The Boy Traders; Or, The Sportsman's Club Among the Boers

"The Boy Traders; Or, The Sportsman's Club Among the Boers" by Harry Castlemon is a novel written in the late 19th century. The narrative follows a group of young adventurers known as the Sportsman's Club, led by Frank Nelson, as they navigate the perils and excitement of maritime life, including several intense encounters at sea and with the inhabitants of various islands. At the start of the story, the Club members find themselves aboard the schooner named Stranger, aiming to escape an approaching cyclone. As they prepare for the storm, the characters engage in nautical discussions that reflect their experiences and fears. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the crew faces new challenges, including the capture of a rival ship's crew and the arrival of dangerous figures among the rescued from a shipwreck. The opening chapters set the stage for adventure and conflict, introducing themes of bravery and camaraderie among the young adventurers as they encounter both natural and human threats during their journey. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Charles Austin Fosdick, better known by his nom de plume Harry Castlemon, was a prolific writer of juvenile stories and novels, intended mainly for boys. He was born in Randolph, New York, and received a high school diploma from Central High School in Buffalo, New York. He served in the Union Navy from 1862 to 1865, during the American Civil War, acting as the receiver and superintendent of coal for the Mississippi River Squadron. Fosdick had begun to write as a teenager, and drew on his experiences serving in the Navy in such early novels as Frank on a Gunboat (1864) and Frank on the Lower Mississippi (1867). He soon became the most-read author for boys in the post-Civil War era, the golden age of children's literature.