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The Prelude to Adventure
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884-1941) was an English novelist. He was born in Auckland in New Zealand and educated in England at the King's School, Canterbury and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He worked as a teacher before turning to writing full time. His first novel was The Wooden Horse (1909), with Fortitude (1913) his first great success. He worked for the Red Cross in Russia during World War I, experiences which fed his The Dark Forest (1916) and The Secret City (1919). Walpole lived at Brackenburn Lodge on the slopes of Catbells in the Lake District from 1924 to his death. Here he wrote many of his best known works including the family saga The Herries Chronicle, comprising Rogue Herries (1930), Judith Paris (1931), The Fortress (1932) and Vanessa (1933). Walpole's work was very popular, and brought him great financial rewards. He was a prolific worker who embraced a variety of genres. He also wrote: The Prelude to Adventure (1912), The Golden Scarecrow (1915), The Captives (1920), and The Cathedral (1922).
180 pages, Paperback
Published October 19, 2007
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About the author
Hugh Walpole
413 books85 followersSir Hugh Seymour Walpole was an English novelist. A prolific writer, he published thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories, two plays and three volumes of memoirs. His skill at scene-setting, his vivid plots, his high profile as a lecturer and his driving ambition brought him a large readership in the United Kingdom and North America. A best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s, his works have been neglected since his death.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 9, 2021
Apr 8, 230pm ~~ Review asap.
Apr 9, 130pm ~~Back in February of this year (why does that seem so long ago?) I read a book called The Hound Of Heaven. Here is my review for it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
After reading that review, my GR friend Sandy told me about this book, The Prelude To Adventure. She thought I might be interested in a novel that had the same basic theme as THOH.
So first of all, thank you Sandy! I did enjoy this book, it captured my attention with the very first sentence and never turned it loose until the final words.
Olva Dune is a 23 year old Cambridge student. But we don't learn that right away. We meet Dune at the very moment he killed another student by the name of Carfax. Here is the first sentence:
"There is a God after all." That was the immense conviction that faced him as he heard, slowly, softly, the leaves, the twigs, settle themselves after that first horrid crash which the clumsy body had made.
I don't know about anyone else, but that certainly made ME want to read on and find out all the gory details of this person's life. Who was he? Why did he kill that man? What would he do next? When would he confess.....or would he confess? Where would he discover the truth about that sensation he had about God? How long would he hide before he let that lurking God show him The Way?
Because there was the similarity with THOH. God lurked again here, but Dune never seemed to be afraid of Him. He seemed more concerned about what Man might do to him if the truth came out, but towards God he seemed intrigued, curious, at times even hopefully obsessed. Was there really a God? And if not, why did he suddenly feel HIs constant presence? What could it mean?!
The story concerns not only Dune, of course. We are also allowed a glimpse into student life at Cambridge, and it is quite clear that the author was not at all impressed with the process of education (rather say robotic training or sheltering from real life) available there. When I looked to Wiki for a little more information about the author, I learned that he had attended Cambridge from 1903 to 1906, so it is easy to see that he knew the inside workings of the place.
From my quick glance through the article at Wiki, I can see that Walpole seemed to be a combination of some of the characters in this book. I am intrigued. I think I will try a few other titles of his Someday.
As usual, Sandy, you have increased my Want To Read lists! lol
Apr 9, 130pm ~~Back in February of this year (why does that seem so long ago?) I read a book called The Hound Of Heaven. Here is my review for it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
After reading that review, my GR friend Sandy told me about this book, The Prelude To Adventure. She thought I might be interested in a novel that had the same basic theme as THOH.
So first of all, thank you Sandy! I did enjoy this book, it captured my attention with the very first sentence and never turned it loose until the final words.
Olva Dune is a 23 year old Cambridge student. But we don't learn that right away. We meet Dune at the very moment he killed another student by the name of Carfax. Here is the first sentence:
"There is a God after all." That was the immense conviction that faced him as he heard, slowly, softly, the leaves, the twigs, settle themselves after that first horrid crash which the clumsy body had made.
I don't know about anyone else, but that certainly made ME want to read on and find out all the gory details of this person's life. Who was he? Why did he kill that man? What would he do next? When would he confess.....or would he confess? Where would he discover the truth about that sensation he had about God? How long would he hide before he let that lurking God show him The Way?
Because there was the similarity with THOH. God lurked again here, but Dune never seemed to be afraid of Him. He seemed more concerned about what Man might do to him if the truth came out, but towards God he seemed intrigued, curious, at times even hopefully obsessed. Was there really a God? And if not, why did he suddenly feel HIs constant presence? What could it mean?!
The story concerns not only Dune, of course. We are also allowed a glimpse into student life at Cambridge, and it is quite clear that the author was not at all impressed with the process of education (rather say robotic training or sheltering from real life) available there. When I looked to Wiki for a little more information about the author, I learned that he had attended Cambridge from 1903 to 1906, so it is easy to see that he knew the inside workings of the place.
From my quick glance through the article at Wiki, I can see that Walpole seemed to be a combination of some of the characters in this book. I am intrigued. I think I will try a few other titles of his Someday.
As usual, Sandy, you have increased my Want To Read lists! lol
August 20, 2020
Two odd themes to pair together but it works remarkably well
Olva Dune has killed a man and is suddenly convinced of God's existence. Olva sees God as a just pursuer and he tries over the course of the book to escape, forget, and cope under the pressure of the pursuit. That is one focus of the book the other is to show how feeble the Universities of the time were as the setting is Cambridge, and no one there is clever as the book itself states and every student is obsessed with Rugby and only one man suspects Dune at all. But painting every student so pathetically really helps the dread of the Supernatural Pursuer build. Unfortunatly the critiques seem very much of their time and somewhat shallow so they were boring on occasion . The only other issue is the ending plays with one ending and I think I would have enjoyed the teased ending better then what actually, happened. Very existential and the divine justice theme was different enough from simple guilt to keep me engaged. Add in a minor twist, some good devolpment for the side characters, and classic gothic atmosphere and you have an above average pycholigical thriller.
Olva Dune has killed a man and is suddenly convinced of God's existence. Olva sees God as a just pursuer and he tries over the course of the book to escape, forget, and cope under the pressure of the pursuit. That is one focus of the book the other is to show how feeble the Universities of the time were as the setting is Cambridge, and no one there is clever as the book itself states and every student is obsessed with Rugby and only one man suspects Dune at all. But painting every student so pathetically really helps the dread of the Supernatural Pursuer build. Unfortunatly the critiques seem very much of their time and somewhat shallow so they were boring on occasion . The only other issue is the ending plays with one ending and I think I would have enjoyed the teased ending better then what actually, happened. Very existential and the divine justice theme was different enough from simple guilt to keep me engaged. Add in a minor twist, some good devolpment for the side characters, and classic gothic atmosphere and you have an above average pycholigical thriller.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews