In his Preface, the author speaks to his young readers, explaining why he has written this book for them, and why he entitled it 'The Heroes': '... it came to mean men who helped their country ... and after they were dead, were honoured, because they had left their country better than they found it' - a clear affirmation of his own views about the need for social reform. Charles Kingsley (18191875) was a Church of England priest, university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet, and is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working men's college, and forming labour cooperatives, which failed, but encouraged later working reforms. His interest in history is shown in "The Heroes" (1856), and several historical novels, the best known being "Hypatia" (1853), "Hereward the Wake" (1865) and "Westward Ho!" (1855). Kingsley's concern for social reform is illustrated in his classic, "The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby" (1863), a tale about a boy