The Children of the New Forest
'The Children of the New Forest' Summary
The story begins in 1647 when King Charles I has been defeated in the civil war and has fled from London towards the New Forest. Parliamentary soldiers have been sent to search the forest and decide to burn Arnwood, the house of Colonel Beverley, a Cavalier officer killed at the Battle of Naseby. The four orphan children of the house, Edward, Humphrey, Alice and Edith, are believed to have died in the flames. However, they are saved by Jacob Armitage, a local verderer, who hides them in his isolated cottage and disguises them as his grandchildren.
Under Armitage's guidance, the children adapt from an aristocratic lifestyle to that of simple foresters. After Armitage's death, Edward takes charge and the children develop and expand the farmstead, aided by the entrepreneurial spirit of the younger brother Humphrey. They are assisted by a gypsy boy, Pablo, whom they rescue from a pitfall trap. A sub-plot involves a hostile Puritan gamekeeper named Corbould who seeks to harm Edward and his family. Edward also encounters the sympathetic Puritan, Heatherstone, placed in charge of the Royal land in the New Forest, and rescues his daughter, Patience, in a house-fire. Edward leaves the cottage and works as a secretary for Heatherstone, but Edward maintains the pretence that he is the grandson of Jacob Armitage.
Edward eventually joins the army of the future King Charles II, but after the Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester, he returns to the New Forest where he learns that Heatherstone has been awarded the old Arnwood estate. Disillusioned by this, and by Patience's apparent rejection of his declarations of love, Edward flees to France. His sisters are sent away to be brought up as aristocratic ladies and his brother continues to live in the New Forest. Edward learns that Patience does, in fact, love him, and that Heatherstone had acquired the Arnwood estate for Edward, but he works as a mercenary soldier in exile until the Restoration when they are reunited.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1847Author
Frederick Marryat
United Kingdom
Captain Frederick Marryat was a Royal Navy officer, a novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiograp...
More on Frederick MarryatDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Bowser the Hound by Thornton Burgess
Old Man Coyote craftily leads Bowser the hound away from home, and Bowser gets lost. Will Bowser find his way back to Farmer Brown's? Will Reddy Fox f...
Aunt Jo's Scrapbag by Louisa May Alcott
A collection of short stories by Louisa May Alcott that were written with the intent to entertain the whole family and to fill children's heads with w...
That Football Game, and What Came of It by Francis J. Finn, S.J.
In "That Football Game, and What Came of It" by Francis J. Finn, S.J., the crackling excitement of a football match takes an unexpected turn, leading...
The Camp Fire Girls at Sunrise Hill by Margaret Vandercook
The Camp Fire Girls find themselves embarking on an unforgettable journey filled with mystery, friendship, and the thrill of the unknown. The story be...
The Children's Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit
This children's book retells twelve of Shakespeare's most popular plays as stories for children. Each of the plays are rewritten as short stories or f...
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls (1853) is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It is a re-...
Wildwood Ways by Winthrop Packard
It tells the story of a young boy named Andy, who ventures into the deep woods in search of adventure and self-discovery. This coming-of-age story was...
The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Lost Princess of Oz is the eleventh canonical Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 5, 1917, it begins with the disappearance of Pri...
Dorothy Dale – A Girl of Today by Margaret Penrose
Dorothy Dale is the daughter of an old Civil War veteran who is running a weekly newspaper in a small Eastern town. Her sunny disposition, her fun-lov...
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by Edith Nesbit
The Story of the Treasure Seekers is a novel by E. Nesbit. First published in 1899, it tells the story of Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace...
Reviews for The Children of the New Forest
No reviews posted or approved, yet...