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A Boy in Trouble
Robert Carey arrives in Berwick-upon-Tweed in August 1568, with his father Lord Hunsdon, the new Governor of the city. Lord Hunsdon has a plan to civilise his wayward youngest son, but the plan may not survive its collision with events…
- GenresHistorical
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 10, 2019
5★
“He thought of Lord Jesus as like a particularly powerful uncle with a good sword and the angels as His henchmen, so he asked for His help as well in case his father was too busy.”
Eight-year-old Robert ‘Robin’ Carey has been sent north to work off some of his energy in the stables with other boys. He asks to be called Rob, so as not to draw attention to his station in life, although some know he’s the son of Lord Hunsdon. He lives, works, and sleeps in the stables with the others. And he says his prayers when he remembers.
There’s always an older, bigger bully, and Robin is an obvious target with his different accent. He may not have liked his school lessons, but he speaks a much more cultured English than the northern dialect of his new home. His father spies him with a new black eye.
“‘Hmphmn,’ he said. ‘What happened?’
‘I bumped into a door,’ said Robin blandly.
‘Ah,’ said Hunsdon. ‘Vicious things, doors. So why did a door attack you, hey?’
Robin grinned. ‘The door was making comments about how I speak so southron and he couldn't understand and was I Welsh or even French and so I offered to help him clean out his dirty ears and poured the rest of the beer over his head and he hit me when I wasn't expecting it and so I hit him... the door back. He was bigger than me.’
‘The door?’
‘Yes, my lord, the door.’
‘So you lost?’
‘I'd say it was a draw because the cook came and grabbed... the door and kicked me out and so we didn't finish.’
‘Hmf,’ Hunsdon contemplated his son. ‘A tip for you, Robin. If you're swapping insults with a... door who's bigger than you, make sure you hit him first.’”
Not only does he get into scrapes, he learns to handle the horses and he has plenty of opportunity to use his quick wits. His mother would be appalled at the life he leads, but his father is quietly proud of his rough-and-tumble youngest son – the “spare” as he’s often referred to.
One of the northerners makes fun of Rob, that being the youngest, he won’t inherit anything because property in the south isn’t divided up among the heirs the way it is in the north. The author is skilled at making her stories feel entirely authentic, dropping interesting bits of information and language along the way. You may find Wikipedia useful for some of the terminology, but it's not hard to figure out.
Sir Robert Carey was a real figure in Elizabethan times, and his father really was Lord Hunsdon, Elizabeth I's cousin. He was the son of Mary Boleyn, Henry VIII's mistress prior to the king becoming besotted with her sister Anne, and rumour had it then, and now, that Henry was really the father of two of her children. Ah, the intrigue of it all!
Other than the bare bones of Carey's story, Chisholm (Finney) has fleshed out the people and the places and the times with wonderful colour and action and fun.
Young Robin gets caught up in a hair-raising adventure in this because there's a plot afoot to rescue Mary Queen of Scots from where the English are hiding her, and her rescuers are dead-set on finding her. They reckon Lord Hunsdon probably knows, so . . . ah, read it yourself!
I just love this series. This is free on the author's website as is the first story in the Young Carey series. I put the details in the review of that introductory one, A Pest of a Boy. Go find them both and enjoy!
Link to my review of A Pest of a Boy with download information
“He thought of Lord Jesus as like a particularly powerful uncle with a good sword and the angels as His henchmen, so he asked for His help as well in case his father was too busy.”
Eight-year-old Robert ‘Robin’ Carey has been sent north to work off some of his energy in the stables with other boys. He asks to be called Rob, so as not to draw attention to his station in life, although some know he’s the son of Lord Hunsdon. He lives, works, and sleeps in the stables with the others. And he says his prayers when he remembers.
There’s always an older, bigger bully, and Robin is an obvious target with his different accent. He may not have liked his school lessons, but he speaks a much more cultured English than the northern dialect of his new home. His father spies him with a new black eye.
“‘Hmphmn,’ he said. ‘What happened?’
‘I bumped into a door,’ said Robin blandly.
‘Ah,’ said Hunsdon. ‘Vicious things, doors. So why did a door attack you, hey?’
Robin grinned. ‘The door was making comments about how I speak so southron and he couldn't understand and was I Welsh or even French and so I offered to help him clean out his dirty ears and poured the rest of the beer over his head and he hit me when I wasn't expecting it and so I hit him... the door back. He was bigger than me.’
‘The door?’
‘Yes, my lord, the door.’
‘So you lost?’
‘I'd say it was a draw because the cook came and grabbed... the door and kicked me out and so we didn't finish.’
‘Hmf,’ Hunsdon contemplated his son. ‘A tip for you, Robin. If you're swapping insults with a... door who's bigger than you, make sure you hit him first.’”
Not only does he get into scrapes, he learns to handle the horses and he has plenty of opportunity to use his quick wits. His mother would be appalled at the life he leads, but his father is quietly proud of his rough-and-tumble youngest son – the “spare” as he’s often referred to.
One of the northerners makes fun of Rob, that being the youngest, he won’t inherit anything because property in the south isn’t divided up among the heirs the way it is in the north. The author is skilled at making her stories feel entirely authentic, dropping interesting bits of information and language along the way. You may find Wikipedia useful for some of the terminology, but it's not hard to figure out.
Sir Robert Carey was a real figure in Elizabethan times, and his father really was Lord Hunsdon, Elizabeth I's cousin. He was the son of Mary Boleyn, Henry VIII's mistress prior to the king becoming besotted with her sister Anne, and rumour had it then, and now, that Henry was really the father of two of her children. Ah, the intrigue of it all!
Other than the bare bones of Carey's story, Chisholm (Finney) has fleshed out the people and the places and the times with wonderful colour and action and fun.
Young Robin gets caught up in a hair-raising adventure in this because there's a plot afoot to rescue Mary Queen of Scots from where the English are hiding her, and her rescuers are dead-set on finding her. They reckon Lord Hunsdon probably knows, so . . . ah, read it yourself!
I just love this series. This is free on the author's website as is the first story in the Young Carey series. I put the details in the review of that introductory one, A Pest of a Boy. Go find them both and enjoy!
Link to my review of A Pest of a Boy with download information
March 10, 2020
Another delightful short story prequel to P.F. Chisholm's Sir Robert Carey series. As a child, Robin was just as inquisitive and prone to finding unexpected adventures as he is as an adult. At eight years old, he has well and truly tested the patience of his parents and the staff of his father's castle. To keep him out of trouble his father has decided to take him with him to Berwick, where ..... . There he assigns Robin to the stablemaster to teach him all about horses and riding. As one of the youngest he should be kept too busy to get into trouble. But trouble has a way of finding Robin and he will need to use all his wits to save himself and prevent a heinous plot going ahead.
January 28, 2020
Wonderfully, entertaining short story in the Sir Robert Carey series set in 16th century England during the reign of Elizabeth I. Since "Young Rob" is only 8 years old there is a back story involving Mary, Queen of Scots. Rob is a very adventurous lad who gets into some trouble but he has a good heart and worms his way into the reader's affection. Hoping that the author will tell more of Sir Robert Carey's childhood in future short stories. I think this only available to read on the author's website (Patricia Finney) and she also has an additional short story A Pest of a Boy that takes place before A Boy in Trouble. Highly recommend this series!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews