To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston

An action-adventure story published in 1899, this hit the bestsellers list in 1900 and became the most successful popular novel in America between Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) and Gone with the Wind (1936).

I think I first discovered it through the rabbit trail of my love for Howard Pyle's school of illustration (or Johnston's other Civil War historical fiction). There should still be plenty of old copies lying around, but you can find new copies inexpensively on Amazon and it's also available on Gutenberg if you'd like to check it out here.

Before we go further, a short summary:

Set in Virginia round Jamestown in 1621 and 1622, Captain Ralph Percy marries a lady newly arrived aboard ship from England, unaware that she is a runaway ward of James I. In due course, the villain of the piece makes his appearance and we see the terror of what she was flying from -- the lascivious and appropriately named, Lord Carnal, favorite of the King. Sword play, daring deeds, and wild chases soon ensue, both on land and sea -- including an entire huge, pivotal piratical episode. (The section at sea is always what I think of first -- all very exciting -- and also why I'm reviewing it this week due to its excellent appropriosity for Hamlette's Pirates Week.) 

 

In the course of their adventures, they also meet a whole bunch of historical figures -- including John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas (at this point, though, twice widowed) and also best friend of our hero. The entire thing is a fairly rip roaring adventure story -- stylistically (and intentionally) very reminiscent of the 17th century, while yet being very readable, building the action and conflict with vivid intensity.

You can basically flip it open anywhere and find a quotable section. Here's for a few teasers:

"I stood with my hand upon the table and my eyes studying the shadow of the vines upon the floor. All that she said was perfectly true, and yet -- I had a vision of a scarlet and black figure and a dark and beautiful face. I too hated my Lord Carnal. 'I do not despise you, madam,' I said at last. 'What was done two weeks ago in the meadow yonder is past recall. Let it rest. What is mine is yours: it's little beside my sword and my name. The one is naturally at my wife's service; for the other, I have had some pride in keeping it untarnished. It is now in your keeping as well as my own. I do not fear to leave it there, madam."

"Another minute of a silence that I disdained to break; then he turned and went up the ladder. The seamen and the master followed. The hatch was clapped to and fastened, and we were left to the darkness and the heavy air, and to a grim endurance of what could not be cured. During those hours of thirst and torment I came indeed to know the man who sat beside me. His hands were so fastened that he could not loosen the cords, and there was no water for him to give me; but he could and did bestow a higher alms,---the tenderness of a brother, the manly sympathy of a soldier, the balm of the priest of God."

"When I turned upon that shameless lord where he sat in his evil beauty, with his honor dead before him, men came hastily in between. I put them aside with a laugh. I had but wanted to look at him. I had no sword,---already he lay beneath my challenge,---and words are weak things."

~

An early mail-order bride situation, this is the story of a kinsman-redeemer who (through no fault of his own) in all honor squarely takes on the quarrel of his wife, defending her with every ounce of his strength, while she not only does not yet love him, but seems very very unlikely to. Still unflinching, without a second thought -- with blood and guts and sweat and tears and prison and humiliation -- and a narrow escape from hanging -- he wins the prize. Literally, he goes through fire and water. Metaphorically, he dies. And in so doing, against all expectation, he wins the heart of his lady. All throughout, the Biblical imagery pops and weaves and flows, and by the end it's powerful and dizzifying. 

Historically, this story is a product of its times, but also (because of the author's care in constructing the 17th century world and abstaining from adding commentary) it's a valuable glimpse into how the paradigms and worldview they held dear operated in real life. Incidentally, while obviously different, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a well known title that makes a fairly good analogy for content and style. (Lorna Doone is another, but it's been a longer time since I've read that for comparison.) It's not perfect and yes, in some places it can be kinda soppy and melodramatic, but if you're in the mood for action and drama and romance -- something that will ultimately make you cry and cheer -- this has it all. I definitely recommend it!

~

For a quick read with tons more fascinating info + thoughts on the startling authenticity of Johnston's historical details, be sure to visit here. It's highly interesting.

Recommend for 14+ (possibly younger as a read-aloud; the villain's designs are cloaked in rhetoric, but it does have some description of the death and destruction round Jamestown during the attack at the end)