A Knight of the White Cross is a book by G. A. Henty about an English orphan who joins the church to fight the Muslims that continuously encroach into Europe. I’m only halfway into the book, so I plan on writing a part 2, so this review won’t be a complete one. The setting is quite odd, and not what I expected when the book started, because it started with the main character’s parents in England, who were fighting in an English civil war. The war didn’t go their way and the father died, leaving his family. This made me think that the book would take place in England with the lad continuing his fathers fight, but instead his mother gives him to the church and train him to be a knight before shipping him off to the Mediterranean to fight Muslims. Thusly, the entirety of the book has taken place in the Eastern Mediterranean. In regards to Character Development, none of the characters seem to develop to me, and simply do that which they always do. The main character, however, is somewhat unique compared to other knights. Though they are all devoted to the church and aren’t sinful (according to their religion; I consider going to another’s land and killing them because they have a different religion “sinful”) The main character is the only one who truly believes in poverty and giving to those in need, he is kind to his slaves, unlike other knights, and he is willing to give his life up totally to the Order of the Church. I plan on reviewing the plot and theme next week.
School Essays 