Book Review

Men Of Iron, Howard Pyle
Wow, what a great little book! It centers around a young man, Myles Falworth, who is unwittingly caught up in the political intrigue during the transition from King Richard II to King Henry the IV. The new king follows the tradition of taking out the colleagues of his predecessor. As a boy Myles' father is blinded, exiled, and still wanted for treason for aiding and harboring a loyalist to the former king during this time. His family finds protection and anonymity and he grows up a peasant until his father sends him away to a former friend who still has power in the government to enter into his service and attain knighthood. Eventually with help and guidance (unknown to him at first) he becomes a knight and avenges his father's honor and estate. I love tales of revenge. Especially righteous revenge.
But it's not just a revenge story. It's a classic "coming of age" tale that focuses on middle age chivalry. Myles is studied as he grows from his more naive and impressionable outlook on what is honorable and right to a more mature viewpoint. His boldness is helped by the fact that he's favored by his lord and master so his youthful ideals are validated. There's the disappointment of realizing that the facts of life aren't' as simple and black and white as he assumes in his youth, but he never becomes cynical as he learns to deal with the complexities of coming into his own. He remains pure at heart and heroically turns the fortunes of his own family and that of his benefactors' as well.
What I really loved was the details of life at the time period. His time spent as a squire, the rigors of the work, and the formal social interactions are historically delicious. His knighthood ceremony where he is finally inducted into the Order of the Bath by the king he was soon to defy is regarded as a nonfictional account of the proceedings. It's packed full of a lot of details and intensity for what is actually a short novelette. At times it seems too short, but classic literature was specially gifted for keeping things simple while unfolding a great yarn.
I loved  and if this is any indication of how Pyle's other works are, I'll be checking out more of them.