This is going to be pretty short. I have not finished Beric The Briton so I don’t have tons to say about it. Two reasons I didn’t finish: 1) life and 2) Henty gets kind of wordy sometimes. 🙂
Beric is really quite interesting but the first 150 pages of the book (PDF format that I have) took quite a bit of work to get through. Interesting and informative and necessary to understand the rest of the book but difficult, none-the-less. There are lots of names, many unusual, in this story and Henty doesn’t clearly identify who is who and how they are related or which group of people they belong with. Once I got past that and understood who all of the people were, I have really started to enjoy the story.
Beric takes place in England (Briton) when Rome was taking over the world. The native peoples of Briton had been beaten previously in battle and Beric, the son of one of the chiefs, was taken prisoner. As a prisoner of Rome, he was treated really well. He was educated with a Roman tutor and taught Latin and their beliefs and understandings. He grew to understand them very well. After several years, he was released to his people.
Several actions on the part of Rome happen that cause the Britons to rise up against Rome. Many battles take place and the Britons are eventually beaten pretty severely. Beric is taken prisoner again but this time, he is going to be transported to Rome.
The point I am at in the story is where Beric is being taken to Rome. They are not there yet.
I find that I really enjoy the Henty novels because they are laden with history, viewpoints you don’t get from history books, and perspectives that help you view others differently. They are so full of learning and ideas. But, they can be difficult to really get into. Once you do though, they are very much worth the effort of having pushed on.
I would really enjoy hearing from you if you have read any Henty novels. Which have you read and which was your favorite?
The book club had some hiccups this month so I don’t believe that Wendy got a post up but I do believe that next month we will be reading The Whistler but John Grisham.
EDIT: We will post about The Whistler on April 6. The March post (March 2) will be whatever you want. I’ll have to decide what I am going to read and share. I’ll throw up a quick post soon in case someone wants to read along with me.
At Home.
At Home 
henty…wordy…YES. Sometimes too wordy to get past without struggle and I chose this month not to struggle, sorry for not joining in. I’ve read most of Grisham’s book but not Whistler…wonder if it’s different than most of his book, or more like the last one of his I read… different styles. So next month a report on ANYTHING i want eh? hmm… so many choices….maybe I’ll do a fantasy and show you why they are good. 🙂 (lol)
You’re getting there! Give me a challenge and I’ll take it (within moral bounds, of course). I don’t mind expanding my reading styles a bit. 🙂
[…] I just couldn’t get into it; it wasn’t my style at all. I encourage you to head over to Lori’s blog and read her thoughts, […]