Boys who became historic figures shown at the age of their readers: Marcus Aurelius, Brian of Munster, Olaf of Norway, William of Normandy, Harry of Monmouth, Louis XIV, Charles XII of Sweden and a Dutch patroon of New York. Elbridge Brooks wrote a shelf of such books for American children in the 1880s. The device is transparent and effective: each chapter stops at the moment the boy's decision fixes the man. Thirty-three paintings of boys at play, on beaches and in landscapes by Turner, Cole and their contemporaries run through the book as a visual counterpart to its young subjects.
