Analyzation of A Knight of the White Cross, a critique of the author’s style, and the character development.
A Knight of the White Cross was written by G. A Henty around 1895. It is of the historical fiction genre. The book is based on the Order of St. John and the Siege of Rhodes.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Gervaise, the main character, goes from being a young boy, to a very distinguished knight. He grows physically and mentally and shows that he has far greater skill than his peers, especially after learning Turkish and being promoted to captain of a galley. I hope that on this galley he will have to escape from his enemies after he has been captured, that always makes the book so thrilling.
AUTHOR’S STYLE
Part of Henty’s style is having the main character be a smart, fit, young character with integrity, who helps people and experiences adventures. As in Wulf the Saxon, the main character uncovers a plot and prevents it in A Knight of the White Cross, too! Henty also often puts the main character in a tough situation, in which they save the people around them, or escape with their quick and smart thinking.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed reading parts of the book where Gervaise does something extraordinary, for example, going undercover as a galley slave to uncover a plot. Some slaves were planning a revolt and got stopped just in time because of Gervaise.
I have not finished reading this book yet, but I do want Gervaise to go on more adventures away from Rhodes that take a couple chapters in the book to play out. I think the book would be more exciting if he did that.
This is not one of my favorite stories from Henty, but I hope it will get better!
If you would like to see the second part of A Knight of the White Cross, click here.
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