Westward Ho!

Possibly the most wildly romantic historical novel ever written. Leaves any novel by Sir Walter Scott absolutely in the dust. The N. C. Wyeth illustrations are perfect for this story of passion, honor and travail. The history is there, also, and many historical persons, of whom the most likely to be instantly recognized are Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, make regular appearances in the narrative.

It is another of those books which have no natural place in the modern public library; too sophisticated and subtle for the YA section, too noble and romantic for the adult section, too mature for the children's section. Sigh.

Not really all that bad a book, as Amyas Leigh goes off privateering against the Spanish in the New World, seeks vengeance against the Spaniard who "corrupted" Amyas's true love Rose of Torridge, and finally becomes a raging Ahabian lunatic in a post-Armada battle until he is stricken blind, repents, and at last becomes domesticated like Rochester!

As for the nature descriptions, Westward Ho! definitely can't hold a candle to Kingsley's Hypatia, but the plot does have a rather childish excitement to it that in the jungle scenes somehow reminds me of Rider Haggard. It's also chock-full of anti-Catholicism as well as condescending treatment of Africans and Native Americans, which makes it understandable that it would have been subjected to show more "cancel culture" by the time of the early 20th Century.

Kingsley, ironically considering his strong anti-Catholicism, may be most noted today as a footnote to John Henry (Cardinal) Newman. It was Kingsley's intemperate magazine/journal foray of letter-writing versus Newman that led to Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua.

I also recall (though I don't have the source right at my fingertips) that, after reading Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Bronte, Kingsley remarked (sympathetically toward the sisters) something to the effect that, considering what a horrid upbringing they'd had, their crudeness was understandable.

Believe it or not, as a younger man and before his ministry in the Evangelical wing of the Church of England, Kingsley was drawn to Chartism. show less

When I looked over the list of suggested books to enrich our study of Sir Francis Drake, I realized that we had a print copy of one of them, so decided to read Westward Ho! Several times, as we read the first ten chapters or so, I asked the children if they wanted me to continue. The writing style was challenging, since this book was first published in 1855. They wanted to hear the rest of the story, so we kept on, although there were places that I did some censoring. A number of battles and fights were described in quite a graphic way, which I did not appreciate. Another thing we noticed was the attitudes of the English heroes toward the Spanish and toward the Indians. They viewed the Spanish as totally evil people, with no good in show more them whatsoever, and the Indians as a lower race, very nearly on the level of monkeys. The main value I see in this book is a glimpse into the conflict between the English and Spanish leading up to the Spanish Armada. show less

Action-packed and absolutely memorable! A difficult read but it becomes easier as you go. VERY very helpful ,historically speaking, and a book I am excited about.

726. Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley (read 25 Mar 1963) As I recall this book I did not like it because it was anti-Catholic.

Fair condition. Book jacket in fair condition. Ex-library copy.

Hypathia Edition