Thursday, 28 May 2026

A modern equivalent for adults


Gimson's Heroes is a book of fifty biographies of British heroes. Days of Glory is more expansive and includes incidents as well as biographies. However, in four instances the subject is exactly the same, namely

King Alfred the Great
Robert Bruce
Sir Walter Raleigh
Lord Shaftesbury

Also, Harold, Drake and Nelson are featured in both books, DoG having chapters on Hastings, the Armada and Trafalgar.
It is a surprise, now I reflect, that DofG doesn't have something on Florence Nightingale or David Livingstone but see Days of Adventure.

One book is for children in the sixties and the other for adults today but they breathe the same spirit, even where the material does not overlap. Both books are specifically designed for readers who want to quickly grasp the essential, narrative facts of British history either for the first time or because they don't quite remember from their school days. I get the impression that Gimson and Purton were cut from the same cloth.

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