Bonnie Prince Charlie, by G. A. Henty

Bonnie Prince Charlie

G. A. Henty

G. A. Henty wrote a remarkable number of historical novels meant for young people, especially boys, and he no doubt is getting a bit of a pposthumous revival since his books are in the public domain and available free in a lot of places on the Internet.  They will not suit most modern readers, save perhaps for those who like a very old fashioned narrative style.  I have to confess to mixed feelings on Henty's work in general, and in particular with this novel.

It is the story of Ronald Lesley, the son of a Scottish Jacobite who had to flee to France in 1715.  The rebel fell in love with a young noblewoman, whose father caused him to be imprisoned to prevent him from seeing the woman who it turned out had not only married her sweetheart but had a son by him.  We meet the boy as a toddler as longtime servant and companion of his father, Malcolm Anderson, brings him to Scotland for Anderson's brother to raise.  In typical Henty fashion the boy is a superman by 15.  He gets involved in some latter day Jacobite, support of Bonnie prince Charlie, so like his father has to flee to France.  Hey, he wanted to go there anyway, to find his mother and free his father, both of which he does.  He rocks the same boat as his dad did and must himself now flee back to Scotland.  he does so in the company of said Bonnie Prince, allying himself with the Young Chevalier and following him all the way to his ignominious defeat.  Still, Ronald has a loving mom and dad to fall back on, and that is what he does.

So what Henty does in his novels is find a way to put a young boy or young man in a historical situation.  He does this well enough, though you are not goign to find the inner boy in these characters.  They are all pretty together, bluff and accomplished.  there are no love interests in this particular novel.  Once the freeing of Maman and Papa are accomplished, cleverly though this is, Ronald's role in the historical events is rather thinly detailed.  In Fontenoy and then in Culloden he is no more than furniture.  What I wouldn't have given to see Culloden from Ronald's perspective.  Not only does Henty just give us the straight historical account, he doesn't even do much of that.  Given all the tragic ballad I have heard about the event Henty's account is rather blah.

I expect that Henty's novels are all like this and the other I read about the Crimean War.  At least the latter did more with the main character than "Charlie" did.  Ronald is as boy scout upright as he can be,.  Maybe the average public school boy would find it all appealing, though I tend to doubt it.  I think they would want more of what was going on in Ronald's head, just as I did.