A Girl of the Commune

by G.A. Henty

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Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Education

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1895

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

[Joel Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most unique Henty book I've read. Truly wonderful story!!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite henty

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is an interesting story with enjoyable characters. I like Cuthbert, and his banter with Mary is humorous. ;) It only appeared for a brief scene, but I enjoyed the handwriting/forgery reveal (#detectivelove). There is two mentions of mistresses, a little drinking & smoking, and some blasphemy in French; also a mention of women sitting undressed before male artists.

Review to be updated.

A Favourite Quote: “‘Great things can be done by individuals.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “On the walls were red placards issued by the Commune and headed ‘Men of Paris. The butchers of Versailles are slaughtering your brethren!!!’
“‘As a rule the brethren decline to be slaughtered, Mary,’ Cuthbert said as they read the proclamation. ‘You see, if the troops fire they are butchers, if the National Guards fire they are heroes. Considering that Paris has ten armed men to every one McMahon has got, even if all the troops could be relied upon, the Parisians must indeed be of a mild temper if they submit to be butchered.’”

[Richard Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this GA Henty. I loved learning about a time period in France's history that I have not learned about before. This GA Henty was also very unique in that the main characters both had a character. In most GA Henty's that does not happen. For example Mary went a character arch in learning that feminism is dumb and silly. And Cuthbert underwent a character arch in that he learned how to work and not be lazy. I really enjoyed that aspect! Some of the things I did not like was the plot was not very smooth. For example must of the story's plot was in France then suddenly there was a short plot in England in him solving his father's inheritance. I wish the plot was more focused on that. But again a pretty good book and would highly recommend.

[Leslie Moellering · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating look at the siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the following siege by the radical Paris Commune, all from the viewpoint of an Englishman who was studying art in Paris at the time. Henty is a master storyteller of historical fiction. I enjoyed the story while learning about the time period.

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not one of Henty's stronger works. The story didn't seem to fit together very well.

[Lexi V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the perfect mix of French revolution (think A Tale of Two Cities and The Scarlet Pimpernel) and English-ness (think Virginia Woolf and Jane Eyre).