68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Could have told more of the real story..., July 21, 2003
Marguerite Henry took great license in telling the story of the Godolphin Arabian, but it's likely there were two reasons she did so; first, because she based the majority of her novel on heavily romanticised reports like that which appeared in Western Horseman in 1949; second, to illustrate to young children what could happen to perfectly good horses that were considered worthless because of prejudice or unwillingness to see what was there.
The real Sham was born in Tunis and given by the Bey of Tunis to King Louis XV with a group of other horses. But there's no evidence that he was reduced to pulling a cart in the Paris streets before rescue by Edward Coke. Coke probably got him from the Duke of Lorraine, who'd gotten him from the King.
A contemporary described Sham as "beautiful but half-starved", so the rough sea voyage with the greedy officers and crew is likely true, even if the cart-horse story is not. He also said that Sham (he spelled it Shami, and other accounts have "Scham") was temperamental and generally disliked by the stable hands. A vet who cared for Sham in his last years said he was built to sire champions: "his shoulders were deeper, and lay farther into his back, than those of any horse ever yet seen. Behind the shoulders, there was but a very small space ere the muscles of his loins rose exceedingly high, broad, and expanded, which were inserted into his hindquarters with greater strength and power than in any horse I believe ever yet seen of his dimensions, viz fifteen hands high."
Agba was real; there are portraits of the little horse with a handsome dark-skinned young man in flowing Arab dress and turban. Whether or not he was mute is debatable. Again, many of the later accounts have been greatly romanticised. But Grimalkin the stable cat was real too, according to early records which report his presence in the famous portrait.
There is no record of the apocalyptic battle with Hobgoblin. We can look at that, and Sham's subsequent exile to Wicken Fen, as symbolic of the prejudice felt by the complacent English toward this relatively small, strange-looking newcomer. The truth is that Sham did mate with Lady Roxane and sired Lath. He sired 116 others in his long lifetime.
With all the interest in Seabiscuit of late, one would like to point out that as a direct descendant of Man O'War, he was also a direct descendant of the Godolphin Arabian. Just another horse who seemed worthless, but was not, and came from behind to prove the superiority of Arabian blood.
Look up "Davenport Arabians" to learn more about this proud line.
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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great historical fiction for kids, August 31, 2001
This book was given to me when I was barely eight years old, almost thirty years ago. I learned how to read books that took more than one sitting with "King of the Wind".
The story is of a mute Morrocan stable boy, Agba, and a foal, Sham, who is born to one of the royal mares Agba cares for. Sham...and Agba...are selected to be part of a gift to the King of France. Their adventures in Europe are filled mostly with despair and cruelty, until Sham sires a foal that becomes the beginnings of the Thoroughbred breed we know today (this part is true; Sham was renamed "The Godolphin Arabian"; all Thoroughbreds must include in their pedigreeone of the three specific founding sires, and the Godolphin Arabian is one of them).
There's a lot here: adventure, triumph over adversity, a respect for other cultures, the care of the creatures that share our lives, and a healthy dose of humor about the absurdities of the powerful or elite.
As a kid, I eagerly devoured any Marguerite Henry book I could find. It's well worth it to get hard-cover editions that include the wonderful full-color illustrations by Wesley Dennis.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emotional Aspects of King of the Wind, April 26, 2001
.... Marguerite Henry's novel King of the Wind is a beautiful story of a horse and his faithful groom. Throughout the novel the boy and the horse suffer through triumphs and tribulations. Their struggles are in silence, however, because the boy cannot speak. By making the boy a mute, Marguerite Henry makes the reader aware of the emotional aspect of the book. The audience is able to sympathize with the characters as the book progresses. The story begins in Morocco where Sham, the horse, is born in the Sultan's stable. Agba, the mute boy, is in charge of taking care of Sham. The Sultan decides to send the King of France a gift of six of his finest stallions, of which Sham is one. He commands the six grooms to remain with their mounts until the horses die, then return to Morocco. The trip is a disaster and five of the horses are returned to Morocco. Sham is kept to be used as a carthorse because of his fiery temper. He is sold many times and is forced to endure many hardships. Throughout all of his ordeals Agba is there taking care of him. The story ends when Sham is bought by the Earl of Godolphin and becomes the founding sire of the English racehorse. Nearly every Thoroughbred today can be traced back to the Godolphin Arabian. The story brings out feelings from the audience and Henry captures this emotion in Agba. Agba and Sham are the best of friends. No one can do anything with the horse if the boy is not around. Neither the boy or the horse can communicate verbally and this makes their emotions even more acute in the book. Their pain and suffering were made even worse by the fact that they couldn't explain to their tormentors what was happening. Henry does a wonderful job of putting the reader in the boy's position. It is very frustrating to want to tell someone something so bad, but not be able to. Portraying Agba as a normal speaking boy would have ruined the story. It forces the reader to feel the boy's pain and frustration rather than just reading about it. On page 169 the narrator states, "For the first time in his life, he was glad he could not talk. Words would have spoiled everything. They were shells that cracked and blew away in the wind. He and Sham were alike. That is why they understood each other so deeply". The bond between the horse and the boy would not have been nearly as strong and compelling if Agba communicated verbally. As mentioned in Dr. Allen's article some studies have suggested that people with speech disabilities can have bonds with animals that are as strong as past friendships with other people. These most frequently perceived aspects of animal-human relationships were described as companionship, emotional bond, usefulness, loyalty and the quality of needing no negotiation. Agba and Sham could communicate with each other even though they could not communicate with the rest of the world. This special bond between horse and boy brings the story to life. This story is a beautiful version of the story of the Godolphin Arabian. Portraying Agba as a mute gives the reader the opportunity to feel and experience what the boy and the horse both feel. Had the boy been able to talk this story would not have been nearly as effective or interesting. The bond the horse and boy share is unlike any other a normal speaking human could possess with an animal. Because Henry chose to take away the power of speech from the boy and the horse the reader has gained a wealth of emotion and feeling in this novel.
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