Henty Essay Contest Winners
FIRST PLACE WINNER — 17-18 CATEGORY
Jennifer Schlaudt
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM MR. HENTY
I have been an avid reader all my life. As early as the library’s summer reading
programs in my first and second grade year, I devoured the “find” of the
week in two or three days and rushed it back to replace it with two or more works
of equal merit. Anything imaginable that constituted quality reading I sampled:
biographies, mysteries, classics, Newberry winners, and historical fiction novels.
Everything from Misty Chincoteague and Prince Caspian to Through Gates
of Slendor, Sherlock Holmes, and The Scarlet Pimpernel was
on my reading list. I read books in ones and twos and even a few series such as
Anne of Green Gables, and Elsie Dinsmore. I plotted doggedly through
some, determined to finish if it killed me, and raced breathlessly through others-even
on the second and third re-readings. But, never was I so captivated by a series
or an author as when I encountered a writer by the name of George Alfred Henty.
Since the summer before my nineth grade year, when I reluctantly read my first Henty
novel as an assignment from my mother, I have been a committed Hentonian! I immediately
recognized the inestimable value of such a literary treasure and determined that
it would be followed by as many more as I could manage to discover. The tremendous
potential for life-enrichment in Mr. Henty’s books, combined with an irresistibly
thrilling plot, motivated me to establish a collection for myself and my children.
One book at a time, my little library has been steadily growing ever since. As I
anticipated, this investment for the future has already paid off, increasing my
store of knowledge outside the boundaries of a traditional textbook and preparing
me for my adult life in many indispensable ways.
I have gleaned a much more thorough understanding of historical events which have
been treated by Mr. Henty than I ever could have gained from a textbook account.
The portrayal of battles and events, voyages and intrigues in the vivid colors of
well-written historical novels inevitably embeds the otherwise burdensome details
in the mind of a reader. The tragic events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem to
Titus and the Roman army have been etched on my memory as a result of my perusal
of For the Temple. Through this masterful narrative, I have been able to
grasp the impact that the political and civil unrest within both nations had upon
the outcome of the subjugation. My heart has been stirred by the valorous struggles
of Boadicea to preserve her faltering kingdom against the conquering legions of
Rome in Beric the Briton. When my study of British literature this year required
an understanding of the history of the Britons, I was already quite familiar with
the story, due to my reading. The history of the Scottish war for independence,
under the leadership of immortal patriots such as William Wallace, and Robert Bruce,
has added a stirring episode to my ever-increasing hoard of favorite accounts, as
has the story of the Norman Conquest, culminating the famous Battle of Hastings.
I fairly imbued Saint Bartholomew’s Eve, which reveals the political
chicanery behind the murderous Huguenot Wars of the Reformation and was enthralled
with By Right of Conquest, sympathizing keenly with both sides involved in
the saga of Montezuma and Cortez. Thanks to Mr. Henty, I am now in the class of
those who are learning from history that they may not be doomed to repeat it.
As I have made my way through the escapades of Mr. Henty’s illustrious and
unprecedented heroes, I have kept a mental file of their never-failing techniques
to which I may refer to in the case of an emergency. For instance, should I find
myself grappling with a ferocious bear and five cubs on a high, narrow mountain
ledge in an attempt to take shelter in a cave, from a band of fierce natives, I
have simply to dispatch the bears, skin them, twist together a rope from their hides,
and descend the cliff with it. Nothing to it. Or, if I am taken prisoner by a band
of enemy soldiers, and forced to trudge the dusty roads in a procession, I can slip
my hands from my bonds, dash to the nearest horse and vault onto his back, hurl
the previous rider to the ground, and gallop away to the hills, mustering an army
as I go. I could end a pursuit, and evade capture by jumping into a well to hide,
support myself by clinging to the bucket until I can safely emerge. That one has
promise! Should I be forced to avoid detection by escaping from a walled city, I
could conceal myself in the howdah of a trained elephant, force him to stampede
in a destructive rage through the city, and drop neatly off his back outside the
gates. Perhaps most impressively, if I ever find myself the object of the worship
of a tribe of South Seas natives, who are under the impression that I am a deity
and insist on dragging me about with them like a good luck charm, I have but to
instruct the natives to assemble a week’s supply of food and water, choose
a very dark night, gag my four guards, steal a canoe, and make a gateway. Mr. Henty
may one day be entitled to credit for preserving my life and limb!
On a more serious note, I have learned the meaning of true manhood through the characters
of Mr. Henty’s novels. In the exemplary figures of these timeless tales I have
seen the old-fashioned ideals, morals, and character qualities, which constitute
a truly godly man — precisely the kind I desire for a husband one day. Chivalry
— or courtesy, especially to women — is a trait shared by each of Mr.
Henty’s protagonists. All of them treat women as special charges to be respected
and protected at all times, as in the case of Sir Philip Fletcher of Saint Bartholomew’s
Eve. He considers it his responsibility to aid the lovely Clare de Valecourt
to escape the horrors of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, while still preserving
her womanly honor. The integrity of godly manhood is a facet of the character of
all Henty’s heroes, as well. Sir Gervaise Tresham of A Knight of the White Cross
demonstrates his moral incorruptibility through dependability, keeping his promise
to the Lady Claudia, though he must surmount all sorts of obstacles to do so. The
admirable quality of selflessness, too, is a trait exhibited by the characters of
Mr. Henty’s stories, including Beric the Briton, who battles a lion
barehanded in the arena to save the life of a condemned Christian. Not a single
hero fails to show great courage in all situations. Wulf the Saxon, aided only by
two stalwart companions, defended his king’s camp against a party of enemy
soldiers, preventing their entry until reinforcements arrive to drive them back.
Rupert Clinton, a character of Dash for Khartoum demonstrates extraordinary
loyalty — yet another aspect of the nature of Henty’s heroes — by
undertaking an apparently hopeless and seemingly endless search for his enslaved
brother, a prisoner of war. The deep humility of John of Gamala — the eminent
young guerilla leader in For the Temple — in the height of his popularity
is an illustration of G.A. Henty’s characters. The worthy protagonist of G.A.
Henty’s tales hold up the highest standard of behavior, serving as ideal role
models for young men and young women alike.
A writer of Mr. Henty’s caliber is a very rare find. The majority of us could
not produce in a lifetime one work carrying the mark of a masterpiece, not to mention
one hundred and forty-four of them! In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s beautiful
poem “A Psalm of Life,” he writes:
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time.
In my aspiration to be a skillful, effective, and articulate writer, the small steps
I have taken in the general direction are due to the blessing of God and to the
dedication world-wielders who have hove before me, inspiring me to tread the influential
path of the eloquent communicator. Mr. Henty is one of these “great men,”
and it is to him that I owe a large portion of my own writing style. The hours that
I have spent pouring over his books have impressed upon my mind the beauty of his
flowing sentences, stimulating vocabulary, and lucid syntax. These, in turn, have
tremendously influenced my thinking and, hence, my writing. My individual style
has developed under the tutelage of Mr. Henty’s works. Judging from the trail
of footprints that G. A. Henty has left on my “sands of time,” my hardcover
collection of his works is one of the best investments I have ever made.
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