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The unhurrying chase
Historical novel set in 12th century France.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1925
7 people want to read
About the author
H.F.M. Prescott
22 books21 followersHilda Francis Margaret Prescott, MA, MA, D.Litt, FRSL was born in Cheshire, the daughter of Rev. James Mulleneux Prescott and his wife Margaret (née Warburton).
She was educated at Wallasey High School and subsequently read Modern History at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford where she received her first MA. Later, she studied Medieval and Modern History at Manchester University, from which she earned a second MA. She was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Durham. In 1958, she was elected Jubilee Research Fellow at Royal Holloway College in the University of London where she researched the life of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
She is perhaps best known for her historical novel 'The Man on a Donkey;' written in the form of a chronicle, it tells the story of the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular rising in protest at the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII.
Her biography of Queen Mary I of England, 'Mary Tudor' (originally titled 'Spanish Tudor'), won the James Tait Black Prize in 1941 and remains a well-respected biography.
Prescott wrote one thriller, 'Dead and Not Buried,' and this was adapted in 1954 for CBS's Climax! television series under the title 'Bury Me Later.'
Her interests included travel and a love of the English countryside and she lived for many years in Charlbury, Oxfordshire.
She was educated at Wallasey High School and subsequently read Modern History at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford where she received her first MA. Later, she studied Medieval and Modern History at Manchester University, from which she earned a second MA. She was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Durham. In 1958, she was elected Jubilee Research Fellow at Royal Holloway College in the University of London where she researched the life of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
She is perhaps best known for her historical novel 'The Man on a Donkey;' written in the form of a chronicle, it tells the story of the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular rising in protest at the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII.
Her biography of Queen Mary I of England, 'Mary Tudor' (originally titled 'Spanish Tudor'), won the James Tait Black Prize in 1941 and remains a well-respected biography.
Prescott wrote one thriller, 'Dead and Not Buried,' and this was adapted in 1954 for CBS's Climax! television series under the title 'Bury Me Later.'
Her interests included travel and a love of the English countryside and she lived for many years in Charlbury, Oxfordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2025
Ambitious and largely successful, Prescott's debut novel shows us the long road of a very flawed man through bitterness, resentment, cruelty, viciousness, and hatred of God back, finally, to God.
Yves is the heir to a small fiefdom in France, training to be a knight. During a war between his overlord and Richard, Count of Poitou (soon to be Richard I of England, the Lionheart), his home is captured and he is dispossessed, unable to be knighted by his Lord. Deprived of his birthright, he cherishes a hatred of Richard and of God. He flees God and desires vengeance from Richard. Yves' resentment makes him a bitter and cynical man, who cannot even pursue his own good in a sensible manner. He falls further from his prior status, becoming a mercenary, then a bandit. His life of ravage, killing, fornication and rape is not only what he is driven to, but also what he drives himself to in his fleeing from God. Yves finally meets in a skirmish his best friend from his earlier life, who hails Yves and bids him halt, lowering his guard; Yves recognizes his old friend, and continues his life of brutality, killing him. Prescott's picture of Yves' degradation and rebellion is fully successful - the reader is repulsed by Yves casual brutality, making his restoration all the more powerful.
Yves at last encounters the forgiveness of God, recognizing that the God he has fled is the only one who can give him peace. The path of forgiveness and reconciliation to God depicted by Prescott is not an easy or uncomplicated one. The first grace that Yves receives comes from the hand of Richard, who spares him execution and offers to restore him; but although Yves could receive some measure of grace from Richard, he refuses the full restoration because it would mean reconciliation with God as well.
An unusually interesting and powerful depiction of rebellion against God and final reconciliation.
Yves is the heir to a small fiefdom in France, training to be a knight. During a war between his overlord and Richard, Count of Poitou (soon to be Richard I of England, the Lionheart), his home is captured and he is dispossessed, unable to be knighted by his Lord. Deprived of his birthright, he cherishes a hatred of Richard and of God. He flees God and desires vengeance from Richard. Yves' resentment makes him a bitter and cynical man, who cannot even pursue his own good in a sensible manner. He falls further from his prior status, becoming a mercenary, then a bandit. His life of ravage, killing, fornication and rape is not only what he is driven to, but also what he drives himself to in his fleeing from God. Yves finally meets in a skirmish his best friend from his earlier life, who hails Yves and bids him halt, lowering his guard; Yves recognizes his old friend, and continues his life of brutality, killing him. Prescott's picture of Yves' degradation and rebellion is fully successful - the reader is repulsed by Yves casual brutality, making his restoration all the more powerful.
Yves at last encounters the forgiveness of God, recognizing that the God he has fled is the only one who can give him peace. The path of forgiveness and reconciliation to God depicted by Prescott is not an easy or uncomplicated one. The first grace that Yves receives comes from the hand of Richard, who spares him execution and offers to restore him; but although Yves could receive some measure of grace from Richard, he refuses the full restoration because it would mean reconciliation with God as well.
An unusually interesting and powerful depiction of rebellion against God and final reconciliation.
June 10, 2025
I had read Prescott's "Man on a Donkey" back in high school and loved it so much that I have reread it twice. Though this book, too, has its moments of exquisite writing and inspired insights, I often had difficulty understanding the main character's motivation, and passages in Latin are not translated for the reader. It was written more than 25 years before my high school favorite and set in 12th century France rather than Tudor England. While it doesn't, to my thinking, begin to measure up to the first book of Prescott that I had read, I still consider Prescott a great scholar and an excellent writer and am glad I read it.
maybe
July 27, 2019https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Early historical novel by the author of The Man on a Donkey
Early historical novel by the author of The Man on a Donkey
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews