Oct. 12, 2005 - The Henty Formula
I've read over thirty of G.A. Henty's boys' historical adventure novels, and I have noticed a distinct pattern throughout his stories, which I will give here:
- At the beginning of the book, the hero is generally between 12 and 15 years old.
- The hero is either orphaned or has left his parents to join the military.
- The hero rescues a damsel in distress and/or her father, and later marries her
- There's usually a rival, either for high rank or the girl, who is quite the villianous scum.
- The hero is given command of an elite platoon and are responsible for the major victories of their side.
- The hero has a sidekick, usually a servant.
Now, I understand these are broad generalizations, but if you read any of Henty's books, you'll find at least two of these features in the story. And of course the common feature in all of the books, the hero is brave, virtuous, honorable, and merciful.
That's all for now,
Zack Lawrence, Henty Fan
Comments
Oct. 14, 2005 - Please keep posting!
Posted by Anonymous
My kids are a bit young for Henty now, but we have some of his books that they can read when the time comes.....I enjoyed your entry!
Herb-Lady
Nov. 4, 2005 - Zach,
Posted by underhiswings
I'm so glad that I came across your blog. I am a mother of two teenagers. My son is 14 and is a fan of Star Wars and LOTR. So it sounds like you might have some things in common. However, we began reading "For the Temple" as a read aloud and found one chapter where the rabbi was "waxing eloquently" about some battle a bit dry and boring. It has been difficult for us to get back into it. Can you give us any encouragement? Are the books worth reading or should I try to find others? He is reading "Treasure Island" by himself and likes that, is a reluctant writer, finding it difficult to put his own thoughts down on paper, but thinks in pictures and has been doing some drawing. Any ideas. You can go to my blog and email me if you want.
Thanks.
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