William Gordon Stables
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William Gordon Stables MD, CM. RN (1840 -1910) was a Scottish-born medical doctor in the Royal Navy and a prolific author of adventure fiction, primarily for boys.
[edit] Life and works
William Gordon Stables was born in Aberchirder, in Banffshire (now part of Aberdeenshire), on 21 May 1840. After studying medicine at the University of Aberdeen, he served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy. He came ashore in 1875, and settled in Twyford, Berkshire, in England.
He wrote over 130 books. The bulk of his large output is boys' adventure fiction, often with a nautical or historical setting. He also wrote books on health, fitness and medical subjects, and the keeping of cats and dogs. He was a copious contributor of articles and stories to the Boy's Own Paper.
He is also notable as the first person to order a "gentleman’s caravan" from the Bristol Carriage Company, in which he travelled the length of Great Britain in 1885 (the subject of his book The Gentleman Gypsy).
He died in Twyford on 10 May 1910.
[edit] Selected works by William Gordon Stables
Aileen Aroon: A memoir of a dog, with other tales of faithful friends and favourites, sketched from life, London: Partridge & Co., 1884
Allan Adair, or, Here and there in many lands, London: Religious Tract Society, c.1902
Annie o' the Banks o' Dee, London: F. V. White & Co., 1899
As we sweep through the Dee: A story of the stirring times of old, London: T. Nelson & Sons, 1893
Born to be a Sailor; or, a Home on the rolling deep, Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 1896
Born to Command: A tale of the sea and of sailors, London: Christian Knowledge Society, 1892
Born to Wander: A boy's book of nomadic adventures, London: Partridge & Co., 1887
A Boy's Book of Battleships, London: Blackie & Son, 1915
Bravely Won: Stories by G. Manville Fenn, Dr. Gordon Stables and others, etc., London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1903
By Sea and Land: A tale of the Blue and the Scarlet, London & New York: F. Warne & Co., 1890
Children of the Mountains: A story of life in Scottish wilds, etc., London: Christian Knowledge Society, 1893
Chris Cunningham: A story of the stirring days of Nelson, London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1903
The City at the Pole, London: James Nisbet & Co., 1906
Courage, True Hearts: The story of three boys, etc. London: Blackie & Son, 1898
The Cruise of the "Arctic Fox" in icy seas around the Pole, etc. London: S. H. Bousfield & Co., 1903
The Cruise of the Crystal Boat: The wild, the weird, the wonderful, etc. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1891
The Cruise of the Land Yacht "Wanderer"; or, thirteen hundred miles in my caravan, etc., London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1886
The Cruise of the Rover Caravan: A story, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1896
The Cruise of the Snowbird: A story of Arctic adventure, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1882
The Cruise of the "Vengeful," etc., London: Dean & Son, 1936
Crusoes of the Frozen North, illustrated, etc., London: Blackie & Son, 1901
Deeds of Daring: Stories by Dr. Gordon Stables, Duncan McLaren, Sydney Watson, Emily S. Holt, M. Mackintosh. London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1897
England's Hero Prince: a story of the Black Prince. London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1900
Every Inch a Sailor, London: T. Nelson & Sons, 1896
Facing Fearful Odds: A tale of flood and field, London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1893
A Fight for Freedom: A story of the land of the Tsar, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1897
For Cross or Crescent: The days of Richard the Lionhearted - A romance, London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1897
For Honour, not Honours: Being the story of Gordon of Khartoum, London: Shaw & Co., 1896
For Money or Love, London: Holden & Hardingham, 1914
For Life and Liberty: A story of battle by land and sea, etc., London: Blackie & Son, 1896
Frank Hardinge: From torrid zones to regions of perpetual snow, etc., London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1898
"From Greenland's Icy Mountains." A tale of the Polar Seas, illustrated by W. H. Overend, London: Christian Knowledge Society n.d.
From Ploughshare to Pulpit: A tale of the battle of life. London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1895
From Slum to Quarter-Deck, with illustrations by Alfred Pearse, London: Religious Tract Society, 1908
From Squire to Squatter: A tale, etc., London: Shaw & Co., 1888
A girl from the States: A tale of love and intrigue, London, 1898
Harry Milvaine; or, the wanderings of a wayward boy, with illustrations, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1887
Harry Wilde: A tale of the brine and the breeze, London: Christian Knowledge Society, 1889
Hearts of Oak: A story of Nelson and the Navy, London: Shaw and Co., 1893
The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds, etc. London, 1890 : Blackie & Son, 1889
Heroes of the Empire, Stories by Gordon Stables and others , etc. London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1905
How Jack Mackenzie won his Epaulettes: A story of the Crimean War, etc. London: Nelson and Sons, 1895
In Far Bolivia: A story of a strange wild land, with illustrations, etc., London, 1901 : Blackie & Son, 1900
In Forest Lands: A story of pluck and endurance. London: James Nisbet & Co., 1902
In Quest of the Giant Sloth: A tale of adventure in South America, With six illustrations, etc., London: Blackie & Son, 1901
In regions of perpetual snow: A story of wild adventures, London: Ward Lock, 1904
In search of fortune: A tale of the old land and the new, London: Shaw, 1894
In Ships of Steel: A tale of the navy of to-day, London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1902
In the dashing days of old; or, The world-wide adventures of Willie Grant,with illustrations by M. Irwin, London, 1888
In the Great White Land: A tale of the Antarctic Ocean, etc., London, 1903: Blackie & Son, 1902
In the land of the great snow-bear, with illustrations by Gordon Browne etc London, 1887
In the land of the lion and the ostrich, with illustrations by Alfred Pearse London, 1897
An Island Afloat, James Nisbet & Co., 1903
The Island of Gold: A sailor's yarn, etc., London: T. Nelson & Sons, 1897
The Ivory Hunters: A story of wild adventure by land and sea, London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1909
Jack Locke. A tale of the war and the wave. London: F. Warne & Co., 1888
Jungle, Peak and Plain: A boy's book of adventure, etc., London, 1877
Just like Jack. A story of the brine and the breeze, with illustrations, etc. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1893
Kenneth McAlpine: A tale of mountain, moorland, and sea. London: S. W. Partridge & Co., 1885
Kidnapped by Cannibals, with six illustrations by J. Finnemore, London; Glasgow & Dublin, 1900 : Blackie & Son, 1899
Leaves from the Log of a Gentleman Gipsy in wayside camp and caravan, etc., London: Jarrold & Sons, 1891
A life on the ocean wave; or, The cruise of the good ship "Boreas". With plates. London, 1898
A little gipsy lass : A story of moorland and wild, with six illustrations by William Rainey, London: W. & R. Chambers, 1907
The Meteor Flag of England: The story of a coming conflict. London: James Nisbet & Co., 1905
Midshipmite Curly, and other stories, by Dr. Gordon Stables, R.N., Lieut.-Colonel John MacGregor, Edward Tebbutt, London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1903
The Mystery of a Millionaire's Grave, London: Remington & Co., 1890
The Naval Cadet: A story of adventure, etc., London, 1898: Blackie & Son, 1897
O'er Many Lands, On Many Seas, London: Cassell & Co., 1884
Off to Klondyke; or, A Cowboy's Rush to the Gold Fields, Illustrations by C. Whymper, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1898
Old England on the Sea: The story of Admiral Drake, London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1900
On Special Service, illustrated by S. H. Vedder, London, 1910: Henry Frowde; Hodder & Stoughton, 1909
On to the Rescue: A tale of the Indian Mutiny, London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1895
On War's Red Tide. A tale of the Boer War, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1900
Our Home in the Silver West. A story of Struggle and Adventure, London: Religious Tract Society, c. 1890
The Pearl Divers and Crusoes of the Sargossa Sea: A tale, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1896
The Sauciest Boy in the Service, illustrations by H. Austin. London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1905
A Pirate's Gold: A true story of buried treasure, London, 1899 : T. Nelson & Sons, 1898
Remember the Maine: A story of the Spanish-American war, London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1899
Rob Roy MacGregor; Highland chief and outlaw, Illustrated, etc., London: Ernest Nister, 1902
Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep: A tale of the "salt, salt sea", London: Christian Knowledge Society, 1890
The Rose of Allandale: A sensational story of love and crime, London: Digby, Long & Co., 1896
Sable and White: The autobiography of a show dog, illustrated by H. Weir., London: Jarrold & Sons, 1893
The Shell Hunters, with seven illustrations by Alfred Pearse, London: Religious Tract Society, 1903
Shireen and Her Friends. Pages from the life of a Persian cat, etc., London: Jarrold & Sons, 1895
Shoulder to Shoulder: a story of the stirring times of old. Hulbert's: Glasgow & Birmingham, 1927 (reissue)
Stanley Grahame, boy and man: A tale of the Dark Continent,London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1884
Sweeping the Seas: A tale of the Alabama, etc. London: Ernest Nister, 1902
To Greenland and the Pole. A story of adventure, etc. London, 1895: Blackie & Son, 1894
Travels by the Fireside: A book for the winter evenings, With illustrations by Gordon Browne. London: F. V. White & Co., 1896
'Twixt Daydawn and Light: A tale of the times of Alfred the Great. London: J. F. Shaw & Co., 1898
'Twixt School and College: A tale of self-reliance. London, 1891 : Blackie & Son, 1890
Two Sailor Lads: A story of stirring adventures, etc. London: J. F. Shaw and Co., 1892
Valour and Victory, Stories by Gordon Stables, E. A. Gillie, etc. London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1903
The Voyage of the 'Blue Vega', with six illustrations. London: Religious Tract Society, 1907
War on the World's Roof: A novel, London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1906
Westward with Columbus, etc: A tale, London: Blackie & Son, 1894
Wild Adventures in Wild Places. London: Cassell & Co., 1881
Wild Adventures round the Pole; or, the Cruise of the "Snowbird" crew in the "Arrandoon", with illustrations, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1883
Wild Life in Sunny Lands: A romance of butterfly hunting , with seven illustrations by A. Pearse. London: Religious Tract Society, 1906
Wild life in the land of the giants: A tale of two brothers, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1888
With Cutlass and Torch: A story of the Great Slave Coast, etc. London: James Nisbet & Co., 1901
Young Peggy McQueen, with four coloured illustrations, London and Glasgow: William Collins, Sons & Co., 1903
[edit] References and external links
British Juvenile Story Papers and Pocket Libraries Index [[1]]
