Held Fast For England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) tells the story of Bob Repton, a young boy who is sent to live with his sister and her husband, Captain O'Halloran, in Gibraltar. The year is 1779, and the British colony is under siege by the Spanish and French. Bob soon finds himself caught up in the excitement of the siege, and he witnessed firsthand the courage and determination of the British soldiers and civilians who defend the Rock. He also makes new friends, including Jim Sankey, a young sailor who is determined to make a name for himself. Together, Bob and Jim experience the highs and lows of war, and they learn the importance of friendship, courage, and loyalty. The book is a historical fiction novel, but it is also a story about the power of the human spirit. Henty's writing is vivid and engaging, and he brings the characters and events of the siege to life. Held Fast For England is a classic tale of adventure, courage, and patriotism.
English author and war correspondent George Alfred Henty lived from 8 December 1832 to 16 November 1902. He is most well-known for his historical fiction and adventure books, including The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883), and In Freedom's Cause (1883). (1885). He was a British journalist who served as G. A. Henty's war correspondent. He was raised in Cambridge and finished his education there at Gonville and Caius College. He continued to cover important wars that followed, such as the Italian and Austro-Italian Wars. He wrote 122 books, most of which were geared toward young readers. He also wrote non-fiction, adult fiction, and short tales. In Henty's stories, the main character is a boy or young man who is going through a challenging situation. His characters are consistently low-key, astute, courageous, truthful, and resourceful with a lot of "pluck." The date was put at the bottom of the title page of each of Henty's 122 historical fiction works in their first printings.
