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Historical fiction for boys 10-15

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Alaric
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Post by Alaric » Wed September 17th, 2008, 1:12 pm


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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Wed September 17th, 2008, 2:16 pm

Hi Pat,
I would say try The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley Holland. It's set in 12thC England with a few mystical Arthurian elements. I enjoyed it a lot. There's at least one follow up that I haven't read yet. It's supposed to be a series.
Also try Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks. It's set in the Holy Land in the 1180's and it's about Pagan, a young Templar squire.
Amazon UK url here for the Crossley Holland
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeing-Stone-Ar ... 932&sr=8-4
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

annis
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Post by annis » Wed September 17th, 2008, 8:00 pm

Karleen Bradford's "Crusades" trilogy is a good YA series. Only caveat, the main protagonist is female, and in my experience boys often relate better to stories with a male hero, though girls don't mind so much which sex the main character is.

A couple more suggestions:

"An Army of Children: the story of the Children's Crusade", by Evan H. Rhodes.
The story focuses around two characters - a Christian and a Jew - who follow the crusade for varying reasons. One by one the friends they make fall prey to the rigors of travel - crossing the Alps, starvation, hostility, and the reality of slave traders in the Middle Ages.

Elizabeth Laird "Crusade"
Though this one is not about the Children's Crusade, it is about children involved in
a Crusade and is a great read. It's another story of two boys of different faiths - one, a Muslim, in the Holy Land and one, a Christian, heading for the Holy Land as part of Richard the Lionheart's Crusade. Gradually their lives converge in a life-changing meeting.


And a list taken from another forum which might be useful:

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P Kelly
Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Crispin: the Cross of Lead by Avi
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Door In the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess by Richard Platt
The White Company by Sir Athur Conan Doyle
Last edited by annis on Thu September 18th, 2008, 1:57 am, edited 2 times in total.

Eigon
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Post by Eigon » Tue September 23rd, 2008, 8:34 pm

Henry Treece wrote a good version of the Children's Crusade, too.
He was also brilliant for anything with Vikings - look out for Horned Helmet (in which he explains that Vikings didn't wear horned helmets) and the trilogy Viking Dawn, the Road to Miklegaard and Viking Sunset.

Years ago, there was a TV adaptation of The Black Arrow. Terry Wogan, who has a morning radio programme on BBC Radio 2, has always made fun of whatever was on TV the previous night - and Black Arrow had him saying "To horse, Peterkin!" at suitably dramatic intervals for what seemed months afterwards!

The antidote to Henty, who is terribly Boy's Own and for Queen and Empire, is Geoffrey Trease. He wrote about all sorts of different historical periods, but Bows against the Barons is about Robin Hood (he came from Nottingham), and The Red Towers of Granada is about the Jews being expelled from medieval England.

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pat
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Post by pat » Wed September 24th, 2008, 4:23 am

[quote=""Eigon""]Henry Treece wrote a good version of the Children's Crusade, too.
He was also brilliant for anything with Vikings - look out for Horned Helmet (in which he explains that Vikings didn't wear horned helmets) and the trilogy Viking Dawn, the Road to Miklegaard and Viking Sunset.

Years ago, there was a TV adaptation of The Black Arrow. Terry Wogan, who has a morning radio programme on BBC Radio 2, has always made fun of whatever was on TV the previous night - and Black Arrow had him saying "To horse, Peterkin!" at suitably dramatic intervals for what seemed months afterwards!The antidote to Henty, who is terribly Boy's Own and for Queen and Empire, is Geoffrey Trease. He wrote about all sorts of different historical periods, but Bows against the Barons is about Robin Hood (he came from Nottingham), and The Red Towers of Granada is about the Jews being expelled from medieval England.[/quote]


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Tapper1
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Post by Tapper1 » Sun October 5th, 2008, 4:20 pm

[quote=""MLE""]I have two nephews I am supposed to keep in reading material, and one has developed a taste for HF thanks to Rosemary Sutcliffe's books. He liked Mark of the Horse Lord and Warrior Scarlet. Now I am racking my brains trying to remember what is in books I read long ago.[/quote]

Hi MLE
If your boys like Romans they could try the historical fiction book written for teenagers/young adults called Destiny's Child by D.J.Anley. It is about the childhood and teenage years of Caesar. An easy read, historically acurate, and plenty of action to keep them entertained!
Last edited by Tapper1 on Sun October 5th, 2008, 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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donroc
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Post by donroc » Sun October 5th, 2008, 5:07 pm

I had read Sabatini, Costain, and Shellabarger between 12 and 15, early Yerby too. Also Scott's Ivanhoe. Give them a try.
Image

Bodo the Apostate, a novel set during the reign of Louis the Pious and end of the Carolingian Empire.

http://www.donaldmichaelplatt.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZthhY6 ... annel_page

Holly Tucker
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Raucous Royals

Post by Holly Tucker » Sun October 12th, 2008, 2:09 pm

For kids around 10, Carlyn Beccia's RAUCOUS ROYALS is a lot of fun...and could spark an interest in reading more historical stuff.

Holly
http://www.wondersandmarvels.com

Eigon
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Post by Eigon » Thu October 23rd, 2008, 8:31 pm

Pat - how do you know about togs in Australia? (Silly question - internet radio, I suppose). Yes, I listen to El Tel most mornings.

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Volgadon
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Post by Volgadon » Sun November 2nd, 2008, 3:25 pm

I think I had grown out of YA by 12 or so. From 13 or so I began reading Alistair Maclean, Desmond Bagely, Jack Higgins, that sort of thing, and then Bernard Cornwell.

One YA I remeber reading at 10 was the Bronze Bow. The action takes place where I live, so it was great seeing that in a novel.
Last edited by Volgadon on Sun November 2nd, 2008, 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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