Audiobook · read by volunteers
Saint George for England
G. A. Henty (1832–1902)
Read by Jim Mowatt, Brett W. Downey, Todd Cranston-Cuebas, Richard Kilmer (1942-2022), Amy Benton, Diana Majlinger, BillMac · 23 chapters · 9 h 36
About the book
England, in the fourteenth century. A boy of noble birth must grow up in hiding, because his parents have fallen out of favour with the king. He is brought up by a bowyer and then apprenticed to an armourer just outside the gates of London. Not a bad start for a young man with a strong arm and a quick mind.
When the call comes to fight for his country, he proves his skill with a sword, a bow and a sense of honour. The story follows him into the great wars between England and France, and through the battles of Crécy and Poitiers. Along the way there is friendship, loyalty, and plenty of danger.
G. A. Henty wrote this tale in 1885, in the tradition of the historical adventure for boys. In twenty-three chapters and nearly ten hours, it offers an exciting journey into the medieval world, as imagined by a Victorian storyteller. A choice for listeners who enjoy chivalry, castles and well-paced action.
Introduction
George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) was an English writer who produced a huge number of historical adventure novels for boys. Before taking up writing, he worked as a war correspondent and followed several campaigns for British newspapers, an experience that fed his taste for military action. His many books, often with titles such as With Clive in India and Under Drake’s Flag, were enormously popular in the late Victorian period.
St. George for England, published in 1885, has the English wars with France in the fourteenth century as its setting. It belongs to the formula that made Henty successful: a young hero of courage and resource who takes part in famous events and meets real historical figures. Henty took pains to make his accounts of battles and customs accurate, though today’s readers will notice that the book reflects the attitudes of its time, including its strong national feeling and some assumptions that modern historians would question.
The novel is full of incident: clashes between archers and knights, scenes of daily life in medieval London, and the great battles of Crécy and Poitiers. Henty’s direct, no-nonsense prose keeps the story moving, and the book is easy to follow.
This recording has twenty-three chapters and lasts nearly ten hours, read by LibriVox volunteers. It will appeal to younger listeners who enjoy adventure and to adults who have a taste for old-fashioned historical fiction. As a window onto how the Victorians imagined the Middle Ages, it is also quite revealing.
Public domain
G. A. Henty died in 1902: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text