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Search - List of Books by Robert Michael Ballantyne

R. M. Ballantyne (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a Scottish juvenile fiction writer.

Born Robert Michael Ballantyne in Edinburgh, he was part of a famous family of printers and publishers. At the age of 16 he went to Canada and was six years in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. He returned to Scotland in 1847, and published his first book the following year, Hudson's Bay: or, Life in the Wilds of North America. For some time he was employed by Messrs Constable, the publishers, but in 1856 he gave up business for the profession of literature, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated.

The Young Fur-Traders (1856), The Coral Island (1857), The World of Ice (1859), Ungava: a Tale of Eskimo Land (1857), The Dog Crusoe (1860), The Lighthouse (1865), Deep Down (1868), The Pirate City (1874), Erling the Bold (1869), The Settler and the Savage (1877), and other books, to the number of upwards of a hundred, followed in regular succession, his rule being in every case to write as far as possible from personal knowledge of the scenes he described.

Ballantyne was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Academy. He lived in later years at Harrow, and died in Rome, Italy, where he had gone to attempt to shake off the results of overwork. He wrote a volume of Personal Reminiscences of Book Making (1893).

When Eric Quayle, author of Ballantyne the Brave, penned these words in 1967, the works of R.M. Ballantyne were still well known. Today this is much less the case.

Born into a family of literature, Robert was the son of newspaper editor and printer Sandy Ballantyne. He was also the nephew of James Ballantyne the printer for Scotland's most famous literary author, Sir Walter Scott. Robert grew up in and around the home of Scott, and one can only imagine the influence this relationship had on the future author.

Some bad financial investments made by Scott and Sandy Ballantyne would cause the family's ruin and Ballantyne's life would be changed forever.

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This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Robert Michael Ballantyne", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 540
Away in the Wilderness
Away in the Wilderness (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780554065168
ISBN-10: 0554065169
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Away in the Wilderness Or Life Among the Red Indians and FurTraders of North America
The Battery and the Boiler
The Battery and the Boiler (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780554369846
ISBN-10: 0554369842
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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The Battery and the Boiler Adventures in Laying of Submarine Electric Cables
The Battery and the Boiler Or Adventures in the Laying of Submarine Electric Cables
Battles with the Sea
Battles with the Sea (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780554064666
ISBN-10: 0554064669
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Battles with the Sea Heroes of the Lifeboat and Rocket
Battles with the Sea Heroes of the Lifeboat and Rocket (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781402173684
ISBN-10: 1402173687
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The Big Otter
The Big Otter (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780554065212
ISBN-10: 0554065215
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Black Ivory
Black IVory (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780554369853
ISBN-10: 0554369850
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Black Ivory A Tale of Adventure Among the Slavers of East Afri
Black IVory a Tale of Adventure Among the Slavers of East Afri (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780554065175
ISBN-10: 0554065177
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Black Ivory A Tale of Adventure Among the Slavers of East Africa
Blown to Bits
Blown to Bits (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780554345789
ISBN-10: 0554345781
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Blown to Bits or   The Lonely Man of Rakata
Blown to Bits or the Lonely Man of Rakata (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780554039954
ISBN-10: 0554039958
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Blown to Bits or The Lonely Man of Rakata
Blown to Bits or the Lonely Man of Rakata (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781426485725
ISBN-10: 1426485727
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Blue Lights
Blue Lights (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780554369495
ISBN-10: 0554369494
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Blue Lights Hot Work In The Soudan
Blue Lights Hot Work in the Soudan (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780554064727
ISBN-10: 0554064723
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Charlie to the rescue
Charlie to the Rescue (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780217191289
ISBN-10: 0217191282
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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Charlie to the Rescue  a Tale of the Sea and the Rockies
Charlie to the Rescue a Tale of the Sea and the Rockies (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781113648662
ISBN-10: 111364866X
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Charlie to the Rescue a Tale of the Sea and the Rockies
Charlie to the Rescue a Tale of the Sea and the Rockies (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781113648709
ISBN-10: 1113648708
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The Collected Works of Ensign Sopht Ed  by RM Ballantyne
The Collected Works of Ensign Sopht Ed By Rm Ballantyne [Really Written] (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781141504442
ISBN-10: 1141504448
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The Coral Island
The Coral Island (Paperback)Paperback, Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780543897244
ISBN-10: 0543897249
Genre: Literature & Fiction
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