Saint Bartholomew's Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars

by G.A. Henty

The hero, Philip Fletcher, is a right true English lad, but he has a French connection on his mother's side. This kinship induces him to cross the Channel in order to take a share in that splendid struggle for freedom known as the Huguenot wars. Naturally he sides with the Protestants, distinguishes himself in various battles, and receives rapid promotion for the zeal and daring with which he carries out several secret missions.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Young Adult, Classics, War

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1894

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

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

G.A. Henty will forever be my favorite historical author. While sometimes his books seem long-winded, I learn SO MUCH history from them. More than any other book I've read. If I need to research something, first stop is Henty's books to see if he wrote about it. If so, that's my first stop!

St. Barthlomew's Eve was a wonderful adventure with Philip on the Hugenot wars in France. It's a good reminder how much Christian's have suffered through the years in order to worship the Lord. What heroic people!!

This is my second time reading this book, and it was just as good as the first time! I drink in all the historical details he adds! :-D

[Becky Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my new favorite Henty book. The story seemed like it was going to be a slow start and Henty sometimes does drag on in areas when he is setting the scene or telling you the historical backdrop against which his story is set but the story picks up and never really slows down too much after the start. I enjoyed the character growth. Though Henty can get formulaic this one seemed far more tenuous than others of his I've read and I knew nothing whatsoever of the history behind this so I was never quite certain who would make it to the end alive and who might not. It's a very sad story, but I liked it a lot. I would read this one again.

[TheRoer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Loved it! I first listened to the audio drama and warning for those who have only listened to it and not read it or vise versa, it is different than the audio drama. More details and some details also are different than the audio drama. But I love them both!!

[Sarah]

Family read-aloud.
I'm not a huge fan of G. A. Henty but this wasn't a bad book.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

“On August 24, 1572, more than 2,000 French Huguenots - men, women, and children - were massacred for their faith.” (Audible Summary) I tried to get into this one, but three hours in (of the nearly 14 hour story) my thoughts were drifting badly so I decided to give it up. Jim Hodges is such a painful reader, his inflection is all over the place and makes what should be a thrilling/dramatic/mournful scene all seem like a children’s nursery rhyme.

The plot feels reminiscent of Henty’s French Revolution story, “In the Reign of Terror” which is excellent - both the narration (the audible version by Stuart Langton) and the storyline.

I switched over to the abridged version by Heirloom Audio and enjoyed the two hour version. It was nice having a bit more of the back story provided in the full version to the Huguenots and Philip Fletcher. But Henty does just provide a lot of excess detail (troop movements etc) that just feel too dull to slog through sometimes.

I’m sure it’s a great story overall, if you can tolerate Hodges. There’s a bit of love story included between Philip and Clare.

[Steve Stegman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book written for 19th century children. It does present a good fictionalized account of historical events. I would have appreciated a shorter version. The narator's French pronunciation and old lady French voice is amusing at first but annoying by the end of the book.

[Remy Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful historical fiction story with amazing characters!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a fictional story with biased views, un idealized hero, and other stereotypical roles, the novel recounts many historical events and makes learning them interesting.

[Dori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I like all the GA Henty books I have read so far.

[Armin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Boy's Own Historian, dieses Attribut sagt alles, im Guten wie bei allerlei fragwürdigen Aspekten.
Henty erzählte seinen Kindern nach dem Abendessen regelmäßig Geschichten, die sich oft über mehrere Wochen erstreckten und wurde bei dieser Gelegenheit für die Literatur entdeckt.
Den erzieherischen Anspruch merkt man auch dieser Darstellung der Hugenottenkriege an.
Henty steht mit sämtlichen Gliedmaßen und Hirnwindungen im protestantischen Lager, sein katholischer Mob und prominente Fanatiker von der falschen Seite kommen so gut weg wie Karl Mays Tramps im parallel gelesenen Schatz im Silbersee. Beide Bücher sind übrigens im selben Jahr entstanden, die Angehörigen der Nation des Autors sind durch die Bank tapfer und tugendhaft, schließlich schrieb der Mayster seinen Allstar-Western in erster Linie für junge Leser.
Das Konzept der Heldenreise spielte für beide Autoren keine Rolle, ihre Helden sind das Gegenstück zu den aktuell im Kino grassierenden Girl-Bossen, die keinerlei Lernkurve durchlaufen müssen und auf Anhieb alles besser können als die männlichen Superhelden früherer Generationen.
Insofern verlor der junge Philipp Fletcher auch bei mir einiges an anfänglichem Kredit oder persönlicher Anteilnahme. Da ich die Darstellungen von Dumas, Heinrich Mann (Vorlagen für die Chérau-Verfilmung der Bartholomäusnacht), sowie Prosper Merimée und C.F. Meyer (schweizerische Variation von Merimee) schon kannte, besaßen die historischen Gestalten in meinem Kopf mehr Tiefe, denn gerade Heinrich Mann war sehr stark im gestalten von Schattenseiten und persönlichen Konflikten, die ein viktorianischer Jugendbuchautor komplett ausblenden musste. Sein junger Henri von Bourbon ist nur ein hervorragender Jäger, der sich als Sohn der Hugenottenikone halt langweilt und lieber selbst Abenteuer erleben wollte. Der echte stank nach Jagdschweiß, Weibern und unmengen von täglich verzehrtem Knoblauch, war leidenschaftlicher Spieler, dergleichen zeigt man natürlich nicht auf literarischen Wandteppichen
für Jungs, die mal bessere Männer und noch vorzüglichere Briten werden sollen.
Über allerlei Schlachten, die bei den auf die Bartholomäusnacht fixierten Romanen höchstens Schall und Rauch waren, bin ich nun besser informiert. Im Rahmen seines Konzepts und der Möglichkeiten der Epochen hat Henty wohl sein Bestes gegeben, daher drei Sterne.

[Henry Seufert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming tale of a Hugenot’s gentlemanly virtue and valor during a period of trouble for the Reformed faith. Henty’s books are the perfect balance of history, chauvinism, and Christian virtue woven into mythic tales of the Western world. If your son grows up reading his works, he will be loved by all women, conquer a continent or two, and probably slay a dragon. All before the age of 16. No, seriously, he will.

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings the Huguenot Wars to life! They were not deeply explored during my education.

It is advanced reading material, with long and varied sentence structure, and difficult vocabulary.

I learned a lot!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie listened to this audio theater adaptation and loved it!...krb 5/8/19

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable family read-aloud. I think this G.A. Henty book was more enjoyable than some of the other Henty books that I have read. Or maybe I have just adjusted to his very detailed style
of writing and didn't find it as tedious. Either way it was enjoyable!

3 stars

[Constance M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a disturbing narrative regarding the Huguenot persecution in France

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"That's a sad story; you should read a different one." That was years ago when I picked my first Henty off the shelf. Since then I've read some other Henty's but I've always avoided St. Bartholomew's Eve. But my perspective of a "sad story" has changed since then, partly because of all the other books I've read. When someone says "that's a sad story", they usually mean that it "ends" sad. Civil war and massacre are very sad things, doubly sad when both factions involved are fighting in the name of the One Triune God (though much could be said here about whether the Catholics indeed fought in the name of God or for their own political agenda). But there are two reasons why I can't bring myself to call this a sad story. (Spoiler alert.........................................) The first and most obvious is that the hero slays the dragon and gets the girl. Confronting a dragon means laying your life down for others, which is a Christ like action. Slaying the dragon means getting the girl, and there's nothing sad about that. This is why I thought was so cool when Phillip becomes engaged to Claire in the middle of one of the most atrocious massacres in history. And secondly, a man who dies in Christ, only dies to be resurrected to new life. "To live is Christ, to die is gain." No one who lives in Christ need fear death. In the resurrection, graveyards are going to be the most interesting places on earth. The massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve was the harvesting of a rich field, ready and ripe for the gathering, and there have been many such harvests. This is not a callous way of speaking of a horrific event; it is just that the death of saint is their birth day in Heaven. Living or dying, faithful or renegade, we are all in the hand of God, and while it is appropriate to mourn death here on earth, it is equally appropriate to celebrate the coming resurrection. They are at rest, and we shall see them again. That's not sad.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had been a few years since I had read this book, but even so, as we got closer to the end I found it harder and harder to keep reading, knowing what was going to happen...

That is the honor and admiration this book called from me for certain people. Real people. Jeanne d'Albret... Louis, Prince of Condé... Most of all, Gaspard II de Coligny.

Henty creates a fictional character and it is through his life that we experience true characters and events. Beginning during the "Armed Peace" of 1563-67, the story climaxes with the St. Bartholomew Massacre, ending with a summery of what followed in the next several years. It is full of information, commentary, and fascinating escapades.

[Lone Star Republic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This masterpiece shows the importance of having good character and dedication to your faith. In this book the hero, an Englishman by birth joins the Huguenot cause and serves under Admiral Coligny. He meets the enemy many times in battle and escapes capture and prison. I love how the author includes the important faith that drove the Huguenots to these wars.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want you all to know that even though in this book the Huguenots are fighting the Catholics, I got the feeling that many of the "Catholics" were really in search of political power and didn't really care much about religion.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids enjoyed this book quite a bit during our study of the Hugenots flight from persecution. Henty does such a great job writing historic fiction for young people while keeping historic facts accurate.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little heavier in historical detail than I normally enjoy. Good, but probably my least favorite of the Heirloom Audio productions. My taste leans more to the productions with a little more story and less action.

[Selah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so awesome to read back through some of Henty's books- these which are awesome enough to read for the fourth time or so, even when I have a bunch of other good books to read. :) Really excellent and action-filled historical fiction is so refreshing!

[Angelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is not the best but the history is clear. I learned about the Huegenot Wars (Catholic vs Protestants in France)

[Rachel]

My favorite (albeit sad) Henty book