Herbert Strang

Herbert Strang was the pseudonym of two English authors, George Herbert Ely (1866–1958) and Charles James L'Estrange (1867–1947). They specialized in writing adventure stories for boys, both historical and modern-day.

Both men were staff members of Oxford University Press, which published their books, giving them a patina of social status and approval for the parents of their intended readership.[1] Their work showed a broad general debt to that of Jules Verne;[2] Round the World in Seven Days was one of their most popular books. Ely and L'Estrange have been classified as "popular writers of imperial fiction" and "successors of G. A. Henty".[3]

The pseudonym was also employed for several series of anthologies, works "edited by Herbert Strang" that included The Big Book of School Stories for Boys and The Oxford Annual for Scouts. There was in addition an anthology series for girls by "Mrs Herbert Strang", who was also given as the author of some adventure books for girls, notably The Girl Crusoes, a robinsonade.[4]

  1. ^ John J. Gross, A Double Thread: Childhood in Mile End, London, Chatto & Windus, 2001; p. 93.
  2. ^ Robert Holdstock, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, London, Octopus Books, 1978; p. 21.
  3. ^ Laurence Kitzan, Victorian Writers and the Image of Empire: The Rose-Colored Vision, Westport, CT, Greenwood, 2001; p. 70.
  4. ^ Mrs Herbert Strang, The Girl Crusoes: A Story of the South Seas, 1912, Hodder and Stoughton, London, with colour illustrations by N. Tenison. OCLC 156747141