Shortly after my sisters and I finished reading “In the Reign of Terror” we commenced reading “The Lion of the North” 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 “A March on London”, “A Knight of the White Cross” and “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. 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”.

“The Lion of the North” was first published by Blackie & Son, London. It was published in the year 1886. I had no access to any copies of “The Lion of the North” in book form, so I obtained a copy that could be read on our Palm from Project Gutenberg. The book was first released on the site on April 16, 2002. The book is 25 chapters in length.

“The Lion of the North – A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars on Religion” starts out with a young Scottish lad of about sixteen named Malcolm Graheme saving the life of two soldiers by swimming across a swollen and raging river to show the safe way to cross it with their horses. The two soldiers have come to try and find men willing to fight in Sir John Hepburn’s Scottish Brigade under the King of Sweden: Gustavus Adolphus. He is fighting in Germany for the rights of the Protestants there to worship their LORD as they see fit, whereas Ferdinand of Austria is determined to take over the entire place and make them all Catholic. Malcolm with his Uncle join the brigade and the book follows the boy as he fights bravely under the Swedish king. Malcolm fights in nearly every battle that is fought in the five years he is in Germany during the Thirty Years War but not quite all. When he hears that his friend, the Count of Mansfeld has been thrown into prison with his wife and young daughter Thekla, can he save them or will they – specifically Thekla – be forced to become a Catholic or suffer the consequences?

This book details the battles fought under the Gustavus Adolphus in a manner that is very interesting to read and very easy to follow. The continuous adventures of Malcolm prevent boredom from arising from the continued conflicts for every few chapters, Malcolm manages to either be kidnapped or sent with twenty men to recover their strength in a village after a severe attack of fever and therefore just as you begin to tire of the battles, Malcolm is off on another adventure!

Warning: This book, unfortunately, has, near the end, a section or two with an astrologer (one who claims to tell the future by reading the stars.). Mr. Henty does not condemn this man in any way, rather he mixes him up with Malcolm in a most disappointing way. (I skipped most of that chapter when I read the book to my sisters.)

Otherwise this is a great book  but due to the above warning, I would recommend this book with caution.

To the KING be all the glory!

After our Scottish adventures, we decided to move into France. We accordingly began reading “No Surrender” 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 “In Freedom‘s Cause”, “In the Reign of Terror” and “Won by the Sword”. 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”.

“No Surrender” was first published by Blackie & Son, London. I believe it was published about the year 1893. I had no access to any copies of “No Surrender” 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 on December 11, 2006. (They have countless books on their site that can be read either on the computer or Palm and they are free!) The book is 18 chapters long and I have no idea how many pages – they are not numbered on a Palm.

“No Surrender – A Tale of the Rising of La Vendee”  centers around a young Englishman of about fifteen or sixteen by the name of Leigh Stansfield. When his sister weds a Frenchman, he moves with her and her new husband to Nantes in France in the year 1791. All goes peacefully enough, until the commencement of the French Revolution and with it, “The Reign of Terror”. Having killed King Louis of France (and most of his nobles), the Revolutionist government decides that they are going to take men into their army by force. Leigh’s brother in law, Jean and his sister, Patsey have a home and estate in La Vendee and when the government makes this decision,  Jean and Leigh with the tenants of the estate join an army raised by a man named Cathelineau, to fight the French Revolutionist’s and keep them from invading La Vendee. This story relates the bravery of the real men who fought at La Vendee along with the adventures and exploits of the fictitious young man whose tale is the heart of the story. When the fighting goes against them, it is Leigh’s responsibility to convey his sister and her son to England safely. But can he do so when the French government is constantly on the lookout for fugitives trying to escape to that country?

This book was very interesting to read. We learned much about the French Revolution, the fighting between the republicans and the royalist’s of La Vendee and life in France in and around this time period. Leigh Stansfield is an example of cheerfulness in difficulties, courage in danger and quickness of action in time of need.

I would highly recommend this book!

To the KING be all the glory!

The day after our Scottish dinner, my sisters and I commenced reading another book by Mr. Henty that we borrowed from our dear Pastor’s family. The book is entitled: “In Freedom’s Cause”.

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 Cat of Bubastes”, “In the Reign of Terror” and “No Surrender”. 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 Freedom’s Cause” was first published on July 16, 1894 by Blackie & Son, London. The book I read was a more recent publication by Preston/Speed Publications. In the introduction, the publishers state that they have been careful to maintain the original grammar, spelling and punctuation as the original versions. The book is 27 chapters in length and 337 pages.

“In Freedom’s Cause – A Story of Wallace and Bruce” opens with a young knight, Sir Archibald Forbes, living in Scotland in the late 1200’s and early 1300‘s. King Edward I of England is quickly taking over Scotland. He has already removed their king, put himself in his place and sent in English governors with troops to control any rebellion. Inspired by the stories of the encounters of the brave Sir William Wallace as he begins his fight to free Scotland, Archie though only about sixteen, longs to fight with him. Suddenly, an unexpected opportunity comes along and he finds himself fighting by Sir William’s side. This book follows the history of Sir William Wallace’s many battles including those at Stirling and Falkirk. When Sir William dies, Archie becomes a part of the army of Robert the Bruce. The book follows him as he assists the newly crowned king in his many battles against the usurping English, until the victory at Bannockburn. This book is full of historical information on Sir William Wallace and Robert the Bruce with their contemporaries.

This book was very interesting to read and kept my sisters begging to hear more at every spare moment! (And I was only too happy to oblige them!) Though at least two thirds of “In Freedom’s Cause” is actual history and not Sir Archibald Forbes’ fictitious tale, Mr. Henty has a way of retelling the historical accounts in a way that even a history hating reader would enjoy. (I love history by the way!) In case anyone is interested (Mrs. K. has asked me about it I know), when I read books to my sisters, I do give the characters an accent as near as I can to what they are supposed to have. So far in our European study I have read with Scottish, English, Irish and French accents. I narrate in my plain, ordinary American accent! :)

This book was a pleasure and very informative to read and I would very highly recommend it.

To the KING be all the glory!

Five minutes after the conclusion of “King’s Arrow”, my sisters were already completely absorbed in listening to the opening chapters of “Rebel’s Keep”.

Douglass Bond is a contemporary author living in Washington State (as far as I know). He lives with his wife and five children. He has traveled many times to Scotland and his books are the product of extensive research. Besides the Crown and Covenant series, he is also the author of the “Mr. Pipes” series for children.

“Rebel’s Keep” is the last of the three book Crown and Covenant Series by Douglas Bond, the two preceding books being: “Duncan’s War” and “King’s Arrow”. The book was published by P&R Publishing in 2004. The book contains 260 pages separated into 38 chapters. Like the others, Rebel’s Keep contains, “A Word About the Characters” (telling you who in the book was a real figure in history), a “Glossary of Scottish Terms” (this is really helpful) and a “Timeline of Scottish Covenanting History” .

“Rebel’s Keep”, joins the M’Kethe family only two days after the conclusion of “King’s Arrow”. The battle at Drumclog has only served to increase the wrath of King Charles II and his men. They are now more determined than ever to completely crush the “rebellious” covenanters. By using the most cruel methods they can devise and taking no mercy on man, woman or child, they set out to fulfill their purpose. New reports of English treachery make their way to the growing M’Kethe family nearly everyday – will they be
next? Will they have to fight again or is it time, as Angus has so long dreamed, for the family to flee to the English colonies in America, where they would be free to worship their KING as they feel led?

This book is full of adventure and excitement! It was just as enjoyable as “Duncan’s War” and “King’s Arrow”. From godly Sandy M’Kethe to talkative Malcom M’Kethe, this book made my sisters laugh and cry until the end.

I would very highly recommend the entire “Crown and Covenant Series”.

To the KING be all the glory!

The same day that I concluded reading “Duncan’s War” to my sisters, I commenced reading the second book in the Crown and Covenant Series, “King’s Arrow” by Douglas Bond.

Douglass Bond is a contemporary author living in Washington State (as far as I know). He lives with his wife and five children. He has traveled many times to Scotland and his books are the product of extensive research. Besides the Crown and Covenant series, he is also the author of the “Mr. Pipes” series for children.

“King’s Arrow” is part of the Crown and Covenant Series. The other books are entitled “Duncan’s War” and “Rebel’s Keep”. King’s Arrow was published in 2003 by P&R Publishing. The book is 25 chapters in length and 207 pages. Like Duncan’s War, this book contains “A Word About the Characters” (telling you who in the book was a real figure in history), a “Glossary of Scottish Terms” (this is really helpful) and a “Timeline of Scottish Covenanting History” after the story.

“King’s Arrow” rejoins the covenant keeping M’Kethe family in persecuted Scotland. Thirteen years have passed since Duncan’s War. Duncan is now in his late twenties and teh story focuses more on his sixteen year old brother, Angus. Intrigued by teh stories of the warriors of old who used bows and arrows as weapons instead of muskets, Angus had taught himself to shoot a bow and arrow with great skill. Meanwhile, Sir James Turner has been succeeded by John Graham of Claverhouse (called Claverhouse), under Charles II, who is in everyway more cruel and evil than Sir James Turner. Will the Covenanter’s have to fight against the tyrant King and his armies again?

This book  is just as good as Duncan’s War! Again, the wisdom, godly character and counsel, faith and peace in the midst of adversity of Sandy M’Kethe are wonderful! I would very highly recommend this book.

To the KING be all the glory!