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Silver Guard
Novel: a tale of the Cavaliers & Roundheads, written for children.
"This book was planned, first of all, to complete a group of three stories, spanning the whole fifty years of struggle between the Stuart kings and the people of England--or as some would say, between the monarchs and the middle class.
Thus, "The Grey Adventurer" shows what happened to Dr Pharoah and others like him when (with the return of Charles II) the Cavaliers won the second round. "Trumpets in the West" tells how Mrs Plumridge, her tongue in no way blunted by the years, lived to see the third and last round, when James II fled before the Prince of Orange.
But it is only in school history-books that life falls into such neat, water-tight compartments. Real people overlap periods in a most untidy manner.
And that is why Peter Brownrigg and Kit, last heard of at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, have elbowed their way into this story too. Some readsers of "Cue for Treason" wanted to know what happened to them in later years, after they had grown up and left the stage. And if anyone knows how to keep Kit out of anything into which she has decided to poke her nose, he is cleverer than Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, or the present writer."
Geoffrey Trease
Abingdon
"This book was planned, first of all, to complete a group of three stories, spanning the whole fifty years of struggle between the Stuart kings and the people of England--or as some would say, between the monarchs and the middle class.
Thus, "The Grey Adventurer" shows what happened to Dr Pharoah and others like him when (with the return of Charles II) the Cavaliers won the second round. "Trumpets in the West" tells how Mrs Plumridge, her tongue in no way blunted by the years, lived to see the third and last round, when James II fled before the Prince of Orange.
But it is only in school history-books that life falls into such neat, water-tight compartments. Real people overlap periods in a most untidy manner.
And that is why Peter Brownrigg and Kit, last heard of at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, have elbowed their way into this story too. Some readsers of "Cue for Treason" wanted to know what happened to them in later years, after they had grown up and left the stage. And if anyone knows how to keep Kit out of anything into which she has decided to poke her nose, he is cleverer than Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, or the present writer."
Geoffrey Trease
Abingdon
- GenresHistorical Fiction
220 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
17 people want to read
About the author
Geoffrey Trease
174 books25 followersRobert Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 (Bows Against the Barons) and 1997 (Cloak for a Spy). His work has been translated into 20 languages. His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences towards Trease's work.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
He is best known for writing children's historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. However, with his ground-breaking study Tales Out of School (1949), he was also a pioneer of the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.
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May 20, 2015
I love Geoffrey Trease: he writes historical novels for children with a left-wing bias. So in this story of the English Civil War the Roundheads are the heroes rather than the Cavaliers. Even better, Peter and Kit Brownrigg from 'Cue for Treason' reappear as grandparents.
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