Records of Noble Lives is a collection of six biographies, which aims to demonstrate some of the best aspects of the English character. Elizabethan poet, Sir Philip Sydney (1554 – 1586) is presented as an paragon of chivalry, Civil War general George Monck (1608 -1670) shows ‘steadfast observance of law and order’. In 1860-61 Robert O'Hara Burke (from Galway) and William John Wills lost their lives on an ill-fated expedition across Australia. They serve as an example of ‘unresting enterprise’. The other noble and notable Englishmen are: Francis Bacon, Robert Blake, and William Penn (of Pennsylvania). William Henry Davenport Adams (1828–1891), was a prolific English writer and journalist of the 19th century who made his reputation as a writer of popular science, a writer for boys and as a translator. Published by T. Nelson and Sons in London in 1885. Good condition. Binding intact. There is a loose photograph between pages 66 and 67.