books authored by  G. A. Henty

For the Temple

Right now I'm in the middle of reading G. A. Henty's  Bonnie Prince Charlie:  A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden, so possibly I'm not the best one to write a review of a Henty book.  But since it seems like we're in the middle of Henty-mania, I'll write a review now and update it when I finish the book.  I'm going to hope that Bonnie Prince Charlie is representative of all of Henty's works written for boys in their teens. 

Personally, I think that Bonnie Prince Charlie would be a tough read for today's teenage boy--or girl, as the case may be.  That being said, I guess I'd better back that up with some sort of something, shouldn't I?  Okay, so I'll give you a few reasons for my view based on what I've read so far of Bonnie Prince Charlie. 

Firstly, without a previous knowledge of the history of Scotland in the early 1700's, I myself, an adult, would have been left wondering, "What is Henty talking about?  Who's the Chevalier?  Who's the king across the sea?  What's the Rising?  What's the '15?  How about the House of Stuart, what's that?  What's a Jacobite?  A kirk?"  There is little or no background given for any of these things.  I'm thinking that possibly this information was part of the common knowledge of the late 1800's in Britain (where Henty lived) so the author's explaining of any of these things would be considered superfluous.  I did know what Henty was discussing, but only because I had read some other historical novels that covered that time period perused some other books on the Highlands.  Prior to that, I had never heard of Bonnie Prince Charlie or Culloden or the Risings of '15 and '45. 

Secondly, the vocabulary is an issue.  Now, I think that I've got a fairly average vocabulary (just as you probably have).  But here's some of the words I don't think I've ever heard before:  viands, toper, bag of louis (this one is easily figured out later), fain, roystering, domini, ecomiums, caterans, malapert, sair, bitts, unco.  Maybe those are easy words for you, but not for me.  A couple of these can be figured out by context, but I couldn't figure them all out that way.  Now, for the words I knew the meanings of--there were many words that were of a level that I didn't find in the books I read while in high school.  Overall, the vocabulary in Bonnie Prince Charlie is above the level of the average teenager of the 90's.  And reading a book that is quite a ways above one's comprehension level is often laborious and boring.  Looking difficult words up every time you come to one isn't fun.  True--not everything should be fun, but, well ... I think that people learn more when they are reading something enjoyable, understandable, and interesting. 

Thirdly, the sentence syntax is dated.  Since Henty wrote in Victorian times, he wrote in a way that is unfamiliar to us.  I do enjoy Henty's prose, but a teenager of today would probably have a difficult time with it and rightly so.  I don't think that it's a deficiency in anyone to not have an easy time reading unfamiliar phrases or styles.  We should all probably be trying to raise our reading comprehension levels and broaden our abilities by reading styles that are unfamiliar to us.  It makes life more interesting and colorful, but Henty's way of putting a few words together isn't what most boys of today are used to. 

So, that's why I think that most Hentys would be a difficult for read for the average teenage boy of today.  These problems are not insurmountable though.  If a parent would read the book with the student (and discuss it along the way) or at least preview the book and then give the student the necessary background, that would take care of problem #1.  As for problem #2, the parent could go through the book, picking out difficult words and then have the student familiarize himself (herself) with the words prior to reading the book or next chapter.  And problem #3 can be overcome by reading Henty's writing.  It takes time and practice to get used to his writing; but once a person is used to it, it should become much less of a chore.  Even possibly reading one Henty outloud to your students to get used to his style could do a world of good.

Please don't just toss a Henty toward your son or daughter expecting him or her to rave about how wonderful it is.  I'm not sure that it would be an enjoyable or profitable experience.  I spoke with a 16 or 17 year old that read In Freedom's Cause:  A Story of Wallace and Bruce.  While at their home visiting, I read the first chapter or so to see what the book was like.  It was the first time I had actually read any part of a Henty, even though I had a few on my shelves waiting to be read.  I was rather suprised by its difficulty.  Parts of it I had to read twice to understand what he was trying to get across.  Now either I had a very deficient college education (entirely possible even though I was on the dean's list now and then) or Henty writes at higher than a present-day high school level.  It's not easy reading.  Times have changed.  The way he wrote was probably at a high school level for the 1800's.  But we speak differently and have a different vocabulary today.  G. A. Henty would probably have a difficult time reading the writings of today since so many new words have come into use since 1902.  Anyway, I think I'm digressing.  I asked this teen if he understood the book that he said he'd read and he told me that he hadn't.  It makes me wonder, "What's the point of even spending the time reading it?" 

So, I guess all of this is just to say that a Henty can be a valuable addition to a unit study, literature study, or history study.  They're historically accurate and very much stretch a person's reading and thinking abilities.  I myself am slowly buying some of the titles since I really enjoy a good historical novel.  However, I don't think that they should be bought with the expectation that a teen will gobble them up like so much mind candy.  There's definitely work involved in reading them.  And your expensive Hentys could easily end up sitting on the shelf unread if steps aren't taken to avoid that eventuality.  A Henty sitting on a shelf, without a hope of being read, would be a shame. 

So here's what's happening so far in Bonnie Prince Charlie:  A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden.  The main character, Ronald, grew up living with a church elder.  He had been orphaned when his Scottish father had been put in a French prison--to get him out of the way--as punishment for marrying a French noble's daughter.  The baby's father's good friend, Malcolm, smuggled baby Ronald (about 2 years old) back to Scotland to live with Malcolm's brother, Andrew, the church elder.  Confused?  It's not so confusing in the book; Henty writes better than I do!!!  As Ronald grew up with Andrew, Malcolm (Ronald's father's friend) visited quite often and taught Ronald the ways of a gentleman which included learning how to use a sword.  Malcolm wanted Ronald's true father to be proud of Ronald should Ronald's father get out of prison.  This training also included knowledge of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his possibly trying to regain the throne for the Stuart's. 

Overall, Ronald, was a good boy, but he overheard a conversation which included information pertaining to a "man" hiding nearby.  Ronald sought to warn this person that he was about to be taken into custody.  Ronald was caught in the act of warning and was on his way to court when Malcolm helped him to escape and gain passage on a ship bound for the Netherlands.  A storm comes up, and they are shipwrecked on the coast of France! 

That's all I've read so far.  I've enjoyed it!  It's interesting and the characters are charming and well described.  I'll write an update when I've read the rest of it. 

Amazon.com doesn't carry Bonnie Prince Charlie.  It hasn't been reprinted yet.  Personally, I'm not sure what the historical significance of the Rising of '45 holds.  But I do know, that it shows how some of the the negative feelings between the Scots and British possibly developed or were sustained.  Soon after the '45, the Clearances began where the large landowners drove out the small crofters.  Many of these poorer Scots crossed the Atlantic and settled in the American colonies.  Here's a link for more info on the Clearances.  Here's another link that contains some information on Bonnie Prince Charlie and Culloden.

Update on Bonnie Prince Charlie.  I'm at about page 200.  As I've continued reading on through the book, I stopped reading as a reviewer and started reading for pleasure.  Henty writes well.  I feel like I'm in France with Ronald and Malcolm.  It's a great book to get wrapped up in--and escape everyday life.  Plus, there's always something happening--battles, intrique, sneaking into convents, escaping assassins and other pursuers--yet it doesn't seem contrived.  I'm really enjoying reading Bonnie Prince Charlie. 

Amazon.com does carry quite a few of the reprinted Hentys.  The originals are a little difficult to find and are getting more so since so many folks are just recently finding out about how great (and historically accurate) they are.  Below is the list of the reprinted titles carried by Amazon.  Often Amazon has a synopsis of most of the books (usually the paperback versions) below available for you to read when you click on the link. 

From Lost Classics Book Company

From PrestonSpeed Publications