In Victorian times, adventure stories tended to reflect the traditional world of men and boys. The action often centred on dangerous journeys and exciting events on land and at sea. John Rowe Townsend (1990) locates the roots of children’s adventure stories both in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson introduced a vivid new kind of adventure story for children which broke away from the moralistic flavour of earlier books. The action is exciting and the characters are fully rounded mixtures of good and bad qualities. Treasure Island, which Stevenson wrote in 1881 to amuse his stepson during a wet August in Scotland, is still in print. Another book, H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, also written in the 1880s, had considerable influence on later writers of adventure stories. For more detail about the early history of adventure stories, I recommend John Rowe Townsend’s Written for Children, Victor Watson’s Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English, and Peter Hunt’s Children’s Literature: An Illustrated History.
There are fashions in children’s reading choices as in other things. At the beginning of the twenty-first century children seem to favour stories set in magical worlds of the imagination: R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, Roald Dahl’s fantasy tales and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Nevertheless, stories of young people facing up to physical danger – sometimes touching the improbable but staying within the confines of the physical world – are still enjoyed. Historical novels for children often contain the elements of hazard faced up to with courage and resourcefulness that we associate with the best adventure stories. Rosemary Sutcliff’s novels still interest and excite young readers in the later primary years. The Eagle of the Ninth (Oxford University Press, 1954) tells the story of a dangerous venture, north of Hadrian’s Wall, to find out the truth about the disappearance of the Ninth Legion and to recover its lost Eagle. Two other much-read historical stories, again for the 10–12s, are Marita Conlon-McKenna’s Under the Hawthorn Tree (Puffin) – the tale of the dangerous journey to find help made by three courageous children during the Irish famine of the 1840s – and Berlie Doherty’s Street Child (HarperCollins, 1993) which tells the true story of a boy who escaped from a workhouse in the 1860s and whose circumstances inspired Dr Barnado to set up his homes. Cynthia Harnett’s ever-popular book, The Wool Pack, is set in an earlier period, fifteenth-century Winchester and the Cotswolds. (A new edition was published by Egmont Books in 2001.)
Not all adventure stories are historical novels. The impact on people of natural disasters are described in Andrew Salkey’s books: Hurricane (1964), Earthquake (1965) and Drought (1966). Enid Blyton wrote adventure stories in the 1940s and 1950s – The Famous Five series for example – which were formulaic but created a predictable world which some children still find reassuring whatever the reservations of some adults. Still in print is Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series which has strong male and strong female characters and involves children from the town in sailing adventures in the Lake District during their summer holidays. Twelve books were published between 1930 and 1947. Unlike contemporary authors writing in the category often termed ‘realistic’, Ransome does not involve us in issues like the tensions between parents and children. Subtle nuances in developing relationships are explored in Walkabout (Penguin, 1963) – James Vance Marshall’s powerful story of some children’s survival after an aeroplane crash in the harsh physical environment of the Australian outback. Walkabout and other children’s novels of the second half of the twentieth century, for example Anne Holm’s I am David (Egmont Books, 1989) and Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword (Penguin, 1983), are not just adventure stories but quality works which tell us profound things about the human condition. Another kind of survival story – Robert O’Brien’s Z for Zachariah (Penguin, 1998) – relates the events in Ann’s life in the form of a diary when she discovers she is the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
The traditional adventure story is thrilling because the characters face life-threatening situations. In the later part of the twentieth century there were many books which included some element of fear and mishap but with a light touch. Teachers have their own favourites which they include in the book collection. Two examples are Beverly Cleary’s amusing tale Ramona Quimby Aged 8 (Oxford University Press, 2001) – which, not surprisingly, appeals to girls about age 8 – and Willard Price’s Arctic Adventure (Vintage Books, 1993) liked by girls and boys of about ten years. The latter is one of a series telling about the travels of young Hal and Roger to different countries. Their mission is to collect wild animals for their father’s zoo and in the story about the arctic visit the brothers face freezing temperatures and lack of food.
New writers of the kind of adventure stories often liked by boys are emerging. Some of these are in the tradition of Henty and Buchan. Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series – which includes Stormbreaker (now also a film), Eagle Strike and Ark Angel – are fast-moving stories about the adventures of a young boy recruited into MI6. They are written in a crisp, accessible style which is almost Blyton-like at times. Charlie Higson’s stories about the teenage years of James Bond – Silverfin, Blood Fever, Double or Die – are complex and exciting, but a good deal of the action is quite explicitly violent.
Annotated booklists for different ages and abilities are available from the Book Trust, Book House, 45 East Hill, London SW18 2QZ. www.booktrust.org.uk
Hunt, Peter (ed.) (1995) Children’s Literature: An Illustrated History Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Townsend, John Rowe (1995, sixth edition) Written for Children London: The Bodley Head.
Watson, Victor (2001) The Cambridge Guide to Children’s Books in English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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