“In the Reign of Terror” – A Review

After the conclusion of “No Surrender”, my sisters and I moved on to the book entitled, “In the Reign of Terror” by G. A. Henty.

George Alfred Henty was an Englishman who lived from December 8, 1832 – November 16, 1902. He was a married man with children. Mr. Henty was the author of at least 144 books, many of which, if not all, are written to impart real history to the reader. His works include “The Lion of the North”, “For the Temple” and “With Lee in Virginia”. For reasons best known to himself, Mr. Henty chose to use his first initials and his last name for a pen name thus becoming known as “G. A. Henty”.

“In the Reign of Terror” was first published by Blackie & Son, London. It was published in the year 1888. As in the case of “No Surrender”, I had no access to any copies of “In the Reign of Terror” in book form, so I obtained a copy that could be read on our Palm from Project Gutenberg. It was first released on the site in its present form on January 2003. The “actual date that this file first posted“, however, was September 5, 2001. The book is 15 chapters long.

“In the Reign of Terror – The Adventures of a Westminster Boy” centers around an English lad of sixteen, named Harry Sandwith. An offer is made to his father, Doctor James Sandwith, for Harry to move to France for three years and become a companion to the sons of the Marquis de la St. Caux. This offer, after some deliberation is accepted and forthwith Harry travels to France. While there, he accustoms himself to the French mode of life, dressing, food and language. The Marquis de la St. Caux, lives with his wife and his five children; Marie, Ernest, Jeanne, Jules and Virginie. Harry soon becomes a part of the family and a year or two pass by tranquilly enough. Then troubles begin to break out in Paris. A “revolution” is beginning. The Marquis and his wife, declaring that their place is beside the King and Queen, move to Paris and are soon followed by their children and Harry, who find it unsafe to remain at their chateaux in the country. The mob against the King is getting more vocal and more violent and he with his family are eventually thrown into prison. Warrants for the arrest of the king’s nobles and their families are being speedily issued. The Marquis de la St. Caux knows that the arrest of he and his wife will come very soon. He sends his sons away and hides his daughters. He would have Harry leave with his sons but the lad refuses and after the arrest of their parents, he finds himself the sole protector of the three young women. When Marie is also arrested, Harry knows he has to save her before it is too late but can he do it and protect Jeanne and Virginie at the same time?

Though Mr. Henty declares in his Preface that his purpose in writing this book is not to impart history but to tell an interesting story, my sisters and I agreed that we learned a lot of history from this book. Though the book is entirely devoid of battles, you can learn much about the French food, way of living for the nobles, the events leading up to the “Reign of Terror” and the cruelties that characterized the early stages.

I would highly recommend this book.

To the KING be all the glory!