Writing in World magazine, George Grant reminisced about the childhood pleasure of reading George Alfred Henty's books. "Whenever I ran across [a Henty book] in our local library I quickly checked it out, rushed home, and read it usually without putting it down."

George Alfred Henty wrote his first boys' adventure, Out of the Pampas, in 1868. Its popularity spurred him to write some eighty more children's books. Drawing on his own experiences fighting in the Crimean War and as a foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, Henty fashioned stories for children that combined realism and what he called a manly tone. His novels encompass an array of times and places from the early days of Egypt to the mines of the California Gold Rush.

George Alfred Henty was born in Trumpington, England, on December 8, 1832. He studied at Cambridge, but left without his degree to volunteer for service in the Crimean War. After several failed attempts at careers, he decided in 1865 to become a writer, beginning as a correspondent for The Standard. He also wrote adult novels, but turned to children's stories after contributing with success to Union Jack magazine.

In his World article George Grant calls Mr. Henty a Victorian literary phenomenon whose 144 books and myriad short stories have long enthralled adults and children alike. His fiercely accurate narratives range across the whole spectrum of human achievement, highlighting the greatest characters and the most decisive moments in history. G. A. Henty died on November 16, 1902, leaving a literary legacy that Lost Classics Book Company is proud to help revive.