Plot:
In Victorian times, Honor Bright is driven out of her home village because the villagers think she is a typhoid carrier after her parents die from it. She goes to London, where she falls foul of Aunt Betsy, who runs a Fagin-style racket of training girls to beg and steal. Honor refuses to do the same and sets out to lead an example of courage and honesty for the girls to follow.
Notes:
Appeared:
- The Courage of Honor Bright – Mandy: #55 (3 February 1968) – #66 (20 April 1968)
- Reprinted – Mandy: #424 (01 March 1975) – #435 (17 May 1975)
- Reprinted – Mandy: #945 (23 February 1985) – #956 (11 May 1985)
This is the story I misremembered as ‘Honour Among Thieves’. I thought it first appeared earlier than 1975, though, as I no longer read Mandy by then.
You are perfectly correct, Jane, that Honor Among Thieves did appear earlier than 1975. Quite a bit earlier in fact, as it ran in MANDY from 55 (Feb. 3 1968) – 66 (Apr. 20 1968). Thomsons must also have liked stories starting with ‘The Courage Of…’ as MANDY had The Courage Of Little Pearl, which started in issue 46, and a WW2 story The Courage Of Pat Piper starting from 108. DEBBIE had the ice skating story The Courage Of Wendy Evans, which started in 360, and DIANA also ran a serial with the same title from 212, but without risking life and limb to get to my collection of DIANA, I can’t confirm today that it was the same story.
I would think it’s likely to be the same story The Courage of Wendy Evans in Diana was also an ice-skating story, where Wendy wants to become a champion, despite becoming blind after an accident.