By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic
1890
In 1568, a young Englishman named Ned Martin sails into the teeth of history. His father commands a vessel trading to the Low Countries, and Ned enters the service of the most dangerous man in Europe: William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the nobleman who has dared to challenge the might of the Spanish Empire. Under the banner of the 'Sea Beggars,' Ned becomes a courier, a spy, a soldier in a war fought not merely with pikes and muskets but with faith and stubbornness against an empire that cannot imagine defeat. The Netherlands is a tinderbox. Spanish Inquisitors burn Protestants alive. The Duke of Alva's iron heel crushes the provinces. Yet a small people refuse to submit, flooding their dikes to halt the Spanish advance and forging a republic from the ashes of tyranny. This is Henty at his finest: adventure that teaches, heroism that inspires, and a founding story that still echoes. For readers who believe that liberty is worth defending.
