The Gauntlet
Ronald Welch
Peter Staunton, wandering one afternoon near a ruined castle on the Welsh border,
stumbles across a rusted metal gauntlet and slips it on. Falling asleep,
he wakes up in the 14th Century, when his Norman ancestors hold the castle,
and he is the son of Roger de Blois, the Lord of the Castle, and in the
middle of the Welsh border wars. This book contains a tremendous amount of
information about day-to-day castle living, tournaments, and history,
presented in a very engaging style, as Peter tries to understand what has
happened to him and comes to a realization that native wit, grace and character
matter a lot more than anything he knows from his native time.
While this book doesn't have a lot to do with sailing, I guarantee it will
fascinate youngsters interested in adventure and history, and particularly
those interested in the Middle Ages. The author's depiction of castle life,
and of the attitudes of the Normans and Welsh of the period, are both real and
realistic. I have no idea if the book is readily available any more; I read
it many years ago, and stumbled upon a copy in a bookstore years later. But
it's worth the search!
Reviewed by Dave Thewlis, February, 2002
This article is ©2002 by David C. Thewlis, and posted on All Things
Ransome with permission.
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