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Online
text of The Prince and the Page
(Many thanks to Sandra Laythorpe and others)
The Prince and the Page(Text
kindly supplied by Amy de Gruchy)PublicationJanuary
– December 1865 serialized in , editor C. M.
Yonge, publishers John and Charles Mozley
1866 book version published by Macmillan.
ContentsThe
Prince is Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward
I. The tale is concerned with the real events
of his adult life, and the imaginary dealings
with his cousins, the de Montfort brothers.
It commences in 1265 (six centuries before
the serial) soon after the battle of Evesham
in which the Royalist forces under Prince
Edward were victorious and Simon de Montfort
was killed. One of his sons, a boy of thirteen
called Wilfred in the serial and Richard in
the book, survives the battle and is sheltered
by an outlaw. Prince Edward finds and captures
them, but spares the outlaw, and takes the
boy into his service, to protect him from
the evil influence of his elder brothers,
Simon and Guy de Montfort. After a conflict
of loyalties, Richard becomes a devoted follower
of the Prince. The narrative then moves on
four years. Richard rescues a young child
from drowning, and finds that the blind beggar,
her father, is his eldest brother, Henry de
Montfort, left for dead after the battle of
Evesham. Richard promises to keep his existence
secret, but when he goes to the Holy Land
with Prince Edward this places him under suspicion
of spying for Simon and Guy de Montfort. The
Prince withdraws his trust, but soon realises
his error. When Simon tries to murder the
prince , Richard takes the blow and dies. Prince
Edward on his return to England as king, seeks
out the beggar, tells him of his brother's
death, and begs him to return to court, but
Henry refuses. Nine years pass, his daughter,
an exceedingly beautiful girl is wooed by
many, but they draw back on learning that
she is a beggar's child. However, a young
knight, once a page like Richard, and his
friend, is constant, passes the beggar's test,
and marries his Bessee. The tale does not
end here, but has two more episodes. In one,
the king and Henry hear of the penitent death
of Simon, killed defending Acre, which has
fallen to the Moslems, thus ending the Christian
presence in the Holy Land, though the king
still hopes to lead a successful Crusade.
The final scene is at the tomb of King Edward,
where the beggar laments him. Richard, the
page is a somewhat colourless figure, caught
between loyalty to his lord and affection
for his own family. C. M.Yonge had a great
admiration for Edward I whom she depicts as
someone very like her own father, cold and
severe to all but a very few, just and religious.
As with his page, his characteristics are
too often described, rather than shown. This
is not the case with Henry de Montfort, whose
independence, bitter tongue and enjoyment
of the beggar's life are shown vividly. Of
the minor characters the twelve year old page
John of Dunster is a real boy, and most of
the other minor characters are credible.
There is no moralizing over failings in this
tale, but virtues of loyalty and uprightness,
as exemplified in the page and the prince
are stressed. C. M. Yonge accurately describes
historical event; but adapts the ballad of
the outlaw and of the blind beggar which occur
at the beginning and towards the end of the
tale to suit her own purposes. In the Preface
she apologises for minor errors, but makes
it clear that the purpose of the tale is enjoyment
rather than instruction. This may be seen
as the justification for her unhistorical
account of the de Montforts. Further
ReadingFor contemporary reviews see
L. Madden, J.B. Shorthouse and C.M. Yonge,
unpublished thesis, University of London Diploma
in Librarianship, 1964. For C.M. Yonge's
historical fiction: Alice Fairfax Lucy,
'The other Miss Yonge', in A Chaplet for
Charlotte Yonge.
Edited for The Charlotte
Yonge Society by Georgina Battiscombe and
Marghanita Laski. The Cresset Press, London
1965
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