By Conduct and Courage

G.A. Henty's final novel follows orphan William Gilmore from a smuggling village on the English coast to the decks of Nelson's navy, rising through courage and character rather than birth or privilege. The Napoleonic naval history is richly authentic — the Battles of Cape St. Vincent and Camperdown are rendered with Henty's characteristic educational care — and the moral virtues of loyalty, perseverance, and honor are woven through every chapter rather than tacked on as lessons. Christian homeschool communities have long valued Henty for precisely this combination, and Canon Press carries the title for that audience. Two honest caveats: the novel was posthumously completed by Henty's son, and some readers detect unevenness in the final chapters; and Victorian assumptions about empire and class are embedded in the narrative without critique. Neither undermines the adventure, but both are worth knowing.