The Lion of Saint Mark: A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century

by G.A. Henty and Henty, G. A.,

Book Overview

"I suppose you never have such nights as these in that misty island of yours, Francisco?" "Yes, we have," the other said stoutly. "I have seen just as bright nights on the Thames. I have stood down by Paul's Stairs and watched the reflection of the moon on the water, and the lights of the houses on the bridge, and the passing boats, just as we are doing now. "But," he added honestly, "I must confess that we do not have such still, bright nights very often, while with you they are the rule, though sometimes even here a mist rises up and dims the water, just as it does with us." "But I have heard you say that the stars are not so bright as we have them here." "No, I do not think they are, Matteo. I do not remember now, but I do know, when I first came here, I was struck with the brightness of the stars, so I suppose there must have been a difference."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1515203379
• ISBN13: 9781515203377
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

G.A.HENTY AND THE ENTERPRISING SPIRIT

The Lion of St Mark is one of the best 'books for boys' that Henty wrote. Full of danger and adventure, it also provides an easily absorbed historical background that lets the reader feel at home in the period (the late 14teenth century) and so become drawn into the tale. Henty wrote in the last three decades of Queen Victoria's reign, when the British Empire's manifest destiny, it seemed, was to civilize a barbarous world, and Henty's chief purpose was to encourage in youths a manly and enterprising spirit: this, Francis Hammond(the English hero of the story), has in spades; his very practical, yet ingenious, solutions to meet near insurmountable difficulties makes the reader aware that not every seeming impossible problem is without a solution - or at least a way of getting around it. Henty has had his critics over the years for promoting a too narrow, nationalistic spirit; however, since one of the youths who grew up in the late Victorian age was a certain Winston Churchill (surely enterprise personified), we may afford to take a broader view. Recommended for readers of all times and ages.