To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War

Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
706K words
Chapters
71

Tags

English Originals War and Military FictionHistorical Fiction Military StrategyAdventure JourneyHeroismSurvival on the RunPatriotismComing of AgeExotic CultureColonial Era

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. To Herat and Cabul: A Story of the First Afghan War by G. A. Henty. Author: Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902. Language: English. Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Release Date: Oct 20, 2017

Editor's review

This is a historical adventure novel for young readers by the British historical novelist G. A. Henty, set against the First Afghan War and belonging to the narrative type he excelled at: a boy coming of age amid real historical events. The work embeds the experiences of a fictional protagonist in the actual historical process, and the geographical advance from Herat to Cabul links the marches, sieges, and political maneuvering of the war. While following the characters' adventures, readers can also sense how nineteenth-century British society imagined the imperial frontier. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, its value lies not only in the story itself but in offering a sample for observing the narrative conventions and imperial discourse of Victorian historical fiction. It should be read as literature set against a historical background rather than as a source on military history, with attention to the characters' stances and the narrative's tendencies. It is suitable as extended reading for those interested in the history of the Afghan wars, British colonial literature, or adventure novels for young readers.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. First learn the basic timeline of the First Afghan War, then read the main text, so as to distinguish fact from fiction.
  2. Pay attention to the narrator's stance and word choices while reading, and treat it as an imperial literary text for critical reading.
  3. Use a map to trace the protagonist's route through places such as Herat and Cabul.
  4. The original English text can be read chapter by chapter; when encountering historical names and place names, take brief notes before continuing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71

FAQ

Is this book a work of history or a novel? It is historical fiction, not a study of military history. The author uses the First Afghan War as a background and invents the protagonist's adventures, interweaving real historical events with the fate of a fictional character. The historical framework therefore has a basis, but the specific characters and plot are literary creations and should not be cited directly as historical sources.
Can I understand it without background knowledge of the Afghan wars? You can follow the main storyline, but your understanding will be reduced. It is advisable to spend a little time first learning about the background of the nineteenth-century conflict between Britain and Afghanistan and the approximate locations of the relevant place names; this will make it easier to grasp the historical logic of the plot and to see more clearly which elements are fictional arrangements.
Why is it recommended to read it as imperial literature? Because the work comes from a Victorian author, its narrative carries that era's imagination of the imperial frontier, civilization, and war. Reading it within the context of imperial literature allows you not only to enjoy the adventure story but also to examine its narrative stance, avoiding the mistake of taking the book's value judgments as neutral historical conclusions.

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About the author

Henty, G. A. (George Alfred), 1832-1902 Author

George Alfred Henty (1832–1902) was a well-known British writer of historical adventure novels for young readers in the nineteenth century. The collection here contains 107 of his works, most of them drawn from major historical events in Europe and the Americas: By Right of Conquest is set during Cortez's conquest of Mexico, Under Wellington's Command takes the Peninsular War as its background, and For the Temple deals with the fall of Jerusalem. He typically placed a young hero at the centre of real historical scenes, weaving military campaigns and political struggles together with personal adventure. The plots are tightly paced and rich in detail, and they reflect a distinctly British outlook and the moral tastes of the Victorian age. His output was considerable, and his books had a lasting influence on later historical adventure fiction. Public information about his family, education and career is limited, so no speculation is offered here.