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
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
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.
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)
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