The Children Of The New Forest

By: Frederick Marryat

Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Captain Marryat's The Children of the New Forest is a wonderful tale in narrative, historically rich and quite fascinating. This story of adventure, treachery, and love takes place during the English Civil War, when fellow countrymen are found enemies and are set against each other, Roundhead and Cavalier, Parliament and the King. Many hoped for the same thing: justice. But, for a long time, neither could find it. In the midst of all were the Beverlies, the family of a faithful Cavalier, who died in service of the king. His four children were left orphaned when their mother died of grief. Then, word came to them that the Roundheads were going to burn down their estate, Arnwood. Fate sent them into the hands of an old forester, Jacob Armitage, and they escaped to his cottage. From there, the story unfolds.

Captain Frederick Marryat (July 10, 1792 – August 9, 1848) was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story. He is now known particularly for the semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy and his children's novel The Children of the New Forest, and for a widely used system of maritime flag signalling. From 1832 to 1835 Marryat edited The Metropolitan Magazine. He kept producing novels, with his biggest success, Mr Midshipman Easy, coming in 1836. He lived in Brussels for a year, travelled in Canada and the United States, then moved to London in 1839, where he was in the literary circle of Charles Dickens and others. He was in North America in 1837 when the Rebellion of that year in Lower Canada broke out, and served with the British forces in suppressing it. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his invention and other achievements. In 1843 he moved to a small farm at Manor Cottage in Norfolk, where he died in 1848.

His daughter Florence Marryat later became well-known as a writer and actress. His son Francis Samuel Marryat completed his late novel The Little Savage. Marryat's novels are characteristic of their time, with the concerns of family connections and social status often overshadowing the naval action, but they are interesting as fictional renditions of the author's 25 years of real-life experience at sea. These novels, much admired by Joseph Conrad and Ernest Hemingway, were among the first sea novels. They were models for later works by C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian that were also set in the time of Nelson and told the stories of young men rising through the ranks through successes as naval officers. His later novels were generally for the children's market, including his most famous novel for contemporary readers, The Children of the New Forest, which was published in 1847 and set in the countryside surrounding the village of Sway, Hampshire.

©1847 Frederick Marryat (P)2013 Audible Ltd

The Children of the Forest

Charming, feel-good story. I enjoyed learning about the time period. I loved the appreciation of the great outdoors!

A Must-read

My kids love this book. It can be a slow start, but once it hooks you, there's no turning back. Great historical fiction.

Good clean fun!

A delightful adventurous tale! Well narrated, I enjoyed it immensely. Very family friendly! Highly recommended.

Wonderful classic

A great story of adventure. Best for young preteens. A great combination of family, survival, and honor.

A classic

a children's classic that I never read as a child but am glad I did as it taught me a little about the English civil war.

Excellent story, well delivered

My family and I had a wonderful time listening to it together in the evenings. The reader does an excellent job. The story is educational and well written. What more could you ask?

Interesting Light Historical Story

This was written as a book for children from a different era, so keep that mind. Nothing really terrible happens to the characters (during the story telling); however, they do face interesting challenges and choices. The narration is well done. I really like the historical perspective and setting of the story. Nothing too heavy and a nice break from the modern world. Enjoyed the listen!

Great historical fiction for kids and adults!

The narrator was amazing. Really brought the characters to life, giving them great accents and reading slowly. Great overall experience!

Worthwhile!

I enjoyed this immensely. It is history come to life. The reader did an amazing job with the characters. The story itself is full of noble and beautiful themes. All children would benefit greatly from the way hard work, integrity, and honor are so skillfully integrated into this story. There are lessons for young and old alike.

Plucky Kids in the English Civil War

This is a very pleasant story and a forerunner of many of the YA novels that have come since. (Some may like that the heroes and heroines are little gentleman and ladies; the same thing may drive other listeners crazy.)

The reading is very good, but there are a few faults in the production: about halfway through the book there are a number of places where lines are repeated.