| Title | : | With Lee in Virginia |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0486434567 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780486434568 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1889 |
With Lee in Virginia Reviews
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Review of free Kindle edition
In the preface Henty wrote, "It was impossible, in the course of a single volume, to give even a sketch of the numerous and complicated operations of the war, and I have therefore confined myself to the central point of the great struggle—the attempts of the Northern armies to force their way to Richmond, the capital of Virginia and the heart of the Confederacy. Even in recounting the leading events in these campaigns, I have burdened my story with as few details as possible, it being my object now, as always, to amuse, as well as to give instruction in the facts of history."
Yet, as I write this line, I am at 20%, we have not met Lee and the war has not even begun. The first 22% or so of the book is devoted to plantation life, a little of politics, secession, and slavery including the adventures of the book's protagonist, Vincent, in aiding the escape of a family of mistreated slaves.
Eventually Henty does get to the war and Vincent's enrollment in Ashley's Cavalry. Still at about 22% into the book, Vincent and the reader march to Harper's Ferry and meet General Joseph Johnston, Colonel Thomas Jackson (not yet a general at this stage) and Colonel J.E.B. Stuart.
At about 27% into the book, the First Battle of Manassas begins (Northern troops called it first Bull Run). Vincent's unit is a part of Stuart's cavalry corps and sees little action in that battle. For the remainder of the novel up to about halfway through, a lot of the action is told from the cavalry point of view. I don't know what happens after the halfway point as I stopped reading. A good bit of what I read is a recounting of battles, raids, marches, etc. often with little or no reference to the novel's characters. There is just the thinnest veneer of a story stretched over a juvenile history of the war in the East. This may be great for children but is pretty slow and dull for adults who have a fair knowledge of the war.
Henty was an English author known for his prolific writing of books for boys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I do not see why history and adventure loving girls should not read them as well. Henty was controversial in some quarters, accused of being xenophobic, putting the English people above all others and "glorifying" the British empire. In other words having quite common opinions for an Englishman of the time (though, having few rights, Englishwomen were generally not as satisfied with the state of the Empire). As the years have passed he has become more controversial, particularly with, but not necessarily limited to, historical revisionists, public educators, progressives, socialists, champions of diversity in all forms, and assorted leftists. Unsurprisingly, as the politically correct brigades have railed against Henty, he has gained in popularity in other quarters. Enjoy, hate or avoid as you will. -
Over the last few evening my family (ages 5-39) has listened to this excellent audio, which we concluded tonight.
What I appreciated most about this story was contemplating the Civil War from the South's perspective. It enrages me to realize that we were only taught one side in public school.....which is.....the North was good, they wanted to end slavery, therefore the South is bad. Now as an adult who has since chosen to redeem her own education, I realize why government schools wanted us to think that, but that's another conversation. To find that Lee rejoiced slavery coming to an end, yet had fought the war for State's rights made me admire him, and I look forward to studying more. Authors like GA Henty are sparse these days and I am thankful for this gem of a book. -
I had heard a lot about G.A. Henty and his excellent books for boys, so I wanted to read one. I was surprised to find this amidst my own books, a castoff from someone, somewhere. So I read it.
There was one thing about this book that stood out very strongly to me. I have read a lot about the Civil War, but little about the war from a Southern perspective (after all, most history is written by the winners!). After reading this book, I understood to a new level of clarity why the Southerners were fighting, which constitutional issues were at stake and how/ why these principles were central to the culture of the South. Yes, it was about slavery - that i had gotten before - but Henty articulated the broader context of Southern culture and reasoning well. Perhaps he was aided by being closer to the complexities of the time.
It was an enjoyable read. The main character demonstrates courage, responsibility, honor, thoughtfulness for others, self-control and perseverence amidst the backdrop of the civil war. While the hardships of war are covered, they are not glorified.
Henty's work complements that of Ballantyne, who wrote during the same time for the same audience, young men. However, both were so compelling that young women and adults joined in the adventure. Written in the nineteeth century, there is a goodness in these tales, a simpleness in the view of the world that we have lost as our world became smaller in modern times. It seems a good thing to give young people, particularly those who read voraciously, as between Henty and Ballantyne they will find more than 200 titles. I would also add the later writing Arthur Ransom to the list. A resurgence of interest in these authors by the home school community has made them more widely available. We found ours as e-books and got them for free from Amazon, it only cost us the time to download so many.
This is not classic literature at its best and the story does not remain with me, but, overall, I found this to be an excellent book for a young person to read. The story was adventurous and moving, the main character a young man, and there is a lot here to contribute to moral development.
The Coral Island, Ballantyne, 1857
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Swallows & Amazons, Ransom, 1930
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more insight into Southern perspective on the Civil War in the historical fiction genre, see
Candle in the Darkness (Refiner's Fire #1), Austin, 2002
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... -
Although originally written in 1890, Henty's 'With Lee in Virginia' has a very modern feel to it and, as its sub-title implies, it is a story of the American Civil War. I mention that because it reads very much like a history rather than simply a story with the main character interwoven around historical events. And it works wonderfully well.
The story revolves around Vincent Wingfield, whose father had died and whose mother was in charge of The Orangery, an estate with around 200 slaves working in it. Vincent was due to take over the reins when he came of age but in the meantime he ably assisted and advised his mother on the day to day running and the management of the slaves. One of the slaves, Dan, was in a privileged position in working very closely with Vincent while the overseer, Jonas Pearson, was a tyrant in his hands on management of things.
Despite this situation, Vincent was prepared to throw his lot in with the Confederacy in their fight against the Federals. This he did and took Dan with him as his servant. This left Pearson to more or less have his own way at The Orangery.
Just as Vincent was to go to join his regiment, Pearson badly mistreated one of the slaves and eventually sold that slave's wife off to another settlement. Vincent's determination to reunite the two slaves, and the child involved who went with his mother, became an integral part of the story as it developed.
Vincent's first taste of action was at Bull Run and thereafter he worked his way up until eventually he became a trusted Major on the staff of General Robert E Lee. But this was after he had seen much action, badly wounded twice, involved in a variety of chases, and been captured twice, the second time being treated as a spy and coming across Pearson, who had thrown in his lot with the North, Vincent eventually comes across him with disastrous consequences for one of them.
Henty gives plenty of detail about the various battles and campaigns, including numbers involved, and the action is exciting and unremitting throughout the tale, which rattles along at a tremendous pace. All the leading personalities of the American Civil War, on both sides, make appearances throughout.
At the end of the War, Vincent returns to his settlement and decides on revolutionary action regarding his slaves, preempting their freedom after the North had triumphed. And in addition he managed to reunite the two slaves and their child. An excellent read.
Finally if Henty puts as much research into the other 120+ books that he wrote, I wonder how he found the time! -
I admit, I skimmed through some of this book. While I loved how Henty presented the argument for the South, this book was not as good as some of his others at having the characters be part of great events. Vincent spends most of his time not fighting, but in prison or wandering around after escaping.
Good, but not my favorite. -
Some time ago a friend of mine gave this audiobook as a feast present, and a few other people got other volumes. This particular volume is an audio theater reader with a talented vocal cast (including Sean Astin, Kirk Cameron, and Brian Blessed, among others), and is clearly aimed for a young audience. The subject material of this book is somewhat problematic, in that it is clearly designed to present "extraordinary adventures" on the part of those supporting the rebel cause, and given the cast it appeared pretty likely even before listening to the audiobook that the author would try to glorify the Confederate cause and present the rebel hero as a brave and courageous man and present the Confederates as good Christians. So, obviously, as someone whose sympathy for the cause of the South is limited to nonexistent [1], this is a book with a point of view that was deeply troubling and bothersome. Without a doubt the Civil War makes for good audio theater, with its dramatic battles, but the Confederate side makes for terrible heroes, with their wicked cause and corrupt conduct, about which there will be more to say here.
As might be expected, this book is full of incident and seeks to present its hero, young Vincent Wingfield, as a good Christian young gentleman who improbably survives being wounded by a canon shot at First Bull Run, a murderous feud with a cruel neighbor that involves fugitive slaves and that neighbor turning into a galvanized Yankee after attempts to escape from Elmira are only partly successful after the hero and some friends are taken captive at Antietam, as well as nearly being executed as a spy outside of Petersburg, among other scrapes, including one which leads him to be the host of a somewhat unwilling young woman refugee after antagonizing a local ruffian gang. As might be expected, these escapes happen as a result of improbable circumstances, through the loyalty of slaves whose skills approach "magic Negro" levels and whose devotion to a kind master is quite out of step with contemporary standards or the likely historical reality. This book seeks to make most Northerners rather unsympathetic, contrary to historical reality, but its attempts to paint the hero, Lee, and Jackson as noble and duty-bound heroes itself cuts against historical reality in several ways. For one, the rebel officers, for all of their talk about duty and honor, themselves had betrayed their duty and oaths of loyalty to the United States government and so were without honor and acting contrary to their duties to crush rebellion. For another, in painting the protagonist in a sympathetic fashion, the author resorts to undercutting Southern society by pointing out how unjust the laws were that allowed people to beat women and children, and that made it a crime to teach slaves to read and that made it a bad thing to wish for the abolition of slavery. Likewise, the author's comment at the end that Lee had been fighting for states' rights ignores the fact that the only states' rights under dispute were the right of people to own slaves and the right of states to protect slavery without any federal interference. The book is a dishonest one from the core.
And that is what makes reviewing a book like this such a painful and unpleasant chore. The book has some terrible tropes, and the book is about as racially acceptable in its viewpoint as Song of the South or Gone With The Wind, two pretty terrible films from a historical perspective. The film's historical perspective is bogus, its attempts to present the South as an honorable and Christian society misguided, its pointing to sharecropping as a just solution to the problem of dealing with freed slaves after the war deeply troubling, and its biased view towards the two sides of the Civil War offensive. This is not a book that can in any shape or form be recommended to children, because they will likely absorb its historical perspective without being very critical towards it. The fact that this bogus history is wrapped up with romance and excitement only makes it more likely to serve as poison wrapped in a sugary coating designed to appeal to young audiences. This book can only safely be recommended to those who see it as an example of misguided neoconfederate propaganda, attempting to assuage the guilt of a ruined South that had brought its disaster upon itself, rather than anything that children can enjoy without a great deal of instruction in the actual facts of the matter.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014... -
Interesting book, written around 130 years ago by Henty, an Englishman, who wrote adventure stories for boys centered around historical characters or events. This book tells the story of a young man, Vincent, whose father is English and his mother is a Virginian, heiress to a large estate near Richmond. The story starts around 1861 and goes through 1864. Vincent enlists in the army and has many adventures and meets all the major Southern figures of that time such as Stonewall Jackson, JEB Stuart and of course Robert E. Lee. As I grew up in Virginia near Manassas and my grandmother was from Georgia, I grew up listening to stories of the South which were similar to many of the sentiments expressed in the book. Henty does address the evils of slavery and Vincent who had spent some of his childhood in England is very concerned about slavery and is opposed to it. However, his loyalty was first to his state, Virginia, and then to the United States. I did enjoy the book and would like to read some of Henty's other books. His style is old-fashioned and he does spend a lot of time and detail on the battles. If you want to read a book about the American Civil War that was
written close to the time it describes, I recommend this. -
An excellent book for young kids, or teens, or someone like me who doesn't want to admit he's an adult.
A great perspective of history. Henty has written nearly 100 such books, and I've only read this one. I hear they are all very good.
I especially like the derogatory description of Stowe's book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the first 5-10 pages of this book. I liked Stowe's book, but his description of it has some merit, and this work gives somewhat of a differing point of view. Seeing events from new points of view is nearly always healthy. -
This was an interesting and informative read, although it took me awhile to gt through it, because he gives so much information during each battle that my poor brain was overtaxed at first. However, I enjoyed it better once a little over half-way through, so maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind when I started it.
I do have some disagreement with the authors portrayal of the situation-for instance, he glosses over loss quickly, and makes it sound like after every battle the soldiers were still full of high moral and ready to fight another glorious battle, until he gets closer to the end, when he begins to finally mention the exhaustion of the soldiers. And being a Missouri gal, I didn't like how of little importance we figured in the history-we had more bloodshed and violence than Henty would ever know. Yet it was just mentioned with slight outrage by some of the characters.
And then Vincent, who at sixteen and on upward never makes a wrong calculation, is a bit hard to be considered realistic. However, I loved Lucy-who wouldn't?!
I did learn more about the battles, thank to him, even though I had my few complaints to make. -
I started reading this book to my husband one night while we were up late working on a project. It has taken us several weeks to finish, but he really enjoyed it. It is definatly a boy book. I read it to him becuause I thought he would be interested and I wanted to learn more about the Civil War from the South's point of view. I had just finished
Gone With The Wind and wanted to learn more. In this book you do learn more specifics about the battles and the generals from both sides, but I was disapointed in that I didn't learn as much from this book about the why's as I did from the previously mentioned book. However, it is definatly a book that I will encourage my yound sons to read. Not only is is an interesting adventure to be had by a young boy but it is richly intertwined with hisotrical information, and great character traits. -
This little known gem was one of my absolute favorite books growing up.
Vincent Wingfield, a loyal Virginian joins the Confederate Army at the first opportunity, and rapidly finds himself doing dangerous work behind the lines. Supported by two of his own freed slaves, Vincent’s adventures show us a look at how a true Southern gentleman would have been. This was written in the late 1800s, so it is very accurate, being written roughly 30 years after the war.
This book looks boldly into the subject of slavery and demonstrates the social opinion on slave holding and treatment when Vincent horsewhips a neighbor who was flogging a slave and his friends nod approvingly. “That fellow sets us all in a bad light.”
It also shows how the Southerners fought for their own constitutional rights, and how they loved their country. Everyone should read this, it is beyond good. -
My second read from G.A. Henty. A good, wholesome story that the entire family can enjoy. The action and battles in all likely reel in the attention of adventurous boys.
"With Lee in Virginia" is the story of a young man who faces many decisions over the course of the Civil War. He must choose what he believes in, even when it sways from his family, and must fight honorably. I certainly enjoyed the book myself! -
Great historical fiction.
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I generally like Henty's writing, although the stories are getting formulaic. One thing that I find frustrating is the superfluous repetition. We get a detailed blow-by-blow of an exciting episode as it happens, but then we are forced to suffer through a pointless warmed-over rehash - sometimes it's having the tale recounted to a character who wasn't present, sometimes it's a newspaper account, etc. I just don't get why Henty does this so frequently. And clearly he knows how not to do it, because there are other examples where we are explicitly not forced to endure it.
If anyone was expecting Robert E. Lee to play a significant role in this book, I hate to disappoint. Lee doesn't make an appearance until the book is about 75% done, and even then, he is no major character, and Vincent, our hero, spends hardly any time with him. A more accurate title might be "Mostly with either Dan or Tony or sometimes just on my own in Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, and even New York".
There's quite a bit of on-the-run kind of action, similar to Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps. Too much of the time, the problems Vincent runs into are resolved very easily, with either strangers who are overly helpful or else half-witted adversaries (though I liked how Vincent himself got to be a half-wit in one episode).
Where on earth did the narrator get the mispronunciation of peninsula as "peninshula"? It's also problematic that he can't get the cavalry/Calvary distinction. -
This book is objectively okay, but I absolutely hated reading it (sorry, mum). There were a few parts that weren't awful; thus 2 stars.
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read 3/6/2017 -
Well, it was a Henty book. Like most Henty books, it featured one-dimensional cookie cutter characters, a flawless protagonist, and predictable by-the-numbers plot. More so than the other Henty books I've read, this one feels like a history book. Aside from the main plot and the characters involved, the battles and progression of the war sounded like they were simply lifted from a textbook. There is no description of these events, and you never get the sense of what it was like to be part of the war.
On the other hand, it felt like Henty had a strong handle on the culture of the South leading up to and during the war, and really understood all the issues involved. -
As a Civil War history buff, I loved every page of this book. Vincent Wingfield is arguably the most memorable and likable of Henty’s numerous protagonists. I also loved the angle of the protagonist fighting on the Confederate side of the Civil War. Constant action combined with always intriguing Civil War history makes this a must-read of Henty’s.
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Interesting (fictional) look at the life of a teenage boy (sympathetic to slaves) on a plantation in Virginia as the Civil War begins. (written in 1890) This author is great! He told bedtime stories to his children, intertwining his fictional characters into actual historical eras, and lucky for us he was convinced to write his stories down.
Listened on Overdrive -
It was okay. I expected more but felt the dual storylines were not useful. Historical info was fun as were some of the battle stories.
I do believe Mitchel read this book befor writing GWTW. -
Ah, Henty. Never a disappointment! :)
This particular book rather started a chain of curiosity, studying, and reading about the Civil War that's ended up changing my whole perspective. -
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. This an interesting and exciting book, and gives food for thought. I don’t agree fully with Henty’s claim that slavery was actually something of a blessing if the slaves’ master was kind. Slavery—belonging to another man—is still present. There is some discrimination and condescension against blacks in this book; mentions of smoking & drinking (sometimes presenter humorously); some mild language (golly, gosh, Lord); and some lying. Vincent was pleasant and high-spirited, and there was quite a bit of humour. Tony & Dinah’s story was sweet, and I enjoyed seeing the Confederate side of the Civil War—and how nobly they fought. Overall I enjoyed the whole book.
A Favourite Quote: “While his men were lying down awaiting the attack, Jackson rode backward and forward in front of them as calm and as unconcerned to all appearance as if on the parade ground, and his quiet bravery greatly nerved and encouraged the young troops.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “He moved so quietly that he was not perceived until he was within a few yards of the shed.
“‘Sergeant Newson, am you dere?’
“‘Bress me, what a start you hab given me, for suah!’ the sergeant said. ‘I did not hear you coming.’
“‘You didn't s'pose I was coming along shouting and whistling, Sergeant Newson? Don't you talk so loud. Dar am no saying who's about.’” -
My parents bought us a whole set of hardcover G.A. Henty books when we were kids and I remember spending hours reading them. Nowadays, most of my pleasure "reading" is via audiobook. When I was looking for a new book to listen to I decided to check if there were any of the G.A. Henty books as audiobooks and managed to find this one. The story wasn't quite as tantalizing as it was when I was a young teenager but it still served to give a brief overview of the civil war from the southern perspective. Henty does a good job showing all sides of the slavery debate in the south, from those who treated their slaves as property to be used and abused to those whose slaves were family and whose slaves chose to stay on at the plantation as hired workers after emancipation. Our hero is, of course, from one of the latter families. In standard Henty style, the protagonist is a late teens to early twenties man who, along with all his heroic adventures, saves a young woman and then marries her. My only real gripe was the very low quality audio recording.
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Anyone looking for a classic 'Lost Cause' version of the War of Northern Aggression need look no further. Replete with discussions of the benefits of slavery for the slaves and the noble white folk who 'took care of them', this book takes on 'fictionalized history'. Despite their advantage in brilliant leaders and gentry soldiers, the Confederates ultimately succumb to the brutish force of the Northern hordes. The dialogue is probably true to the times, but the Sambo speech given to the blacks is a bit much to take.
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With too much dry facts detailing battles and not enough emphasis on the characters, this story never takes off. It's too bad, because it starts off well enough, with a young men living on a slave plantation in Virginia who helps a fugitive slave flee to safety. But once the war starts, the author lets the narrative gets bogged down with details unimportant to the story.
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While I greatly enjoy Henty, this was not one of my favorites. The historical accounts of the battle seemed very separate from the story of the main character and I did a lot of skimming.
