On to Pekin; Or, Old Glory in China
1900
1900: the Boxer Rebellion tears through China, and young Lieutenant Gilbert Pennington is dispatched from the Philippine jungles to the ancient streets of Peking. A seasoned soldier with a soldier's discipline, Gilbert carries something more personal than orders in his pack: a family mystery. His father once did business in the Middle Kingdom, and Gilbert has come not just to fight the Boxers, but to uncover what his family left behind. Stratemeyer, the mastermind behind Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, delivers a propulsive adventure that blends military action with genuine emotional stakes. As American forces join the multinational coalition to crush the rebellion, Gilbert must navigate treacherous terrain, political machinations, and his own questions about legacy. The prose crackles with Edwardian energy, the kind of boyish adventure that invented the genre. It's a time capsule, yes, but also a ripping tale of a young man learning what he's willing to fight for and why. For readers who want to see where juvenile adventure fiction began, or anyone craving a war story with a personal heart.
