''Westward Ho!'' is an 1855 historical novel written by British author

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

Plot

Set initially in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, ''Westward Ho!'' follows the adventures of Amyas Leigh, an unruly child who as a young man follows

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

to sea. Amyas loves local beauty Rose Salterne, as does nearly everyone else; much of the novel involves Rose's elopement with a

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

. Amyas spends time in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

coasts of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

seeking gold, and in the process finds his true love, the beautiful Indian maiden Ayacanora. During the return journey to England, he discovers that Rose and his brother Frank have been burnt at the stake by the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

. He vows revenge on all Spaniards, and joins in the defence of England against the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

. When he is permanently blinded by a freak bolt of lightning at sea, he accepts this as God's judgement and finds peace in forgiveness.

Title

The title of the book derives from the traditional call of boat-taxis on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, which would call "Eastward ho!" and "Westward ho!" to show their destination.John Kucich, Jenny Bourne Taylor, (2011), ''The Oxford History of the Novel in English: Volume 3'', page 390. Oxford University Press. "Ho!" is an

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...

or a call to attract passengers, without a specific meaning besides "hey!" or "come!" The title is also a nod towards the play ''

Westward Ho! Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...

'', written by

John Webster John Webster (c. 1578 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...

and Thomas Dekker in 1604, which satirised the perils of the westward expansion of London. The full title of Kingsley's novel is ''Westward Ho! Or The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, Rendered into Modern English by Charles Kingsley''. This elaborate title is intended to reflect the mock-Elizabethan style of the novel.Mary Virginia Brackett, (2006), ''The Facts on File companion to the British novel. Vol. 1'', page 477. Viola's use of "Westward ho!" in William Shakespeare's

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

is an earlier reference. Kingsley dedicated the novel to Sir James Brooke,

Rajah of Sarawak The White Rajahs of Sarawak were a hereditary monarchy of the Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak as a sovereign state, located on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo in Maritime Southeast Asia, from 1841 to 1946. Of ...

, and Bishop George Selwyn, whom he saw as modern representatives of the heroic values of the privateers who were active during the Elizabethan era.

Themes

''Westward Ho!'' is an historical novel which celebrates England's victories over Spain in the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

. Although originally a political radical, Kingsley had by the 1850s become increasingly conservative and a strong supporter of overseas expansion. The novel consistently emphasises the superiority of English values over those of the "decadent Spanish". Although originally written for adults, its mixture of patriotism, sentiment, and romance caused it to be deemed suitable for children, and it became a firm favourite of children's literature.Ian Ousby, (1996), ''The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English'', page 418. Cambridge University PressISBN 0521436273 A prominent theme of the novel is the 16th-century fear of

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

domination, and this reflects Kingsley's own dislike of Catholicism. The novel repeatedly shows the Protestant English correcting the worst excesses of the Spanish

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

. The novel's virulent

anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

, as well as its racially insensitive depictions of the South Americans, has made the novel less appealing to a modern audience, although it is still regarded by some as Kingsley's "liveliest, and most interesting novel."Nick Rennison, (2009), ''100 Must-read Historical Novels'', page 80. A&C Black.

Adaptations

Westward Ho by Charles Kingsley - 1920 book cover

In April 1925, the book was the first novel to be adapted for radio by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The first movie adaptation of the novel was a 1919 silent film, ''

'', directed by

Percy Nash Percy Nash (1868-1958) was a pioneer British producer, director and screenwriter, who made some 70 films between 1912 and 1927. He was a key figure in the creation of Elstree Studios. The scarcity of information on Nash and his work has meant fi ...

. A 1988 children's animated film, ''Westward Ho!'', produced by

Burbank Films Australia Burbank Animation Studios was an Australian film animation production company, formerly named Burbank Films Australia. History The company's first animated productions in 1982 were a series of adaptations of books from Charles Dickens; these ...

, was loosely based on Kingsley's novel.

Legacy

The book is the inspiration behind the unusual name of the village of

in Devon, the only place name in the United Kingdom that contains an

exclamation mark The exclamation mark (also known as exclamation point in American English) is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show wikt:emphasis, emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks ...

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

, in an interview with Vanora Bennett, claimed that being forced to copy lines from the novel as a punishment at the age of eight or nine was the moment he realised he would become a writer.J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company (London: Harper, 2008), pp.2-6 (p.2).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westward, Ho! (Novel) 1855 British novels British historical novels British adventure novels Novels set in Tudor England Novels set in Devon Novels about the Inquisition Novels about pirates Novels about revenge Cultural depictions of Walter Raleigh Cultural depictions of Francis Drake Anti-Catholic publications British novels adapted into films Adventure novels adapted into films British novels adapted for radio Novels by Charles Kingsley