Friends on opposite sides of England’s Civil War, in G. A. Henty’s adventure
Henty’s story, first published in 1883, follows divided loyalties between Royalists and Parliamentarians; its plates show cavalry, combat and naval scenes. This is a late-Victorian printing in blue and gilt cloth.
The story
G. A. Henty’s Friends Though Divided is an adventure story set in England’s Civil War of the seventeenth century, when the country split between the Royalists, who stood with the King, and the Parliamentarians. The story turns on loyalty: what becomes of a friendship when a war divides it. Henty first published it in 1883.
The book was made to be looked at as well as read. A gilt picture is stamped on the front board, gilt decoration runs up the spine, and inside a frontispiece and several black-and-white plates illustrate the action.
This printing is undated, likely from about 1895 to 1900, and carries the London imprint of Griffith Farran Browne & Co., which points to a later issue rather than the first edition. The dark blue cloth is rubbed, frayed and partly separated at the head of the spine and worn at the foot and corners; the pages are toned with occasional spots. The plates are present as photographed, though they have not been counted against a full collation.
Details
- Date
- Undated, likely c. 1895–1900
- Publisher
- Griffith Farran Browne & Co. Ltd., London
- Binding
- cloth: Dark blue publisher's ribbed cloth, pictorial gilt stamping to upper board and spine; worn at spine ends.
- Condition
- Original dark blue pictorial gilt cloth with rubbing to boards and spine; notable fraying and separation at spine head, wear at foot and corners, and abrasion to board edges. Toned page edges and interior paper, occasional spotting. Faint pencil writing on front pastedown. Illustrated frontispiece and additional plates are present as photographed. Binding opens, but complete collation and plate count have not been verified. No dust jacket. Condition as pictured.
- Inscription
