Herbert Strang

Herbert Strang is a shared pen name used by British writers of adventure stories for young readers, referring to George Herbert Ely (1866–1958) and Charles James Lestrange (1867–1947). Public information about their personal lives is limited. Both long worked at Oxford University Press, and together they wrote numerous adventure tales set against historical and science-fictional backgrounds, with thirteen works held in this collection. Their subjects range widely: colonial adventures in India and the African highlands, and military and naval narratives built around figures such as Clive, Drake and Marlborough, as in In Clive's Command and With Drake on the Spanish Main, alongside science-fiction adventures such as Round the World in Seven Days. Their stories are marked by tense plotting and lively factual detail, combining historical education with youthful inspiration, and stand as notable examples of early twentieth-century British reading for boys.