Westward Ho! (novel)

This article is about the novel by Charles Kingsley. For the seaside village in Devon, see Westward Ho!.
Westward, Ho!

Cover of an 1899 edition by Frederick Warne & Co
Author Charles Kingsley
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Publication date
 1855

Westward Ho! is an 1855 British historical novel by Charles Kingsley. The novel is set in the Elizabethan era, and follows the adventures of Amyas Leigh who sets sail with Francis Drake and other privateers to the Caribbean, where they battle with the Spanish.

Plot

Set initially in Bideford in North Devon during the reign of Elizabeth I, Westward Ho! follows the adventures of Amyas Leigh, an unruly child who as a young man follows Francis Drake to sea. Amyas loves local beauty Rose Salterne, as does nearly everyone else. Much of the novel involves the kidnap of Rose by a Spaniard.

Amyas spends time in the Caribbean seeking gold, and eventually returns to England at the time of the Spanish Armada, finding his true love, the beautiful Indian maiden Ayacanora, in the process; yet fate had blundered and brought misfortune into Amyas's life, for not only had he been blinded by a freak bolt of lightning at sea, but he also loses his brother Frank Leigh and Rose Salterne, who were caught by the Spaniards and burnt at the stake by the Inquisition.

Title

Frontispiece by Walter Sydney Stacey from an 1899 edition

The title of the book derives from the call of boat taxis on the River Thames (eastward ho! westward ho!).[1] The title is also a nod towards the play Westward Hoe, written by John Webster and Thomas Dekker in 1604, which satirized the perils of the westward expansion of London.[1] The full title of Kingsley's novel is Westward Ho! Or The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, Rendered into Modern English by Charles Kingsley. This elaborate title is intended to reflect the mock-Elizabethan style of the novel.[2]

Themes

Westward Ho! is a historical novel which celebrates England's victories over Spain in the Elizabethan era. Although originally a political radical, Kingsley had by the 1850s become increasingly conservative and a strong supporter of British imperialism.[2] The novel consistently emphasises the superiority of English mercantile values over those of the Spanish.[1] Although originally written for adults, its mixture of patriotism, sentiment and romance deemed it suitable for children, and it became a firm favourite of children's literature.[3]

A prominent theme of the novel is the 16th-century fear of Catholic domination,[3] and this reflects Kingsley's own dislike of Catholicism.[2] The novel repeatedly shows the Protestant English correcting the worst excesses of the Spanish Jesuits and the Inquisition.[2]

The novel's virulent anti-Catholicism, as well as its racist attitudes to native peoples, has made the novel less appealing to a modern audience, although it is still regarded by some as Kingsley's "liveliest, and most interesting novel."[4]

Adaptations

1920 edition illustrated with paintings by N.C. Wyeth.

In April 1925, the book was the first novel to be adapted for radio by the BBC.[5]

The first movie adaptation of the novel was a 1919 silent film, Westward Ho!, directed by Percy Nash.[6] A 1988 children's animated film, Westward Ho!, produced by Burbank Films Australia, was loosely based on Kingsley's novel.[7]

Legacy

The book is the inspiration behind the unusual name of the village of Westward Ho! in Devon, the only place name in the United Kingdom that contains an exclamation mark.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 John Kucich, Jenny Bourne Taylor, (2011), The Oxford History of the Novel in English: Volume 3, page 390. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199560617
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mary Virginia Brackett, (2006), The Facts on File companion to the British novel. Vol. 1, page 477. ISBN 081605133X
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ian Ousby, (1996), The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English, page 418. Cambridge University PressISBN 0521436273
  4. ↑ Nick Rennison, (2009), 100 Must-read Historical Novels, page 80. A&C Black. ISBN 1408113961
  5. ↑ Briggs, Asa. The BBC: The First Fifty Years. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. p. 63.
  6. ↑ Westward Ho! (1919) at the Internet Movie Database
  7. ↑ Westward Ho! (TV 1988) at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ↑ A Wild West country walk | England - Times Online 11 Feb 2007. ("Westward Ho! is an invigorating starting point, because it's the only place in the British Isles with an exclamation mark.")

External links