The Frightened Hero by Jean Lee Latham

The Frightened Hero by Jane Lee Latham. Illustrated by Barbara Latham.

Published by Chilton Books, c. 1965, 97 pages. Middle elementary reading level.

About the Author – Jean Lee Latham (1902-1995)

From the dust jacket:

 “Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon, West Virginia, and was graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She later took a degree in drama at Ithaca College, received her M.S. from Cornell University, and an Litt. D. from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She was editor-in-chief of a play-publishing company and wrote stage and radio plays at night and over week-ends. During World War II she was Civilian in Charge of Training Signal Corps Inspectors, wrote the course for the advanced training of women inspectors, and received the War Department Silver Wreath for her work. Since 1952 she has been writing books, many with historical backgrounds. In 1956 she won the Newbery Medal for Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Some of her other books are The Story of Eli Whitney; On Stage, Mr. Jefferson!; Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate; Young Man in a Hurry and Retreat to Glory: The Story of Sam Houston.”

Most of her children’s books are biographical or historical fiction. Here are some titles I own:

The Story of Eli Whitney
Medals for Morse: Artist and Inventor
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Trail Blazer of the Seas
This Dear-Bought Land
Young Man in a Hurry: The Story of Cyrus W. Field
On Stage, Mr. Jefferson
Drake, The Man They Called a Pirate
Samuel F. B. Morse: Artist-Inventor

Man of the Monitor: The Story of John Ericsson
Eli Whitney: Great Inventor
Sam Houston: Hero of Texas
Retreat to Glory: The Story of Sam Houston
George W. Goethals: Panama Canal Engineer
The Frightened Hero: A Story of the Seige of Latham House
David Glasgow Farragut: Our First Admiral
Anchor's Aweigh: The Story of David Glasgow Farragut
Far Voyager: The Story of James Cook
Rachel Carson: Who Loved the Sea
Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneer Woman Doctor

She also wrote these two nonfiction:

The Columbia: Powerhouse of North America (Rivers of the World Series pub. by Garrard)

The Chagres: Power of the Panama Canal (Rivers of the World series pub. by Garrard)

Barbara Latham, the illustrator of The Frightened Hero, was born in 1896 and died in 1989. She was raised in a farmhouse in Connecticut. Her family were naturalists and her father gave her an apiary of her own. He is the one who developed honey butter, a whipped honey. Have you had it? It’s delicious! Especially on toast or scones. Her family spent summers on Cape Cod. She received art training at Norwich Free Academy, the Pratt Institute, and the Art Students League of New York and others. Collections of her work is held in many prestigious art museums in the country. Barbara spent many weeks in England, going through papers of the period and tracing the ancient foundations of Latham House to insure authenticity.

The Frightened Hero is a historical fiction story of a boy in England in 1642. This would be a nice read-aloud for elementary children when studying this time period.

From the dust jacket:

“This is the story of the siege of Latham House, one of the great castles of England, during the time of the Roundheads and the Cavaliers. Billy, the second son of Lord and Lady Derby, was left at home in Latham House as the man of the house when Lord Derby and his eldest son rode off to fight the Roundheads. When Latham House is surrounded by the forces of Lord Fairfax and an ultimatum is delivered to Lady Derby that she must surrender Latham House, along with all its soldiers, arms and ammunition, she vows she will not capitulate. Billy, although frightened, hopes he can help defend his ancestral home against the Cromwellian troops. His friend, Rolfe, a dedicated liege of Lady Derby, is suspected by the other soldiers of the castle as being a traitor, but Billy has faith in his friend and stands by him. When Rolfe is wounded it is Billy who saves his life. Billy, who confesses he was scared during the siege and the battle, finds that it is not impossible to be frightened and be a hero at the same time as Prince Rupert tells him when Latham House is saved.”

Researching online, I find that they really was a Latham House which was twice besieged during the English Civil War. This book tells of one of those sieges. The history of this castle traces back to before 1066! The west wing of the castle still stands today.

Recently I reviewed Children of the New Forest by Marryat. That story also takes place during the English Civil War. This book, The Frightened Hero, would be a good one for your younger students to read. The plot is much more simplistic, and the character is younger. The story is told from the perspective of a young boy, Billy, who learns an important lesson that courage doesn’t mean you are not scared, but that even the bravest hero, while frightened, does the right thing.  

I just recently purchased another book of historical fiction of this time period and will also do a review of it. A Messenger for Parliament by Erik Christian Haugaard, this author quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

Since this book is about the same time period as Children of the New Forest, I will repeat those suggested books here. And add a few others.

Cromwell’s Boy by Erik Christian Haugaard

A Messenger for Parliament by Erik Christian Haugaard

Friends though Divided: A Tale of the Civil War by G.A. Henty

Two Jackdaw collections: The English Civil War 1642-1649 (#33) and Cromwell’s Commonwealth and Protectorate (#27)

              If you have never seen these Jackdaw collections, you might not realize what a wonderful resource they are of primary sources to aid your studies. They are pamphlets published over the years in England on many historical events and people, many about English history but some also on American and Canada. The packet contains a short document of the history of the event or person, and a list of the document facsimiles included in the packet. I highly recommend them – a little hard to find – but well worth the effort.

Kate Rider by Hester Burton

Death to the King: The Story of the English Civil War by Clifford Alderman

Puritan Revolution by C. Walter Hodges

Escape of Charles II After the Battle of Worcester by Richard Ollard

For the King by Ronald Welch

With the King at Oxford by Alfred J. Church

Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall

The Flight and Adventures of Charles II by Charles Norman, a World Landmark book

I think I have a few more on my shelves but am not home at the moment to double check. I’ll try to add to this later. I know have some on the history of England for children to add to this list. Most of the above titles are for older students.

Also during your studies of this time period of the 1640s, you could add these topics: Scottish Covenanters – The Crown and Covenant series by Douglas Bond

 John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress,

Princess Ann,

the Treaty of Paris,

and other people such as Blaise Pascal, Galileo, and John Locke.
In America at this time period, Of Plymouth Plantation was being written by William Bradford.

And since the book takes place in Latham House, a castle, I would add:

Castle by David Macaulay

Castle Book by Alfred Duggan

Cross-Sections: Castle by Richard Platt

Let’s Look at Castles by Allan Warwick

Long Ago in a Castle by Marie Farre

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. July 23, 2017)