The Young Cavalier: A Story of the Civil Wars

The summer of 1642 transforms a boys boarding school into a prison for fifteen-year-old Humphrey Markham, who watches helplessly as civil war tears England apart. His Royalist father has ridden off to fight for the King while Humphrey remains trapped byheadmasters and holidays that never come. Alongside his friend Ralph Granville, he witnesses a rebellious mayor stir the townsfolk into fury against the Crown, sees columns of soldiers marching toward conflict, and feels the entire nation holding its breath. When a Royalist colonel arrives bearing urgent dispatches, the boys see their chance. They must choose: remain safe boys awaiting the wars end, or become soldiers in a cause that demands everything from those too young to fight and old enough to die. Westerman delivers a rousing adventure that captures the unbearable tension of youth caught between childhood and history, where loyalty to father and king collides with the simple, desperate desire to matter.