The Lion of the North was written by G. A. Henty and
is based around the 30 years war. What is the 30 years war you ask? It was a
war that occurred in the 1600's in Europe between Protestants and Catholics.
Why you would fight a war purely on disagreements in religion I have no clue.
Anyhow, it does make for a good book. Where does the book get its name? Well,
one of the main characters in the book, Gustavus, his nickname, in real life I
might add, is The Lion of the North. What is the story line? Well, here it
is...
Malcom Graheme was just a teenager of about 15 or 16 living
in Scotland when the 30 years war broke out. He was recruited along with other
Scots to go fight in the war against the Catholics. Just before he was
recruited he had saved a couple of horseback riders from the strong currents of
a seemingly slow river. The two men thought he was destined for greatness. Boy
were they right!
At one point in the story Malcom found himself a prisoner of
a band of Guerrillas. He was forced to cook for them and while he was there
Malcom overheard their plans to capture a quiet and secluded village. After
hearing this, he decided to attempt an escape and tell the village of their
coming troubles. He successfully escaped and found himself in the village in no
time. He warned them and then he was put in charge of defending the village.
The Guerrillas were completely destroyed and the village went back to normal
life. Malcom returned to his regiment and everyone was glad he was back.
About a year or two later, Malcom and some of his fellow
soldiers came down with a serious disease and were told to choose a place to go
to get better. Malcom thought that the village he had saved would be the
perfect place. So they all went to the quiet village and recovered from their
sickness. As they were getting ready to head back to the army, they received
word that the city of Mansfeld was going to be attacked by the Catholics in the
next day or two. Malcom decided to leave immediately and head for Mansfeld. He
got there before the enemy did and successfully repelled them. While in
Mansfeld he fell in love with the Count's, or Governor's daughter and she fell
in love with him as well. But, as always, he had to leave to return to the army
and she was in a very melancholy mood when he left.
I like this book because the main character, Malcom, is a
very well written character and he grabs your attention. It would most
definitely be a good book for people who like adventure, suspense, or history.
So if you like any of those three things in a book, you should definitely look
into getting it.
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