of adventure described in miniscule details. The South Seas exploits of Sir Francis Drake was beyond the pail of adventure. Your interest will most assuredly tweeked. The author draws your interest in his writings not surprisingly very memorable !!

[S. M. Hasan]

এডভেঞ্চার কাহিনী হিসেবে বলব চলে, কিন্তু পেছনের অংশে যে লেখা উনি হেনরি রাইডার হ্যাগার্ডের চেয়ে কম নন এটা নিয়ে আমার প্রশ্ন আছে। বই পড়ে তেমন মনেই হয়নি। অনুবাদটাও কেমন যেন লাগলো, অনীশ দাস অপুর সাথে এই অনুবাদ যায় না বলা যায়, সব মিলিয়ে অভিজ্ঞতা ভালো নয়। লেখক ক্যাপ্টেন ড্রেক কে বিখ্যাত ক্যাপ্টেন বানাতে চেয়েছেন হয়তো, কিন্তু কোথায় যেন খেই হারিয়ে ফেলেছেন। যদিও গল্পটা এক কিশোরকে নিয়ে, ড্রেক এখানে পার্শ্ববর্তী চরিত্র। কিন্তু সমুদ্রের উত্তাল এডভেঞ্চার, যুদ্ধ এসবে জমতে পারেনি বইটি।

[Marisa Maloney]

My review is also based on the audio book based off the G . A. Henry book Under Drakes Flag.
We listened to the audio drama as a family a few years ago and decided to try it again. It’s all adventure and definitely worked better for an older audience. Our kids were 10,8,5.5 and 2)
I would recommend any of the audio theater Henry books to families.

[dia]

read this twice ages ago. love the part where he takes over an island and topples down tree trunks a la family robinson. is this racist and so anglocentric? yes, down w the spanish they're barely human bc inquisition (me when i create my own persecutes-entirely-different-people-group church). childhood pleasure i fear

[Julie Horner]

I read this to see if it would be a good fit for my son who loves adventure stories — it is definitely a boy adventure story, so I personally didn’t enjoy it all that much 😅 but I look forward to letting my son read it.

That being said, it’s going to wait a few years until we can have honest conversations about the way slavery and native African tribes were handled.

[Charity Balyeat]

Detailed intense history! Amazing story!

Great book, quite interesting, learned a lot of amazing history!
From Indians who have never seen fire to the Spanish Inquisition, the English sailors are always met with new adventures and obstacles.

[Elizabeth Reid]

3.5 stars. Great storytelling and writing! Despite the book's title, Ned spends more of his time trying to get back under Drake's flag than actually serving under it. This is a great adventure story for kids.

[james douglas annat]

Enjoyed this book. It has to be viewed in context though, as it was written well over a century ago. It reads like a boys own adventure and it gives an insight into the way the English felt superior to everyone else at that time.

[Emily K]

Did not finish. We were reading aloud as we study the time frame of the reformation. We made it a little less than halfway and I could not continue. I felt like the story came to a good conclusion where we stopped. The story was difficult for one of my kids to follow.

[Merenwen Inglorion]

This rating is for an audio book edition. Executive producer, Bill Heid; written and directed by John Fornof; mentionable names include John Campbell, Mark Drury, and Brian Blessed.

[Sarah]

Book on CD.

[Mary Claire]

Listened to the dramatized audio with 8 & 10 year old boys. A fun adventure!

[Tiana Turner]

Same adventure over and over again with minor alteration. Wish Drake has a more interesting character as he is in the title...

[Christy Gould]

My third or fourth Henty, and my favorite so far (by far). Better yet, my 7th grader didn’t complain about reading it once, which is huge for him.

[Colette]

Holy mackerel.

If you ever wanted to know what a “spectacularly racist” old English Nationalist thought about being a pirate, here you are. If not, just give this one a pass

[Heather]

Fun 19th century adventure set on the high seas, with plenty of exciting, improbable plot twists to delight the juvenile audience it was written for.

[Bill Suits]

This was excellent. It's very Jules Verne like. As his books were often adventures/travel novels, so is this book. It starts out like you think it begins. But it ends very very differently. It is quite a trip. I enjoyed it immensely I will be reading more in the series.

[Carlos Montijo]

Another great story, just disappointed at how it’s condensed to two hours from the original, which is at least 10 hours long, losing 80% of excellent story and content. I’m learning that these Heirloom audio series are more for kids, because it’s definitely worth reading the entire novel.

[Alyssa]

Listened to the Heirloom Audio version of this story. Greatly enjoy them, but often the foley makes it difficult to understand what is happening in the action sequences. Also, I find them a little too abridged for the story to be completely cohesive. Overall; however, they make very enjoyable listens!

[Owen]

In the early 90s, I came into possession of what I took to be a very nearly complete collection (I have 75 volumes), mostly in first or other early editions, of the British writer G. A. Henty. Henty died in 1902 or thereabouts, having written his last books about the actions which took place in the war opposing English troops and Boer commandos. And that was his formula, first and foremost to record in print the historical events associated with any British military venture from the early Middle Ages onwards. The other characteristic of his writing was, that it was intended for consumption by boys and as such it was typical of a genre that was well developed in the late Victorian period. Henty's prefaces invariably start, "My Dear Boys," and he developed a sort of intimacy with his youthful audience that eventually made him something of a best selling author at the end of last century. It is interesting to note that he is still in print, or was until very recently.

Most of his books have a two-fold purpose therefore; recounting (mainly) military history and inculcating a certain notion of the standard of behaviour to be expected from a future young subaltern. No doubt, of the thousands of officers from British and colonial regiments who went to the front in 1915 and dashed themselves bravely against the German wall, a great many had had this form of early Henty training. Having read so many of them, one can scarcely recall the actual details of plots and sub-plots. Yet on the details of the history involved, there is much to learn, as Henty was a meticulous man who recorded as fully as possible (and some times too fully, it must be admitted, with respect to the endless movements of particular regiments into the line) the events he describes. He is equally good at sea as on land and has written some classics of maritime literature, particularly "Under Drake's Flag," and "Cochrane the Dauntless." So while Henty can hardly be expected to have a wide audience today, for those who find him to their taste, it must be said that the material, most of which will have to be located second hand, is not wanting.

[Chloe]

Under Drake’s Flag, by G. A. Henty, follows the daring escapades of a young boy nicknamed Ned. Though the title is ‘Under Drake’s Flag’, it is surprising how little time Ned is actually with Captain Drake, or even on a ship, for that matter.

The book was well-written, but almost too well. Many a time my mind wandered while reading pages of eloquent words that could have been easily narrowed down to a few sentences or a paragraph or two. It was almost as if Henty was trying to make what could have been a simple story, into a long, and ofttimes tedious, tale. Though considered a classic adventure book, Under Drake’s Flag simply did not capture or pull me into the story.