“In the Heart of the Rockies” – A Review

I kept meaning to write this review sooner, as we finished reading this book some time ago  but I have been so busy that I could never seem to remember. Finally, however, here is the review for “In the Heart of the Rockies” by G. A. Henty.

George Alfred Henty was an Englishman who lived from December 8, 1832 – November 16, 1902. He was a married man with children. Mr. Henty was the author of at least 144 books, many of which, if not all, are written to impart real history to the reader. His works include “Captain Bayley‘s Heir”, “The Cat of Bubastes” and “With Lee in Virginia”. For reasons best known to himself, Mr. Henty chose to use his first initials and his last name for a pen name thus becoming known as “G. A. Henty”.

“In the Heart of the Rockies” was first published by Blackie and Son in 1895. Some friends of ours were kind enough to let me borrow this book from their library, so that I could read it to my sisters. The book I read was a hardcover copy, published by Robinson Books in 2002. This book contains 19 chapters and 353 pages.

“In the Heart of the Rockies – A Story of Adventure in Colorado” commences with a young man of sixteen, living in England with his sisters. Since they are recently orphaned, they must find a means of supporting themselves but there is very little that the boy can do for a living. It is therefore decided that he should go to his uncle in America. There he can earn his living and his uncle can fulfill his promise to “make a man” out of young Tom. Accordingly, Tom Wade sets sail for the Untied States and so begin his adventures. From living in a makeshift hut buried by snow, to gold digging to Indian chases and rafting down the hitherto unexplored Grand Canyon, Tom is always experiencing something new.

My favorite part of this book was the perseverance and ingenuity portrayed by the main characters.

I would recommend this book to a Henty lover but I would not suggest it to a first time Henty reader as it lacks some of the color and intensity of most of his other works. I did, however, enjoy it.

To the KING be all the glory!