Books with title The Children of the New Forest - Scholar's Choice Edition

Cavalier and Roundhead battle it out in the turbulent setting of the English Civil war and provide the background for this classic tale of four orphans as they face adversity, survival in the forest, reconciliation and eventual forgiveness. This is the first enduring historical novel for children, which conjures up as much magic today as it did on first publication. The freedom from adult constraint allied with the necessary disciplines to survive in a hostile world make for a gripping read.

An engaging adventure story set in England during the time of the Civil War when King Charles was deposed and the Roundheads were vying with the Cavaliers. The central characters are the four children of staunch Royalist Colonel Beverley killed in battle while fighting for King Charles. Through the efforts of aged forester Jacob Armitage, the children escape the burning of their ancestral home and take up residence with him in his cottage in the New Forest. As his "grandchildren" they take eagerly to the peasant life and learn to provide for themselves by using their wits. The pitfall they build to trap cattle catches more than they bargain for, leading to one adventure after another. Against all odds they deftly maneuver through the treacherous landscape of the times, eventually recovering their family estate.

Captain Marryat's The Children of the New Forest is a wonderful tale in narrative, historically rich and quite fascinating. This story of adventure, treachery, and love takes place during the English Civil War, when fellow countrymen are found enemies and are set against each other, Roundhead and Cavalier, Parliament and the King. Many hoped for the same thing: justice. But, for a long time, neither could find it. In the midst of all were the Beverlies, the family of a faithful Cavalier, who died in service of the king. His four children were left orphaned when their mother died of grief. Then, word came to them that the Roundheads were going to burn down their estate, Arnwood. Fate sent them into the hands of an old forester, Jacob Armitage, and they escaped to his cottage. From there, the story unfolds. Captain Frederick Marryat (July 10, 1792 – August 9, 1848) was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story. He is now known particularly for the semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy and his children's novel The Children of the New Forest, and for a widely used system of maritime flag signalling. From 1832 to 1835 Marryat edited The Metropolitan Magazine. He kept producing novels, with his biggest success, Mr Midshipman Easy, coming in 1836. He lived in Brussels for a year, travelled in Canada and the United States, then moved to London in 1839, where he was in the literary circle of Charles Dickens and others. He was in North America in 1837 when the Rebellion of that year in Lower Canada broke out, and served with the British forces in suppressing it. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his invention and other achievements. In 1843 he moved to a small farm at Manor Cottage in Norfolk, where he died in 1848. His daughter Florence Marryat later became well-known as a writer and actress. His son Francis Samuel Marryat completed his late novel The Little Savage. Marryat's novels are characteristic of their time, with the concerns of family connections and social status often overshadowing the naval action, but they are interesting as fictional renditions of the author's 25 years of real-life experience at sea. These novels, much admired by Joseph Conrad and Ernest Hemingway, were among the first sea novels. They were models for later works by C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian that were also set in the time of Nelson and told the stories of young men rising through the ranks through successes as naval officers. His later novels were generally for the children's market, including his most famous novel for contemporary readers, The Children of the New Forest, which was published in 1847 and set in the countryside surrounding the village of Sway, Hampshire.

When Jacob Armitage, a local verderer, hears that Parliamentary soldiers looking for King Charles I are planning to burn down the home of the Beverley orphans he saves the children and rears them as his own grandchildren in a small cottage in the woods. But can aristocratic children, used to being served, learn to survive as simple foresters?This story was one of the first historical novels written for younger readers and has endured until today. Its classic themes of chivalry and bravery and the examples the children set are sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.This edition features the gorgeous illustrations of Paul Hardy throughout to add extra charm to an already incredible tale.

The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat. The Children of the New Forest is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. The story follows the fortunes of the four Beverley children who are orphaned during the war, and hide from their Roundhead oppressors in the shelter of the New Forest where they learn to live off the land. 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.

Children of the New Forest tells the story of a group of four youngsters who take shelter in the tranquil New Forest during the carnage of the English Civil War. The tale opens as the defeated King Charles I has, as a last resort, retreated to the New Forest. Parliamentarian soldiers, known as the Roundheads, in their pursuit of the king put to the torch the home of Colonel Beverley, a deceased cavalry officer. Although believed killed in the fire, the Colonel's four children were in fact rescued by a gamekeeper named Armitage, who takes them deeper into the forest for their own safety. Accustomed to an luxurious and aristocratic style of life, it is only with the care and guidance of Armitage that the four children adapt to living off the wild and forested lands. Years pass, adventures are had and adversaries - such as the staunchly Puritan gamekeeper Corbauld - are encountered. As the children grow up, the eldest boy Edward joins the Royalist army of King Charles II, all the while harbouring feelings of love and affection for Patience, who herself is the daughter of a more sympathetic Puritan. Meanwhile, questions and emotions run high over the fate of the family estate, as the country hurtles towards the final Restoration of the English monarchy. Offering the reader a compelling combination of the children's coming of age story with the family saga genre, Children of the New Forest is a highly readable tale.