Henderson's Boys

Henderson's Boys

Henderson's Boys logo
The Escape Eagle Day Secret Army Grey Wolves The Prisoner One Shot Kill Scorched Earth
Author	Robert Muchamore
Country	United Kingdom
Genre	Spy fiction
Publisher	Hodder and Stoughton
Published	29 January 2008
Media type	Print (Paperback)

Henderson's Boys is a series of young adult spy novels written by English author Robert Muchamore.^[1] The series follows Charles Henderson, the creator of the fictitious CHERUB organisation. The novels are set in 1940, during World War II, during which time Henderson leads a series of war missions, aided by children.^[2]

Henderson's Boys is a spin-off of the popular CHERUB series, which centres around the same organisation in modern times. The series features its origins and revealed what CHERUB stands for and how the organisation's logo was designed.^[2][3]

Books

The Escape

Published Februrary 2009

In France, 1940, Hitler's Nazi armies are invading and forcing civilians to flee. Meanwhile, German agents are tracking two British children, Paul and Rosie Clarke. Charles Henderson, a British spy, finds himself trying to reach them before the Germans can. However, he finds himself enlisting the help of Marc Kilgour, a French orphan, in order to save the pair. He soon realises that children will be essential recruits if the British are to win the war. Meanwhile, Paul and Rosie find a six-year old called Hugo, who is later accidentally killed.^[4]

Eagle Day

Published June 2009

July 1940. The Battle of Britain is in full swing and Hitler is planning to cross the channel and invade Britain. It falls to Charles Henderson and four children (Rosie and Paul Clarke, Marc Kilgour and PT Bivott) to stop his plan and save the country from Nazi occupation.^[5]

Secret Army

Published February 2010

January/February 1941. British spy Charles Henderson has returned to Britain, having thwarted Nazi invasion plans, and wants to start an organisation training teenagers as secret agents.^[6] Secret Army concerns the training of the first group of agents of his new organisation (formally named CHERUB by the end of the book) - Paul and Rosie Clarke, Marc Kilgour, PT Bivott, Luc, and Joel, together with the recruitment of the first members of Group B. Their training takes place in a requisitioned village, with parachute training in Scotland, followed by an exercise where the CHERUB team, and groups of Polish, Norwegian, and French SOE agents, are parachuted over northern England and instructed to steal an anti-aircraft gun and deliver it to Kings Cross station in London within 48 hours - despite Air Vice Marshal Walker, the head of SOE, wanting the CHERUB agents to fail.

Grey Wolves

Published February 2011^[7]

A team of German submarines are destroying ships conveying food and supplies to Britain. It is up to Henderson and his team to sabotage the German submarines, or the people of Britain will starve. At the end of the book, one of the main characters will be in Nazi custody.^[8] It was later revealed that in the latest newsletter that the story was split into two books.

The Prisoner

Published February 2012^[9]

Marc Kilgour is imprisoned in a brutal German labour camp and living on starvation rations. Fearing that he'll be unable to survive the coming winter, he plots a daring escape with three bunkmates, but the plan goes horribly wrong. ^[8]

One Shot Kill

Published November 2012

Mid-1943. In 'One Shot Kill', Hitler is developing a radical new weapon, which he claims could turn the war back in his favor. Henderson's Boys have to find the weapon and sabotage all efforts to produce it. A team is sent in to scout the area but something goes wrong. After many days in occupied France, a new target is located and they must hunt down the illusive war turning weapon ^[8]

Scorched Earth

Published February 2013

June, 1944. Scorched Earth is set during the final days of the Nazi occupation of France, in which large sections of the French population are in rebellion and the Nazis are at their most brutal.^[8] Henderson and his team embark on a mission to sabotage German supply lines but are soon redirected to stop the 108th Heavy Tank Battalion from reaching the D-Day landings. Their orders are to complete this task at any cost. Near the end of the book, Rosie Clarke is killed.^[8]

Main characters

Listed are the major characters in the series. Ages are all as of June 1940.

• Marc Kilgour – age 12, abandoned as a baby, Marc escapes from his orphanage in The Escape and is looked after by Charles Henderson until they return to England.
• Paul Clarke – age 11, the youngest of the protagonists as of Secret Army, Paul is an introvert who prefers reading or drawing to sports.
• Charles Henderson – age 33, the founder of CHERUB, Charles Henderson is the spy who discovered that minors could be useful for espionage.
• Rosie Clarke – age 13, the only girl in the group, Rosie is bossy and tough but is also a good leader.
• PT Bivott – age 15, an American criminal, PT finds himself conscripted into Henderson's group by chance. He is a keen gambler who is good at cards
• Luc – A thirteen-year-old who likes to show his power and bully younger recruits. He has some issues related to losing his older brother. First appears in Secret Army.
• Joel – A fourteen-year-old; Joel is long-limbed and muscular with scruffy blonde hair. First appears in Secret Army.
• Troy LeConte – Troy first appears in Secret Army in an English approved school. He is bullied because of his French accent and is subsequently rescued by Eileen McAfferty.
• Mason LeConte – The brother of Troy; Mason is several years younger-Appeared with his brother for the first time in Secret Army
• Sam – Joel's brother is ten years old and is one of Troy's friends.
• Yves – At fourteen years of age, Yves is the only female in her group.

See also

• CHERUB
• Robert Muchamore
• List of Henderson's Boys characters

References

External links

• Official website
• Hendersons Boys questions at Muchamore.com