Won by the Sword

by G.A. Henty

The scene of this story is laid in France during latter part of the Thirty Years' War---the time of Richelieu, of Mazarin and Anne of Austria. The hero, Hector Campbell, is the orphaned son of a Scottish officer in the French Army.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, School, Classics, Literature

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

George Alfred Henty, better known as G.A. Henty, began his storytelling career with his own children. After dinner, he would spend and hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories took weeks! A friend was present one day and watched the spell-bound reaction of his children suggesting Henty write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He did. Henty wrote approximately 144 books in addition to stories for magazines and was known as "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian." One of Mr. Henty's secretaries reported that he would quickly pace back and forth in his study dictating stories as fast as the secretary could record them.

Henty's stories revolve around fictional boy heroes during fascinating periods of history. His heroes are diligent, intelligent, and dedicated to their country and cause in the face, at times, of great peril... Henty's heroes fight wars, sail the seas, discover land, conquer evil empires, prospect for gold, and a host of other exciting adventures. Along the way, they meet famous personages... In short, Henty's heroes live through tumultuous historic eras meeting leaders of that time. Understanding the culture of the time period becomes second nature as well as comparing/contrasting the society of various cultures.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an older book, and the writing is in the style and heavily overlaid with Victorian and English values. Nonetheless, the novel seems to be relatively accurate historically despite an obvious English bias. I found it to be an entertaining read and upon further investigation discovered an enormous trove of titles by Henry taking a closer and more detailed look at English history from King Alfred in A.D. 870 through a retrospective of Queen Victoria set in 1901. There are additional titles from ancient history as well including settings in ancient Egypt, Rome, Carthage, and Jerusalem.

This particular volume recounts events of the Thirty Years War from the viewpoint of a young English soldier, who rises from the ranks to become an officer. Although the style is somewhat antiquated and wordy, the history appears to be accurate to my knowledge, and the story moves rapidly. I felt that there was an effort to accurately represent a sense of the texture to the times in terms of how the people and the soldiers lived, socialized, and conducted battles. I'll definitely read more from this author.

[Angelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time France takes over the Protestant cause in Germany even though led by Richiliew who was Catholic.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is October, 1639, during the Thirty Years War, and fifteen year old Hector Campbell is a young Scottish orphan whose mother had died when he was small and whose father was a soldier who had been killed at the siege of LaRochelle fighting for the French. As a result, his father’s regiment, stationed near Paris, had taken him in and was caring for him. One day a French general, Viscount Turenne, saw him engaged in a mock battle with his friends, is struck by his leadership qualities, and invites him to serve on his staff. Over the next few years, Hector proves himself in battle after battle, is awarded a valuable French estate, and along the way rescues from a mob the widow of a French nobleman who had also been killed in battle. The woman has a beautiful daughter (hint: romantic element introduced).

Hector even saves Cardinal Mazarin, the French minister of state, from an assassination attempt of some French noblemen led by the Duc de Beaufort who oppose Mazarin’s rule. However, the Cardinal’s enemies eventually find out who it was that foiled their plot, and the chase is on. Will Hector be able to escape France in time, or will he be hunted down and end up losing his life for his good deed? George Alfred Henty (1832–1902), considered a Victorian literary phenomenon, was a prolific English novelist and a special correspondent who was dubbed the “Prince of Storytellers” and “The Boy’s Own Historian.” As is the case with his other historical novels, the factual information about the Thirty Years War in which Henty’s fictional account of Hector has been set is painstakingly accurate. However, one critic called the story unbelievable and ludicrous because a general riding along stops to talk to a boy playing soldier and recruits him to his staff, then the boy proceeds to win the war by himself with only the aide of his servant. First of all, stranger things have actually happened. Second, while Hector certainly played an important role in the war, he did not win the war all by himself with only the aid of his servant.

Through the years, I have heard two main objections to Henty’s books by some believers. One is that most of them are about war. Of course, the history of the world is the history of war. I do not believe that Henty glorifies war, but I can understand how genuine pacifists would not like his stories. I am not among that number. The second is that they are not sufficiently Christian enough. What that usually means is that Henty’s boys do not share the gospel message of salvation to everyone the meet and lead folks to accept Christ as their personal Savior. However, a book can be based upon and generally present a Biblical worldview without necessarily dealing with the specific subject of what to do to be saved. If one desires exciting historical fiction suitable for young people, with no bad language (in Won by the Sword, a Scottish sergeant exclaims “Gude Lord” on one occasion) and no sexuality, Henty always delivers.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leaden-footed historical adventure yarn.

The less than interesting hero is Hector Campbell, the son of a Scottish soldier raised in France, made a captain by Viscount Turenne, a corporal by Duc d'Enghien, and a nobleman by Cardinal Mazarin.

This was the first novel I had ever read by the prolific Henty. I can summarise the narrative in this way: the author informs the reader about the political situation at the time, then one of the characters informs Campbell, then Campbell repeats it to somebody else. Then Henry informs the reader about a famous battle and Campbell's part in it, other characters discuss it, then Campbell repeats it to someone else.

On and on for four hundred pages of plodding, characterless prose. No gestures, no mannerism, just dull slabs of one-paced exposition.

Soporific.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st printing = HRN 150 = July 1959 = 15¢
+Author Bio
+Albrecht Wenzel Wallenstein Bio*
+The 30 Years War (1618-1648)

-"The 1.5 Musketeers"-
It's so similar to Dumas that I became ashamed of the guy. This is what copyright laws are for- those who aren't original enough to steal with honorable variance.


*I'm so curious why a children's publication of this era picked such a detestable villain -even to his own people- to highlight.