The Two Percy Heroes

Anne- girl from her blog Scribblings is hosting a “Hero week” where bloggers can contribute posts about their favorite heroes in period dramas (for those who don’t know these include Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Anne of Green Gables, The Scarlet Pimpernel and anything set 80+ years ago). Here is my slightly different contribution to Hero Week. 

I read a number of “fan” blogs about these movies. Almost without question everyone’s favorite hero is Sir Percy of the Scarlet Pimpernel (and then Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley). I am going to introduce you to an entirely new hero who does not beat The Scarlet Pimpernel in heroism, but ties with him. Trust me, that is INCREDIBLY hard to do and I do not say it without careful thought and consideration. Turns out, in one of the other most amazing books ever written, the main character is also named Percy. Enter Captain Ralph Percy of the book, To Have and to Hold.  

*Dramatic music plays*

Captain Percy is a thirty-something gentleman who has come from England to help settle Jamestown in 1607. He has spent his life fighting Indians, building a settlement, hunting, and general "Jamestown" stuff. He has never married and has never considered it due to the severe lack of women in Jamestown at that time.

That all changes in 1621 when a ship of 80 women is sent from England to help populate the new world. At the advice of a friend, he goes to seek a wife. His future wife happens to be the quintessential damsel in distress (told you this was a good book). After rescuing this fair maiden from a spineless rascal trying to steal a kiss he decides he has found his woman. His first words to his future wife are, “Madam, will you marry me?” How would you like to meet your husband that way?! Despite this hasty introduction, they marry that afternoon and travel back to his/their home in Weyanoke, just outside of Jamestown.

Turns out that his wife, the former Lady Jocelyn Leigh, has a secret past which brings dangerous ramifications. Without giving anything away, a man travels from England to take her back, even though she is already married to Captain Percy. When he married her, Captain Percy promised before God to protect, honor, and cherish her and while he is alive will not let her be dishonored, despite the fact they do not "love" each other.

What ensues involves pirates, shipwrecks, sword fights, panthers, and Indian attacks. All the while they trust in God to protect them and give them wisdom for the next step. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

That said, I can now get to the point of this post, why Captain Percy is a true hero and worthy to stand next to Sir Percy Blakeney.

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Most importantly, Captain Percy is a man of God. He always believes God will be faithful, even if that means he dies. Throughout the book he and his friends pray for protection and forGod’s will to be done, whatever it might come.

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He always considers the safety and comfort of his wife before his own. Shortly after their marriage, Sir Percy must make a decision whether to give his wife up to return to England against her will, or be willing to sacrifice his life in order to protect her and her honor. Because he is a man of his word, he chooses the latter despite the fact it very well might cost him his life.

“My wife and I were married lawfully in the sight of God and of man. What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder, she is my wife!”

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Personally, one of the main qualifications for a hero is that he must be able fight with swords. One of my favorite parts of movies are the sword fights, I’m just fascinated by them, not sure why but they look so manly and brave. : ) Captain Percy most definitely meets this requirement, in fact he is the best swordsman in Jamestown. I’ll just say he must use his sword many times throughout the book.

*note to future husband: whoever and wherever you are, consider taking sword fighting lessons, you never know when those skills might come in handy*

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Captain Percy loves his wife as Christ loves the Church by being willing to lay down his life for her. In one of the most beautiful lines of the book Captain Percy bravely states, “The last drop of my blood will be poured out in defense of your life, you are my wife. " Now whether he actually has to lay down his life or is just willing to do it if the time comes, I won’t say. You’ll just have to read the book. 

Now because many of the readers of this post will be avid Sir Percy fans I shall attempt to show you the many similarities between these two Percys and attempt to convince you to put Captain Percy next to Sir Percy as #1 in your hero lists.

They are both married

This aspect is one of my favorites of these two books--both these men are married, they love and protect their wives, there is no suspense whether or not they will get together in the end, they already are and will always be til death parts them. So many stories today are about meeting Prince Charming but nothing happens after the wedding. Instead, these books show the ups and downs of marriage and how a husband is to love his wife. I personally find this infinitely more romantic for a husband to fight for his wife then simply the girl he has most recently loved that he might or might not marry in the end. 

They are both mighty dangerous with the sword

Is there anything more to be said? I just love swords, fighting for the woman you love with a sword sounds way better than any other way if you ask me. 

They live over 200 years ago which mean their wives wear gorgeous costumes!

Why do teenagers go crazy over Bella in "Twilight" in her wedding gown? Because every girl deep down inside loves to wear long dresses and feel pretty. Instead of having one pretty dress in a movie, imagine every dress being like that. Now Captain Percy is from a book not a movie. Consequently, I get to design all his wife's clothes in my head, let me tell you, they are gorgeous. 

Creative Schemes

I really don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll just say that Captain Percy is just as creative as Sir Percy in escaping dangerous scrapes and has just as many creative disguises.

Like the prison reunion scene in El Dorado? Read to Have and to Hold. : )

After reading this I hope you will at least consider reading this wonderful book!!

*quick note, I do not like the cover of this book, my book is older than this and has a better cover, thankfully you can just take the book sleeve off!*

The Inheritance

Earlier this year I promised I would write one book review each week… as you can see I’ve been a little distracted by traveling to Africa and afterwards trying to adjust back to my American way of life. Even though I have not written any reviews I did not stop reading. Today, I’m reviewing The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott.

The Inheritance is the first book Alcott wrote, at the tender age of 17. Unlike her others, it is short and does not dive into characters as much as her others. To me, it is evident that this is her first novel since her writing style greatly improves with her later works. Interestingly enough, this novel was not found until 1988 in the Houghton Library. Alcott wrote it in a little red notebook and inside was a slip of paper that read, “My first novel written at seventeen.” Sadly, this is where the interest of the book ends for me.

Alcott sets the book in her own times, the mid 1800s. The novel begins with the story of a poor orphan Italian girl who has been adopted into the rich Hamilton family as a companion for their daughter. The girl, Edith, is a sweet loving girl who seeks to serve everyone. Amy, the Hamilton’s daughter, is also sweet and loves beauty and adores Edith. Lord Percy comes to visit Amy’s brother and forms an attachment to Edith, but without telling her. Ida, Amy’s cousin, is jealous of Lord Percy’s love for Edith and strives to keep them apart, even framing Edith for stealing. I’ll let you imagine the ending. SPOILER warning: Of course she marries him at the end and she discovers she is actually a great heiress with more money than she knows what to do with. I do not doubt that this situation may have actually happened on occasion, but not very often!

While there is an interesting story line, the language is unrealistic. Not so much the vocabulary, but the expression of the words. Maybe, they spoke romantically 200 years ago but I have yet to hear a man comment in public on the beauty of a women’s heavenly hair, the sparkle in her penetrating eyes in the evening sun, or how he would serve her as a princess. Perhaps I simply haven’t met any yet, but I do not think they exist. And singing in a boat on a still pond lit only by moonlight? Seems a little unrealistic if you ask me.

As is common in 19^th century literature there is a “perfect” character, Edith. While her behavior is to be admired, I feel such distance from her since--she never makes mistakes and tries to love everyone while I dwell on my dislike for others or selfishly serve myself.

Personally, it’s over the top romantic, in language and actions. Maybe men used to act that way, but I have yet to meet anyone like that, and do not desire to either. I do not want men to speak in poems to me and tell me how beautifully I sing and how I remind him of his mother. Neither do I want to only to take walks through flower-covered meadows and sing while he rows in a moonlit pond. I would rather sit at the dinner table and discuss books, life, and debate theology.  But that’s just me I guess.  To each his own.

Would I recommend the book? If you are looking for a book to enjoy and encourage, no I do not. There is not much substance to it, just exaggerated romance. But if you enjoy other Louisa May Alcott books such as I do, I do recommend it. I found it quite interesting to read the difference between the first book she wrote and some of her later ones. She evolved into a better writer as her life continued.

Its (not that) Complicated

For the year 2012, my New Year's resolution is to read one book a week. I love to read but so often I do not find the right time to pick up a book. This year I hope will be different. I will also write a review on every book and post it here on my blog. 

This week the book is one I received as a Christmas present,

It's (not that) Complicated:

How to relate to guys in a healthy, sane, and biblical way

This book was written to point single girls towards the Bible's principles on the interaction between the sexes. Here are some of the points they make:

The world does not revolve around females or males, it revolves around God.   Underneath that, "Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man." 1 Corinthians 11:9.

Quite often in today's world girls make up a fairy tale husband--Mr. Darcy, Edward Cullen, etc. These men seem perfect yet they do not exist in real life, the man you will marry will be a wretched sinner... just like you.

Women complain today there aren't any more gentlemen left in the world, but perhaps it has not occurred to them that it's partly their fault. Men were designed to lead and work (Genesis 1), but in the early 20th century there were women suffrages. Women argued they were the same as men and therefore should be allowed to do everything men did. This took the uniqueness and importance of the men's job away from them and since the women were the "same" as them so men have no reason to be chivalrous; women are "one of the guys" now. 

Similarly, girls complain there are no real men left and yet they think their brothers are annoying and consistently try and get away from them. It turns out that these annoying little brothers are the future men. Consequently, if we help by encouraging our brothers to be men, there will be more real men in the world.

The book isn't called It's (not that) Hard. Relationships are hard, but "the more we strive and struggle for purity, selflessness, and God's perspective, the more things become Not That Complicated. 

Don't be like the Proverbs 7 woman who is an adulteress and prowls for her next "lover". Yet, understand we could become like her.

If you are talking to a young man, who is eligible, imagine that his wife is standing next to him. Would you still say the same things and act the same way? What if your husband stood next to you? Proverbs 31: 12 says, "She does her husband good and not harm ALL the days of her life." This means before she knows who he is! She should not try to attract the attention of a man she does not know she is going to marry. 

Many young women refuse to talk with their parents about their feelings. Turns out, whether we think so or not, they've probably been in the same situation before and they can give biblical counsel.

Be the woman that a man you want to marry would desire. In other words, if you want a man that is strong and steadfast and only has eyes for you, it's not fair for you to be batting your eyes at any eligible man that walks by. Do you want a man who wants a wife who spends most of her time at a job outside of the home? Or one that wants to come home to a home cooked meal with his wife and children that he loves and provides for?

Make friends with guys. Look at them as brothers in Christ instead of only possible husbands.

As single women, our goal in life should not be to get married and if we do not then our whole life has been a failure. God's plans are not ours. If it is His will for you to get married, you will marry at exactly the time he ordains to the man He has chosen for you. No amount of wishing and daydreaming can change that. Therefore our main goal should be to bring God glory and to further His kingdom.


And one last thing, if you are not familiar with the idea of courtship or desire a career over marriage, this book probably won't make much sense to you. It's a wonderful book, but I would suggest other books before you read this one.