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Historical fiction for boys 10-15

annis
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Post by annis » Fri February 27th, 2009, 6:34 pm

While I was looking for something else, I came across this list of Children's/YA historical novels from Warwick Public Library. Seeing it looks quite useful, though heavy on the US history, I thought I'd add it here:
http://www.wwlibrary.org/newsite/teens/ ... iction.htm
Last edited by annis on Sat December 26th, 2009, 10:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Anna Elliott
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Post by Anna Elliott » Mon March 30th, 2009, 2:24 am

These are more on the lines of historical fantasy, but there's the Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron.

Author of the Twilight of Avalon trilogy
new book: Dark Moon of Avalon, coming Sept 14 from Simon &Schuster (Touchstone)

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http://www.annaelliottbooks.com

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SarahWoodbury
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Post by SarahWoodbury » Mon April 6th, 2009, 5:57 pm

For a ten year old, Brian Jacques (of Redwall fame) has his Flying Dutchman Trilogy which my kids liked very much. My son started reading Jeff Shaara several years ago (he is now 16); I second the Stephen Lawhead Arthur books, along with Mary Stewart's Merlin books. My kids mostly read historical fantasy at this age, because most of the historical fiction is just so brutal (Cornwell, et. al.). Thus, Lloyd Alexander's 'Book of Three' (plus 4 more) is a must read for a ten year old.

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Jack
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Post by Jack » Fri April 17th, 2009, 7:06 pm

Louis L'Amour wrote an HF novel that would be great for a guy that age. It's called The Walking Drum The hero is a young man who has to scour the known world looking for his father. The theme of transitioning into manhood is usually something that guys that age identify with immediately, and the history along the way is terriffic. I'd be shocked if he's able to put it down.-Jack

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Sat April 25th, 2009, 11:42 pm

Definitely, definitely -- almost anything by Geoffrey Trease. Cue for Treason is his classic, but also The Hills of Varna, etc. etc. They are great adventure stories, usually revolving around a young boy (14 to 16?) and a young girl of the same age. In Cue for Treason, the boy runs away from home, ends up in London as an actor in Shakespeare's troupe, and unmasks a plot against Queen Elizabeth. He has written about Roman times, about the expulsion of the Jews and Spain in the early 14thc (Red Towers of Granada), about Garibaldi, about WW2, about Romania, about Napoleon (Thunder at Valmy), the Bolshevik Revolution (White Nights of St. Petersburg). Younger boys (maybe 12, 13, depending on reading level & level of interest) would like these.

Henry Treece, as someone noted, wrote great HF akin to Rosemary Sutcliffe.

Harold Pyle is good, and there is a very good series from Ronald Welch, revolving around generations in the same family from the days of the Norman invasion right up to WW1. Basically, it's GA Henty with updated language and updated sensibilities. Think "With Richard the Lionheart on Crusade" for The Gauntlet.

There is a book called I, Juan de Pareja, about a boy who is born a slave to Velasquez, and how he rises to become an artist in his own right.

Johnny Tremain is a good Revolutionary War yarn.

These would mostly be for younger boys, I think -- 10 to 12, depending on level of maturity. (Kids these days seem to become blase at an earlier and earlier age!!)

Cuchulainn
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Post by Cuchulainn » Tue April 28th, 2009, 3:38 am

Did anyone mention "Moonfleet" by James Meade Faulkner?

I read that book in grade 8 and loved it so much I asked my teacher for a copy after we all had to hand our books. I still have it on my shelf. Maybe my boys will read it one day.

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Spitfire
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Post by Spitfire » Wed April 29th, 2009, 3:15 pm

My 11 year old boy is really into the author Gary Paulsen. He wrote a series the first in it is called "Hatchet", it's a about a boy who survives in the Canadian wilderness after crashing in a bushplane, and the only tool he has is a hatchet. I have read several of Paulsen's books and he is a fantastic writer. Really pulls the reader in and grips you. A very memorable book by him is "The Winter Room". There are some really funny escapades in that book (a memorable one was when the kid jumps out of the barn loft and onto the back of the family horse) litterally had my son and I laughing so hard we had tears streaming down our faces!
Only the pure of heart can make good soup. - Beethoven

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Wed April 29th, 2009, 5:10 pm

Though not strictly HF, it might be worth trying Philip Pullman.

His Sally Lockhart series is set in Victorian London and full of rip-roaring adventure. The first one is Ruby in the Smoke.

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stu1883
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Post by stu1883 » Tue May 5th, 2009, 11:03 am

Call me old-fashioned but what about these?

Kidnapped - R.L. Stevenson
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott
Treasure Island - R.L. Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

They don't call them "classics" for nothing! ;)

Cuchulainn
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Post by Cuchulainn » Tue May 5th, 2009, 10:16 pm

[quote=""stu1883""]Call me old-fashioned but what about these?

Kidnapped - R.L. Stevenson
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott
Treasure Island - R.L. Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

They don't call them "classics" for nothing! ;) [/quote]

Good call! I'd also add "Cue For Treason"

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