A March on London: Being a Story of Wat Tyler's Insurrection

by G.A. Henty

A march on London, being a story of Wat Tyler's insurrection. With eight illus. by W.H. Margetson, By: G.A.Henty George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 - 16 November 1902) was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent.He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883) and In Freedom's Cause (1885).Biography--G.A.Henty was born in Trumpington, near Cambridge. He was a sickly child who had to spend long periods in bed. During his frequent illnesses he became an avid reader and developed a wide range of interests which he carried into adulthood. He attended Westminster School, London, and later Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a keen sportsman. He left the university early without completing his degree to volunteer for the Army Hospital Commissariat when the Crimean War began. He was sent to the Crimea and while there he witnessed the appalling conditions under which the British soldier had to fight. His letters home were filled with vivid descriptions of what he saw. His father was impressed by his letters and sent them to The Morning Advertiser newspaper which printed them. This initial writing success was a factor in Henty's later decision to accept the offer to become a special correspondent, the early name for journalists now better known as war correspondents..... William Henry Margetson (Londen, 1860 - Wallingford, 2 januari 1940) was een Engels kunstschilder en illustrator, vooral bekend om zijn esthetische portretten van vrouwen.Leven en werk Margetson studeerde aan het Dulwich College, en vervolgens aan de South Kensington Schools en de Royal Academy Schools. In 1885 exposeerde hij ook voor het eerst bij de Royal Academy, en later ook bij de Royal Society of British Artists, het Royal Institute of Oil Painters en de Grosvenor Gallery. In 1909 werd hij lid van het Royal Institute. Margetson schilderde in olie en in waterverf. Hij maakte vooral naam als portrettist van mooie vrouwen, vaak met modern aandoende korte kapsels en hoeden. Ook maakte hij religieuze en allegorische werken. Aanvankelijk werkte bij in een academische, Victoriaans stijl. Later hanteerde hij een meer losse penseelvoering, beinvloed door het post-impressionisme en de prerafaelieten, meer in het bijzonder door Laurens Alma-Tadema. Zijn meest succesvolle werk is het klassiek-decoratieve The Sea Hath its Pearls, waarmee hij in 1897 exposeerde bij de Royal Academy, thans in het bezit van de 'Art Gallery of New South Wales', Australie. Een door Margetson geschilderd portret van Alfred Tennyson hangt in de National Portrait Gallery te Londen. Margetson werkte ook veel als boekillustrator. Hij was gehuwd met kunstenares Helen Hatton, die hij had leren kennen tijdens een gezamenlijke illustratieopdracht. Hij woonde en werkte eerst in Londen en later in Blewbury en Wallingford. Hij overleed in 1940, 79 jaar oud."

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1890

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

[Angie Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not my favorite Henty.

1) What action and excitement there was got a bit overpowered by all the commentary (of the "everyone who is anyone has the same wise and ridiculously insightful views despite different personalities, nationalities, backgrounds, etc., and it gets repeated ad infinitum" variety). I totally should be used to if with Henty; it just bothered me worse than usual in this story for some reason.

2) Although there was some sympathy shown for the plight of the laboring classes, there was a lot of emphasis, especially as the book went on, on class distinctions--what a terrible thing it would be if the common people stopped respecting the nobles, how the rebellion in Flanders was doomed because the craftspeople and shopkeepers were too proud and independent to submit to leadership, how "all men are created equal" is inherently flawed because everyone can see that people have differences--ugh! And these weren't just the attitudes of the times; this was the commentary by the most liberal and progressive characters.

3) I didn't like the way that Edgar's father used his (perfectly scientific and harmless) discoveries to scare the townspeople away and make them think he was really a magician. Scaring them to keep them from attacking the house is one thing, but the glowing skulls and skeletons--and the deliberate intention of preying on their superstitions--was a bit much. I also wasn't a fan of his early commentary on magic vs. science (which smacked a lot more of the naturalism of Henty's time than that of his characters). While I agree that many, if not most, "magicians" can be chalked up as charlatans and tricksters and that people tend to be afraid of what they don't understand, according to the Bible there are those who really do play around with the forces of darkness, and this shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. It also raised my eyebrows a little that the scientist was more open to the idea of signs and "portents" than to people actually practicing real magic. This wasn't a big part of the story, but it bothered me pretty significantly.

4) A minor point, but I really didn't like the way that Albert's father especially kept harping on Albert's previous weakness, even when he was praising him for having gotten so much better. Am I the only one who doesn't see "and to imagine, we thought you were a useless weakling fit only for the church" as that much of a compliment, especially after Albert had already proved himself several times? (Okay, he might not have said "useless," but he does talk about what a disgrace it would have been for the family name, etc.) Really rubbed me the wrong way.

Other content--mentions of beliefs, rituals, and abuses of the Catholic church; some blame for the peasant rebellion is put on church reformers; violence, bloodshed, and death (not graphic)

[Leslie Moellering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Henty foray into the history around Wat's Revolt in England in 1381. The narrative is as predictable as all of his books, maybe even more so in this one if that's possible, but it was still enjoyable and still an opportunity to learn a bit about the history of the period. Things wouldn't have to line up quite so well for the protagonists, but at least there's always a happy ending.

[Lynn Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Knight's Tale

Another tale of young boys becoming brave knights through battles won and lost. I enjoy learning all the new vocabulary words as I read along, like "banneret" and "cresset" among others.

[Angelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wat Tylers rebellion. Great history, great reads for young men.