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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 - 2 of 2 reviews
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 - 2 of 2 reviews