In the Heart of the Rockies

George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) was an English novelist, war correspondent and imperialist who wrote 122 books, mostly for children. As a young man, Henty volunteered for the Army Hospital Commissariat in the Crimean War. In letters to his father, he wrote vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions for British soldiers, which his father sent to be published in the newspaper. This led to his post as a Special Correspondent, and he proceeded to report on wars and rebellions all over the world. His storytelling skills, he claimed, stemmed from entertaining his children after dinner, and his brave, intelligent, honest, resourceful characters are beloved amongst readers as much today as they were over a century ago. In Henty's 1895 "In the Heart of the Rockies", 16-year old Tom Wade travels from England to a small western outpost of Denver, Colorado, where he sets out on a series of adventures that test his ingenuity and perseverance.