Customer Reviews

The Young Carthaginian, A Story of the Times of Hannibal (Works of G. A. Henty)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone, it seems, has heard of Hannibal bringing his army,including the elephants,through the Alps, right to the doorstep of Rome. However, a readable account of Carthage vs. Rome is not easy to find. I've been very happy to find this fascinating historical novel as the best way to teach my two sons, ages 11 and 14, about this time in history. There are some valuable lessons for us all in the book--valor, honor, and how corruption destroys great nations.

The Young Carthaginian deserves more than five stars. The adventures of Malchus, a young Carthaginian noble through the streets of Carthage, rugged mountain ridges, the thick forests of Sardinia, and finally, Rome, keep us on the edge of our seats until the end of the book. It is like an adventure novel more than a history novel, but when we finish the book, we realize that we have learned a lot about the wars between Carthage and Rome without taking the usual pains we have as we use monotonous books.

G.A. Henty was a Victorian gentleman who wrote historical fiction for young people. I learned of him in reading Arthur Schlesinger's autobiography "A Life in the Twentieth Century". Schlesinger credits Henty with awakening an interst in history that was to last a lifetime. I see why. Henty's approach is to imagine a young lad and thrust him into interesting historical periods. The young man possessed of courage, pluck, honesty and compassion finds these attributes necessary to his success in the novel. Much like the Horatio Alger novels of a somewhat later American time, Henty was also conciously teaching the manly virtues. In "The Young Cathaginian" Henty pulls off a slick trick. Our young hero Malchus is a relative of Hannibal the great Cartaginian general who dared to cross the Alps to attack Carthage's great rival, Rome. While Henty admires Hannibal and presents Malchus as virtually flawless, it is clear that Carthage was a corrupt entity and that her deserved defeat was crucial to the growth of Western civilization. This is not a dry history, merely laden with moral overlays. It is also good fun. There is a lion hunt in Africa. A wolf hunt in the Spanish mountains. Escapes through the underground reserviors of Carthage. And countless vivid battles. And a charming little romance. I am glad I stumbled across the Henty output. Sclesinger is right: Henty makes history fun!

G. A. Henty lived just over a hundred years ago and wrote dozens and dozens of books. He would research everything that had to do with the time period before he even started writing, hence, his works are very, very historically accurate. He takes a military event and tells the story from the piont of veiw of a fictional young man. In every book, Henty's main character is a good, honest, brave young man, and a perfect role model. The Young Carthaginian takes place during Hannibal's invasion of Rome. It is a very well written peice that goes into great detail about the invasion, with some exciting made-up parts involving his main character. I would reccommend this book for anyone over 10, there are a few dry parts, and the wording can get a little tough for youngsters. All-in-all this is a great book that you'll enjoy reading.

The young Carthiginain is the first G.A. henty book I read. It is an excellent book about a young Carthigian and one of the best generals of all time: Hannibal. I loved this book it got me going on all the other Henty books. It is amazing to see how great of a general he is. It told me all kinds of stuff about him defeating the Romans in many battles when he was out numbered 2 to 1.

A simply outstanding historical novel set in the age of ancient Rome's legendary conflict with the city of Carthage, The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty is a totally thrilling historical action/adventure tale that will rivet the listener's attention from beginning to end. Superbly and dramatically narrated by William Sutherland, The Young Carthaginian is written with detailed attention to historical accuracy and truly brings to life a long-lost time of Hannibal, the legions of Rome, and the absolute destruction of a great maritime empire. A confidently recommended addition to any personal, school, or community library audiobook collection, The Young Carthaginian is complete and unabridged on eleven compact discs, offering 12 hours, 30 minutes of an impressive, "theater of the mind" quality entertainment experience.

Recommend Henty for a good way of getting a history lesson, also a good way to help your children if you'd care to read to them.
CER

Henty, that scarily prolific writer of historical "boy's books," is splendidly fun reading and may be quite different from your expectations. Though this novel begins rather poorly, with various tortured exposition-heavy conversations and stilted dialogue, it improves rapidly and actually gets quite suspenseful in its last third.

A "story of the times of Hannibal" but not the story of Hannibal, the novel follows the first three major battles--all victories--of the Second Punic War: the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae. Although Hannibal is a character and appears in several scenes, the novel centers around the "young Carthaginian" Malchus, a cousin of Hannibal serving as a captain in his army. Malchus ships out with his fellows who believe in Hannibal's fight against Rome (contrasted with the self-serving, pacifist and greedy policy of Hanno "the Great," a powerful statesman in Carthage) and demonstrates his courage and ability in a variety of actions, including the three battles above but also the siege of Saguntum, a Rome-allied city in Spain, and the perilous crossing of the Alps. In what is perhaps the book's best episode, Malchus is sent back to Carthage by Hannibal to plead for reinforcements so that Rome may be conquered, and falls into a web of suspicion and betrayal, seriously compromising his faith in his homeland. Eventually Malchus will also visit Rome, allowing the novel to contrast the dynamic and vital Rome of republican years with the leisure loving, flabby and deluded Carthage.

Henty weaves his history with his fiction in a relatively odd manner, usually relating the details of an event up front in a solid chunk of historical reporting, then back-tracking to detail Malchus' involvement within the event. This may prove too distracting to readers looking for a well-rounded novelistic treatment of the times (as might be found in Robert Graves, for instance), but it succeeds perfectly in achieving what Henty set out to achieve: namely, interesting young readers in history by making it seem real and exciting.

it is a great book that goes into detail about all of the obsticles hannibal had to go through while crossing thhe alps and fighting rome hannibal

Who would have thought that a book written in the 1800s could be so appealing today? Doing a little internet research, I have found that G.A. Henty lived from 1832-1902, and the books he wrote were historical fiction "for boys". He was called "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian", which certainly may have been true, but I'm an adult female who loved this tale! The style of writing sounds a little formal and old-fashioned, but it actually helps create a feeling of antiquity, appropriate for its ancient setting during the Punic Wars.

The fictional and lovable hero, Marchus, a relative of the famous Hannibal, accompanies him on the Carthaginian campaign against Rome. I learned so much about Hannibal through this book, yet the majority of the plot involves other adventures that Marchus gets into. He has near escapes from bears, wolves, lions, treacherous tribesmen. In two instances, he escapes with the help of an elephant, and a raft in the subterranean reservoir of Carthage. This was fun stuff, and I am so impressed that this book I found, that is so old it doesn't even have a publication date in it, could be so delightful. Someone could make a great movie out of this!