Nigel Gossop gave us a very interesting talk on Dr. Gordon Stables (1837-1910), a prolific writer of boys adventure stories and regular contributor to The Boys Own Paper, where his stories were often published in serial form.
Few, if not all, members of the Society had heard of Dr Stables before the talk at the November AGM. And the intriguing title of his talk did not give much away
Nigel, with the aid of a selection of interesting illustrations enlightened us with anecdotes from the life of a prolific writer of children’s adventure stories who has all but disappeared from the literary scene.
He was a celebrated writer in his own time. By his death in 1910 he had written 140 books, a mix of fantasy, adventure and science fiction but he also wrote books on natural history, animals and health and gave out health advice.
His adventure stories were inspired by his time at sea and in fact he led quite an adventurous life himself, spending a year on a whaler in the Arctic and becoming stuck in the pack ice. He then trekked across Canada, and after qualifying as a doctor, joined the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon on HMS Narcissus. He also served in the Merchant Navy.
After giving us a flavour of his adventure stories set in far off lands, Nigel then went on to tell us of Stables’s life as the ‘Gentleman Gypsy’, recognised wherever he went in his distinctive horse-drawn caravan, ‘The Wanderer.’ Stables travelled all over Britain accompanied by his coachman, and his butler and general factotum who would ride ahead to check the condition of the road. The Wanderer’ has been preserved by the Caravan Club of Great Britain, at its headquarters in Broadway, in the Cotswolds.
