No Surrender!: A Tale of the Rising in La Vende

by G.A. Henty

The revolt of La Vendde against the French Republic at the time of the Revolution forms the groundwork of this absorbing story. Leigh Stansfield, a young English lad, is drawn into the thickest of the conflict. Forming a company of boys as scouts for the Venddan Army, he greatly aids the peasants. He rescues his sister from the guillotine, and finally, after many thrilling experiences, when the cause of La Vendde is lost, he escapes to England.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

545 pages, Kindle Edition

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