Publisher's Synopsis
ENHANCED edition. The movie of Drake's voyage can be watched using the codes in this book. Free. -. This is not the cheap budget edition. It is very suitable for a good present to a boy over 9 years old, up to 99 years old. Subtitled "A Tale of the Spanish Main" this is an enjoyable book with lots of history easy to digest and learn. Ned Hearne - a brave, intelligent teen from Plymouth meets English privateer Francis Drake (not a "Sir" yet) and his adventures begin. Along with three friends Ned takes along through the Elizabethan years and events leading up to the Spanish Armada and the subsequent fact of Britannia becoming the preeminent sea power. History can be fun! This story is called Under Drake's Flag. This story was set in the 1600's. It is about a boy of fifteen and his name is Ned. He lived in England with his father. His nickname was Otter because he swam very well. He saved a child from drowning when a ship hit a reef. Captain Francis Drake was on shore when Ned was doing this. And after the incident Drake asked Ned to join him on his ship to find the North West passage. Ned went through all sorts of adventures. He killed a shark, lived with runaway slaves for six months, and even was on an island where the natives thought of him as a god. He fought the Spaniards and also the Indians. He pretended to be a Spaniard that was raised by Indians. He was almost killed several times. But he was very smart and knew how to get out of those kinds of situations. I give this book a rating of five stars. I think it is a very good book! It is full of adventure, and that's the way I like them I read this out loud to my 11 and 8 year olds. They both LOVED it! G. A. Henty has true eloquence with words, which I enjoyed, but the kids were just drawn in by the adventure! This was our first Henty novel, but it won't be our last! What a great way to learn history. I keep reading where Henty wrote these books for young boy's and I think this stereotype does him a grave injustice and prospective readers a disservice. Henty is a great storyteller. Speaking for myself, why would I want to read something somebody calling themselves a writer has written that I can't make any sense of and bores me to death? I don't and I won't. Henty's books are ENTERTAINING.I want to be ENTERTAINED. Unless you are a complete bore with no life, I would think you would want to be entertained too. So, put down the dictionary, lighten up a little and read one of Henty's books, because they are interesting and fun. This is a great book! The adventure never lets up, and the characters set good examples of manliness, dignity, and honor. I highly recommend it! It's a wonderful book to read aloud as a family or just by yourself. Most of his books have a two-fold purpose therefore; recounting (mainly) military history and inculcating a certain notion of the standard of behavior to be expected from a future young subaltern. No doubt, of the thousands of officers from British and colonial regiments who went to the front in 1915 and dashed themselves bravely against the German wall, a great many had had this form of early Henty training. Yet on the details of the history involved, there is much to learn, as Henty was a meticulous man who recorded as fully as possible the events he describes. He is equally good at sea as on land and has written some classics of maritime literature, particularly "Under Drake's Flag," and "Cochrane the Dauntless."
