Tales From An Afghan War

This is the cover of one of the 16 $5 books I purchased the other day.

Published in 1906 or 1907, “With Roberts to Candahar: A Tale of the Third Afghan War,” is a historical fiction adventure novel by Captain F.S. Brereton, published by Blackie and Son Limited, and illustrated by William Rainey. The book is set during the period between the Second and Third Afghan Wars, detailing a young protagonist's adventures during the British campaign. The title refers to the historic 1880 forced march by British General Frederick Roberts, who moved approximately 10,000 troops 300 miles from Kabul to Kandahar in 23 days to relieve besieged forces, defeating Ayub Khan on September 1, 1880.

The Second Afghan War shows up several times in British fiction; it was the political and historical subplot in Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim,” as well as the conflict in which Dr. John Watson served as a medical officer before making the acquaintance of Sherlock Holmes.   

The author of “With Roberts to Candahar,”Captain F.S. Brereton, CBE, was a prolific writer (over 36 books!) of boy's adventure fiction in the early 20th century, most of which celebrated heroic acts done in the name of British imperialism.

Brereton was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) as a surgeon-lieutenant in January 1896, and was attached as a medical officer to the Scots Guards during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa between the British Empire and the dutch-speaking Boer republics.

William Rainey was a prolific illustrator of both books and magazines, as well as an exhibited oil painter and water colorist.  Rainey illustrated about 200 books during his career.