For the Temple A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem

by G.A. Henty

This tale follows the adventures of John of Gamala during the years of Roman occupation, political infighting, and lawlessness that resulted in the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. It puts the reader at the heart of the conflict between Rome and the greedy political groups and robber bands of Palestine. Although fighting a losing struggle, John keeps his integrity and honor intact, even overcoming slavery and eventually becoming a procurator after the struggle

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Classics, Historical, Young Adult, Ancient

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1888

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

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it took me forever to finish this, but thats because I forgot it on a back shelf. But this was seriously good. I loved seeing John's story, and all its twists and turns. My only complaint is that a lot of the problems had very convenient solutions, and it felt repetitive by the end that everything just worked out perfectly for him.
Still an awesome book!

[Honor Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book more times than I can remember, and it actually was one of the books that inspired me to go read Josephus’s original writings.
While taking quite a few historical liberties, Henty gives an excellent and fairly accurate timeline and description of the fall of Jerusalem and the sack and destruction of the temple. In parts, he seems to write almost identical paragraphs as Josephus’s original accounts, which I think is understandable because It’s difficult writing accurately about an event that happened over 1000 years ago. This will always be one of my favorite Henty's.

[Heidi Beals · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Henty book and I really really liked it. Read it with B and some of his friends and I felt like I learned so much. Thought it would be boring and it was not. There were some chapters that I was like come on now. But mostly really good.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is a bit of a tough book to read. The fall of Israel/the Temple was a terrible, horrible event full of death & destruction. And yet the saddest part is how wicked & foolish the Israelites were. But I do like John, and I can’t help liking Titus... and there is still humour. The book is very thought-provoking, and while I don’t agree with everything, it is clean (although full of the distressing & bloody events of the war) & mostly accurate on the religion side.

A Favourite Quote: “‘Brave men should always be gentle,’ John said, positively.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Castor himself stood on the parapet, and offered Titus to surrender. Titus promised him his life[.] He then asked Josephus, who was standing beside him, to go forward and assure Castor and his companions that their lives should be spared. Josephus, however, knew the way of his countrymen too well, and declined to endanger his life.”

[Leslie Moellering · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the fictional main character is almost too good (and smart, inventive, etc) to be true (as is common in Henty novels), he's very likeable and fun to accompany as you learn more about Palestine in the mid-first century. I enjoyed this book and learned from it.

[Richard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so far good. As I have not finished it. I am at chapter 5 or 6. It is my 5 favorite. After In Freedom's Cause, Orange and Green, The Young Carthaginian and Wulf The Saxon.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with honor and adventure, but unfortunately I did not find it very realistic. It was very obviously written from a western mindset, with some rather egregious errors (a pious Jew having goat seethed in milk for dinner, calling followers of Jesus the sect of the Nazarites). The characters thought as westerners do. I assume most of Henty’s research came from the works of Josephus; thus Titus was made out to be kind and generous at the heart except when provoked which I suspect is not the whole truth. As far as I know, John of Gamala is not based on any historical figure or figures. I find it quite fantastic to create a character who created that much havoc and have little historical backing for him. He excessive strength, agility, character, and wisdom together make him almost superhuman. The descriptions in the book were detailed but hard to follow at times.

[Karla M]

I love Henty Books and this was was not a disappointment. It demonstrated the passion of the Jews for the Temple of Jerusalem mixed in with the human desire for political power. The main character reflected a man who was willing to give up personal comforts and desires such as a marriage with his childhood sweetheart, for a purpose much larger than himself.

[Karalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henty is a master at creating strong moral characters with a fascinating historical fictional story.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been disappointed in reading GA Henty’s historical fiction novels. The events are exciting, the connections to real history are interesting and informative, and the protagonist always exemplifies one who strives for integrity in Christlikeness.

I so wish these adventures would have been more informative in shaping the younger years of my children - such admirable characters to look up to as models, contrasted to what is exalted in today’s literature for this age group.

This particular novel was interesting because the battle was lost by the protagonist, in the sense that the Romans obliterated Jerusalem. Yet how respectfully both sides were portrayed, and I truly enjoyed the connection with Titus.

The sense of family, love, personal integrity, and caring well for the women are all aspects that help the reader be reminded of the pursuit of Christlike integrity is actually attainable, even when we make mistakes.

I love Henty novels!

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed and appreciated this book a great deal. In his usual fashion, G.A. Henty has written a fictional story set within a real historical context, in this case the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans in the 1st century. His fictional main character is a young man of unwavering integrity, duty, courage, and responsibility -- an idealized individual, who thus exemplifies virtuous behavior, in an admirable if not "realistic" manner. The historical aspects of the story, based for the most part on the writings of Josephus, was also of interest to me, being important to the history of the Christian faith, but not as familiar to me as might be. I've enjoyed G.A. Henty's books as a way of discovering history of importance but unfamiliar.

[Christie Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me a long time to get through. I often read several books at a time until one grabs my attention. I read this book in chunks.
With such rich subject matter I found myself confused as to what really happened on a big scale as the main character had side adventures that told me nothing about the War, the Romans, the differences between the factions, and so on.
So if you are reading Henty for a boys adventure book this book fits. If you are reading Henry for History lessons you will probably be following this book up with a liberal use of Wikipedia.
Anyway, there are tons of more Henty books and I have loved most of them and I am determined to read them all because I love Henty so much. So one did here and there is an acceptable loss of time for me.

[Ryburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story.
Characters were two dimensional- main character never made a mistake.
Had a third person omniscient perspective which I found to be distracting. The story is about John but randomly we would switch to what his enemies were thinking/doing.
Vocabulary was high, which I appreciated.
It’s based off real historical events but I couldn’t always tell what was fiction and what was historical. This was probably the most confusing thing in the book but one instance might top it. The writer is the narrator and at one point he clearly breaks the 4th wall and says that this is what the historical record says but this cannot possibly be true it probably would have happened this way. That one instance really threw me off and I almost couldn’t get back into it.

[Jackson Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really a great, interesting book! What is really special about it is that as you find yourself connected to the main character and the victories that God is doing for him, you realize that you're reading about a true story (parts are fictitious). I'm going to have to look into more of G.A. Henty's books.

[Kelsey Grindstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read! I would highly suggest this for anyone loving/learning Jewish history. This would also make a great read for students in ancient history.

Note: I would recommend for ages 13+. The language is a bit old-fashioned, so if unaccustomed, it would take a chapter or two to get used to.

[Katie Krombein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I read Last Days of Josephus with my 7th grade students last year, I had picked this up as a historical fiction. While Henry’s writing is still formal with a great vocabulary (the book contains a dictionary at the back), it was wonderfully in line with the writings and details of Josephus but gave a broader picture of life. It was fun to root for the main characters John and Jonas.

[Lone Star Republic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tale of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. The hero John of Gamala fights with Josephus and survives the terrible siege of Jotapata. He harasses the Romans in the mountains and takes part in the siege of Jerusalem.

[Ammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful Henty. His historical fiction is top-notch, and he is a master storyteller. Though I know the general story of the temple destruction by the Romans, I've never "experienced" it. I am grateful to have read this.

[Sean Meade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story

I liked this story set against the backdrop of the writings of Josephus. It was helpful to understand that time.

[Joe V Gossman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Jacqueline Tasik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I found this book hard to read. With some of the characters names and the name of places. The author did a great job with the history of the writer of the past.

[Bruce Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Really liked John. Wish it was a longer book.

[Jeni]

Another one I've been so excited to read to the girls for years. :)

[Seth Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting view of the conquest of Judea in in a 1890 worldview.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost gave the arch-fiend two stars, but then I read the last chapter and knew this was a fantasy. In Lord of the Rings or The Last Battle or Till We Have Faces or Twelfth Night or Dante, the joy is paid for. In Henty, it's wish-fulfillment in the bad sense. That could never happen to anybody. Ever. And then he escapes alone of all the Jews. And then he gets a band. And then he beats the future Emperor. And then he escape Jerusalem. And then he gets to be a judge in Judea, become a Christian, and even help the Emperor be kind. Ouch.

The book is saved by the history, which is so horrible that I am thoroughly convinced Revelation is in an important sense about this event. Even so, Henty botches the wonderful events for the most part. I enjoy geeking out about dates and battles and strategy and politicians, and the time was well spent in that sense, but throughout the whole story we know from history (not to mention from the book cover) what is going to happen. Doom. Doom. Doom. Hindsight is 20/20, darn it. Just burn the temple already!

Henty also appears to write perpetually in the present tense. No foreshadowing that is unexpectedly fulfilled, and he switches his sympathies. Josephus, whose main work was writing Jewish history, should have gotten more screen time after he switched to the Romans. Henty betrays the character and starts talking history.

I don't hate this book though; I pity it. In fact, maybe hearing it as a story might have been fun in a certain context, but I wouldn't recommend it for a read-aloud. Ah well.

[Denae Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this book again. The fiction part of Henty's books are always fun to read, though all very similar to each other. The non-fiction, historical parts are dry to yawn-worthy. I'm not a history nut, and I don't care how many people attacked how many people on the second day of the siege. Surely some of the info is unnecessary or could be conveyed in a less boring, less morbid way?
Ah, but John of Gamala (sp?) was a good character. Nothing special (in fact, every other Jewish character had the name of John), but still fun to read about. Especially whenever someone found out he was THE John of Gamala. Ha!

[Ben Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am generally a sucker for historical fiction and I enjoyed this book as well. I didn't know much about the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but I came away with a better understanding, I think, after reading this book. John of Gamala (a fictional character, created by Henty) is a good leadership model, who inspires his men and leads them devoutly to protect that which is most sacred to the Jewish nation during this time (maybe even now, I don't know), the temple in Jerusalem. It was a easy to read and enjoyable all the while.

[Crystal Eberle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I teach this time period in history, I was delighted to find this old fashioned children's novelized version of the story of the fall of Jerusalem and the events leading up to it. It's very dense, not what I was expecting for a book that was written for young people. I won't be reading this aloud to my class, but the information will be very useful. I read a history of Holland by the same author years ago. It was entitled "By Pike and by Dike" and it was riveting.
I expect nothing less from this one.

[Kori Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just finished Josephus' "Jewish War", I was able to connect every event in this book to the actual event in history. I really liked the way that Henty made each of his characters believable and let the Jew in each one come through. They hated the Romans and believed God would save their country no matter what they did, and Henty let me see all that, while still making the characters easy to sympathize with.

[Bradley Farless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book at all. It's a story based on a historical document about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish temple. The way it's written made me feel like I was reading the Old Testament, which is both bad and good considering the topic. It kept the action up and was easy to read.