I'm sorry to hear about your school's problem with boy-friendly literature. What a waste of time not to use material that captured your and other boys' imaginations.
I just watched "The Scarlet Pimpernel" again last night. Love the story.
I never had any problem with boy-friendly literature - the library was full of it. Not just the books mentioned, but Colby books (on Our Armed Forces), Landmark History books, etc.
Teachers had a problem with me reading in class...