Afar in the Forest

W. H. G. Kingston was a prolific writer of stories for boys in the 19th century, often set in wilderness or in a British colony.

In “Afar in the Forest” the lead character Roger Penrose lives in the American wilderness with his uncle, Mark Tregellis. The book features various adventures and encounters with Native American tribes, wildlife such as buffalo, and others.

Title: Afar in the Forest
Author: W. H. G. Kingston
Publisher: Thomas Nelson and Sons.
Publication Year: 1913 or earlier
Pages: 313 plus 6 pages of adverts for other books by the publisher.

This book has bright red cloth boards with a pattern in pink, red and embossed black on the front and gilt lettering for the cover title and on the spine. There are a few bumps on the corners and the bottom of the spine but otherwise the cover is relatively clean.

Inside the spine is cracked between the title page and the contents page. There is additional lighter cracking dotted throughout the book, primarily between pages 162 and 163, and 210 and 211. There are a few dirt marks and light foxing on the pages but no big stains or pen marks.

There are several colour illustrations throughout the book, all of which are listed after the contents and all of which are present in the book. On the inside front cover is a school prize bookplate from Essex County Council Education Committee, showing that the book was awarded to William Bover for "Regular Attendance and Good Conduct" in 1913. Therefore although there is no publication date mentioned, this book must have been published in 1913 or earlier.

Overall this book is in good condition for it's 111 years, and would make a good gift for anyone who loved boys adventure books as a child.