No Surrender: The Rising in La Vendee:

by G.A. Henty

In the world's history, there is no more striking example of heroic bravery and firmness than that afforded by the people of the province of Poitou, and more especially of that portion of it known as La Vendee, in the defence of their religion and their rights as free men. At the commencement of the struggle they were almost unarmed, and the subsequent battles were fought by the aid of muskets and cannon wrested from the enemy. With the exception of its forests, La Vendee offered no natural advantages for defence. It had no mountains, such as those which enabled the Swiss to maintain their independence; no rivers which would bar the advance of an enemy; and although the woods and thickets of the Bocage, as it was called, favoured the action of the irregular troops, these do not seem to have been utilized as they might have been, the principal engagements of the war being fought on open ground. For eighteen months the peasants of La Vendee, in spite of the fact that they had no idea of submitting either to drill or discipline, repulsed the efforts of forces commanded by the best generals France could furnish; and which grew, after every defeat, until at length armies numbering, in all, over two hundred thousand men were collected to crush La Vendee. The losses on both sides were enormous. La Vendee was almost depopulated; and the Republicans paid dearly, indeed, for their triumph, no fewer than one hundred thousand men having fallen, on their side. La Vendee was crushed, but never surrendered. Had the British government been properly informed, by its agents, of the desperate nature of the struggle that was going on; they might, by throwing twenty thousand troops, with supplies of stores and money into La Vendee, have changed the whole course of events; have crushed the Republic, given France a monarch, and thus spared Europe over twenty years of devastating warfare, the expenditure of enormous sums of money, and the loss of millions of lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

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

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars & 4/10 hearts. I enjoyed this book, even the (usually boring) parts concerning the history and politics. I have never heard of the Vendeans before reading this book, which is a shame—they were such brave and noble people. I didn’t agree with them in everything, but I believe they were in the right. There is a lot of lying in this book as the characters try to escape the Comission (the men who engineered the French Revoltion). The ending is very exciting. I wasn’t expecting to love this book, so I was pleasantly surprised.

A Favourite Quote: “‘Goodbye, Leroux; we may not meet again.’
“‘We shall meet in heaven, madame,’ the man said reverently. ‘They may take away our country, they may kill our curés, they may destroy our churches, but they cannot take away our God.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘...orders have been sent for all villages to be destroyed, and all hedges and woods to be cut down—a business that, by the way, would employ the whole French army for some years.’”

[Jedidiah Preble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up G.A. Henty's No Surrender: A Tale of the Rising in La Vendée because I wanted to learn more about the resistance against the French Revolution, the Republicans, and Robespierre. The Catholic dimension of this conflict was my primary draw. The Vendéans were staunch Catholics who might have quietly endured the shifting politics of Paris, but they were pushed to the brink when their priests were accosted and killed. This persecution is what truly sparked their fierce resistance.

In many ways, the book reminds me of The Red Badge of Courage. Aimed at a young male audience, it drops a young protagonist right into the chaos of an ongoing war. Henty does an excellent job capturing the specific disposition of the Vendéan peasant. It becomes clear quickly that their resistance was tragically doomed from the start due to a classic conflict between the universal and the particular. The nobles understood the big picture, but the peasants were only concerned with the small picture. They fought bravely to stave off invasion but refused to go on the offensive or travel far from their homes. They would fight for a day or two and then return to tend their farms. Against the massive and unified Republican Army, a localized, purely defensive strategy simply could not hold up.

The descriptions of the Bocage terrain are fantastic. The ancient, sunken lanes carved into the ground, flanked by natural walls of trees and shrubs, provided perfect cover for guerrilla warfare. I actually looked up pictures of these roads online, and it is incredibly fascinating to see exactly how the Vendéans used their unique landscape as a weapon. Henty is clearly well versed in military and naval tactics, bringing a lot of authenticity to the battlefield descriptions.

Despite being action packed, it was a surprisingly slow read. The story moves forward almost entirely through dialogue rather than a traditional narrator. With a large cast of characters and a myriad of unfamiliar French cities, it is very difficult to track who is speaking or where they are. A stronger narrator would have helped anchor the story and clarify the context.

Henty's English background also shines through in an almost humorous way. While his royalist sympathies make him side with the Vendéan cause, his English sensibilities cause him to tiptoe around the intense Catholic nature of the rebellion. He goes out of his way to protect his English protagonists from ever actually converting to Catholicism, ensuring they return safely as proper Englishmen. Ultimately, it is an interesting historical novel with excellent tactical detail, though it is hampered by a confusing narrative style and an amusingly transparent authorial bias.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excitingly written with intriguing characters. Highlighting the serve struggle of France guillotine

An trilling account of the struggles and fierce determination of Frances peasants to defeat the Robespierre community in Paris. Lead by a few determined patriots they came close to defeating an entire army, called the Blues.

[Alassë Estel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry at times, but I liked it.

[Sara]

This novel about part from revuloition of france.And how can fight and escape to safe in gd adv way.Now i don't know that all i read here is true or not.I don't have informtion about franc hestory. Anyway its gd