Product Details

HENTY, G. A. (George Alfred). Both Sides the Border: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. Illustrated by Ralph Peacock. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898. First American Edition. An early American edition of G. A. Henty’s historical adventure novel set during the turbulent opening years of the fifteenth century, against the conflicts surrounding Henry “Hotspur” Percy, Owen Glendower (Owain Glyndŵr), and King Henry IV. The story follows Oswald Forster, a young man of the English-Scottish Border country who enters the service of the powerful Percy family. Through Oswald’s adventures, Henty incorporates the warfare and political upheaval of the period, including the Welsh rebellion under Glendower, the struggles along the Scottish border, and the events leading to the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, where Hotspur’s rebellion against Henry IV reached its dramatic conclusion. Illustrated by Ralph Peacock, whose plates complement Henty’s characteristic combination of fictional adventure and historical events. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1898, this is the First American Edition, preceding the 1899 date appearing on the title page of the British Blackie & Son edition. A desirable example of Henty’s historical fiction, particularly appealing to collectors of G. A. Henty, juvenile adventure literature, medieval British history, the Percy family, Owain Glyndŵr, and illustrated Victorian-era books.