Men of Iron by Howard Pyle

When our sons were small we read them an abridged version of Men of Iron. They loved the scrapes that Myles Falsworth got into as a boy and also the battles he fought as an adult. When I saw it on sale at Audible, I decided to give the full-length book a try.

Men of Iron is a swash-buckling tale of 13th Century knights. The title refers to their armor, but also to the molding of the character of our hero, Myles. Richard II has been deposed and King Henry IV is enthroned.  Conspirators against Henry have been killed. Myles' father had been a faithful counselor to King Richard, but had no part in the conspiracies against the new king. Nevertheless he is branded a traitor and loses his position and his lands. Myles spends his life seeking to regain his father's honor.

Although occasionally verbose, the language is beautiful. A sample from chapter 28:

Myles went to France with Lord George. He was there for only six months, but those six months brought a great change in his life. In the fierce battles and the evil life which he saw in the Burgundian court - a court brilliant, wicked, witty and cruel - the wonderful liquor of youth had evaporated rapidly and his character had crystalized as quickly into the hardness of manhood. The warfare, the blood, and the evil pleasures which he had seen had been a fiery crucible test to his soul. And I love my hero that he should have come forth through it so well.

Modern readers may have difficulty understanding the need for men "to fight to the death" for their honor. Others may find it difficult to read a book with few female characters. It is not a romance, though Howard Pyle ends the book with, So Myles was married so how else shall the story end? 

I loved the gentle rhythm of each carefully crafted sentence. I appreciated Pyle's emphasis on manliness and nobility of character. And I relished the excellent narration by Robert Whitfield.

(Librivox has a free version with a mixed bag of readers, some of who have southern accents, which definitely does not fit the tone of this work of British historical fiction.)

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Steven Leacock

This Canadian classic (which just celebrated its 100th anniversary) has been on my TBR list for years. But I never got around to “reading” Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town until I downloaded it from LibriVox.  Each of the twelve chapters describes a person or event in the mythical town of Mariposa in the early 1900’s. Leacock pokes fun at small town ways, but he seems to do it without any malice.  Much of the humor is understated and since the majority of the narrators read with deadpan voices, I almost missed some of it.  I kept thinking that if a man like Garrison Keillor got hold of this material, it could be laugh out loud funny.

Many of the characters in the stories have an exaggerated sense of importance. Others, like Reverend Drone and Peter Pupkin have an overwrought sense of worthlessness. Pupkin, the bank teller, is afraid he is unworthy of Zena Pepperleigh, the judge’s daughter.  Except for the fact that suicide is no joking matter, the chapter on Pupkin’s attempts to do away with himself so that Zena will notice him is quite funny.

This is an easy, yet slow read (Lately, all books seem slow after the Hunger Games), but it might be worth a listen if you’re cooking or sewing and want a good story in the background.

Sample from Chapter One: 

Of course if you come to the place fresh from New York, you are deceived. Your standard of vision is all astray; you think the place is quiet. You do imagine that Mr. Smith is asleep merely because he closes his eyes as he stands. But live in Mariposa for six months or a year and then you will begin to understand it better; the buildings get higher and higher; the Mariposa House grows more and more luxurious; McCarthy's block towers to the sky; the buses roar and hum to the station; the trains shriek; the traffic multiplies; the people move faster and faster; a dense crowd swirls to and fro in the post office and the five and ten cent store -- and amusements! well, now! lacrosse, baseball, excursions, dances, the Fireman's Ball every winter and the Catholic picnic every summer; and music -- the town band in the park every Wednesday evening, and the Oddfellows' brass band on the street every other Friday; the Mariposa Quartette, the Salvation Army -- why, after a few months' residence you begin to realize that the place is a mere mad round of gaiety.

Also available free for Kindle.