The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate

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The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate by Eliza Poor Donner Houghton

The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate by Eliza Poor Donner Houghton

The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American settlers caught up in the “westering fever” of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism. Although this aspect of the tragedy has become synonymous with the Donner Party in the popular imagination, it actually was a minor part of the episode.

The author was about 4 at the time. The first part of the book accounts the tragic journey and rescue attempts; the last half are reminiscences of the child orphan, passed from family to family while growing up.

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The Story of My Boyhood and Youth

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The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir

The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir

“The only fire for the whole house was the kitchen stove, with a fire box about eighteen inches long and eight inches wide and deep,- scant space for three or four small sticks, around which in hard zero weather all the family of ten shivered, and beneath which in the morning we found our socks and coarse, soggy boots frozen solid.” Thus, with perceptive eye for detail, the American naturalist, John Muir, describes life on a pioneer Wisconsin farm in the 1850’s. Muir was only eleven years old when his father uprooted the family from a relatively comfortable life in Dunbar, Scotland, to settle in the backwoods of North America.

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The History of London

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The History of London by Sir Walter Besant

The History of London by Sir Walter Besant

Walter Besant was a novelist and historian, and his topographical and historical writings, ranging from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century, were probably best known through the detailed 10-volume Survey of London published after his death.

This earlier single volume covers, in less depth, the whole period from prehistory until the 19th century. The book appears originally to have been written for boys, and, indeed, the chapters are called “Lessons”. However, it is a very readable history and provides a fascinating insight into both London’s past and the government of the City at the time the book was written.

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Clementina

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Clementina by A. E. W. Mason

Clementina by A. E. W. Mason

This well-written novel is a fictional account of a true historical rescue mission. In 1719, at the age of 17, when she was on her way across Europe to marry James Stuart, the Catholic pretender to the British throne, Princess Maria Clementina Sobieska was kidnapped and held prisoner by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, with the approval of his ally, the Protestant king of England. The king feared that the marriage would produce heirs who might raise a rebellion against the Crown, though Stuart’s own rebellion had failed four years earlier. But Irish soldier of fortune and Stuart’s ablest spy, hatches a daring plot to rescue the princess. Filled with spies, romance, palace intrigue and uncertain loyalties, this is the story of how Charles Wogan, once indicted for High Treason in Protestant England, set out to play his part on the international stage. Failure would mean certain death at the hands of Wogan’s powerful enemies. But would success bring the result he expects?

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The Daredevil of the Army

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The Daredevil of the Army by Austin Patrick Corcoran

The Daredevil of the Army by Austin Patrick Corcoran

At just twenty-six years of age, the author – A P Corcoran had already led an adventurous life, having twice sailed around the world, experiencing many cultures and civilisations, journeyed and hunted through the heart of Africa, worked on a ranch in Bolivia and travelled throughout Europe. With Austria and Serbia on the brink of war and both Germany and France preparing for imminent hostilities, he managed to escape back to England just in time to hear the first cry for volunteers to join the British Army. When a special call came for University men to form for the first time a corps of motorcycle despatch riders, he signed up with the Royal Engineers Signal Section and undertook countless missions. In the middle of battle, the only way that communications could be passed between different sections was by the bravery, ingenuity, persistence and dedication of the motorcycle despatch riders. Promoted during the war from corporal to the rank of captain he also moved from despatch riding to being Brigade Signal Officer in operational charge of his section’s wireless, telephone and telegraph communications. Never far from the front line, A P Corcoran and his fellow riders and signal comrades performed an invaluable role in ensuring that the vital flow of information was maintained between any and all fighting units in the field of operations. “Deliver your despatch at all costs …” was the watchword of their Corps.

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A Cruising Voyage Around the World

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A Cruising Voyage Around the World by Woodes Rogers

A Cruising Voyage Around the World by Woodes Rogers

First to the South-seas, Thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope. Begun in 1708, and Finish’d in 1711. Containing a Journal of All the Remarkable Transactions; Particularly, of the Taking of Puna and Guiaquil, of the Acapulco Ship, and Other Prizes; an Account of Alexander Selkirk’s Living Alone Four Years and Four Months in an Island; and a Brief Description of Several Countries in Our Course Noted for Trade, Especially in the South-sea. With Maps of All the Coast, from the Best Spanish Manuscript Draughts. And an Introduction Relating to the South-sea Trade. (Woodes Rogers)

The story of the first privateer and his adventures; including the account of Alexander Selkirk’s living alone on an island off Chile which formed the background to Robinson Crusoe.

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The Satires

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The Satires by Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis

The Satires by Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis

Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, known in English as Juvenal, was a Roman poet active in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD. The details of the author’s life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD fix his terminus post quem (earliest date of composition). The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a wide-ranging discussion of society and social mores in dactylic hexameter. These five books were discrete works, and there is no reason to assume that they were published at the same time or that they are identical in theme or in approach. The poems are not individually titled, but translators have often added titles for the convenience of readers. (Summary by wikipedia)

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Peter the Great

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Peter the Great by Jacob Abbott

Peter the Great by Jacob Abbott

Peter I the Great ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V. He carried out a policy of modernization and expansion that transformed the Tsardom of Russia into a 3-billion-acre Russian Empire, a major European power.

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Knights of Art – Stories of the Italian Painters

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Knights of Art - Stories of the Italian Painters by Amy Steedman

Knights of Art – Stories of the Italian Painters by Amy Steedman

A children’s version of the Lives of Artists by Vassari with many Illustrations. Of course we won’t be able to show the paintings but the descriptions and the anecdotes are interesting and may lead a child to further interest.

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The Mirror of the Sea

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The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad

The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad

The Mirror of the Sea is a collection of autobiographical essays first published in various magazines. Conrad early in his life earned his bread as a Master Mariner in sailing ships. In his Author’s Note to this work, Conrad states,”Beyond the line of the sea horizon the world for me did not exist….Within these pages I make a full confession not of my sins but of my emotions. It is the best tribute my piety can offer to the ultimate shapers of my character, convictions, and, in a sense, destiny—to the imperishable sea, to the ships that are no more, and to the simple men who have had their day.”

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