Condemned as a Nihilist
Condemned as a Nihilist
A Story of Escape from Siberia
There are few difficulties that cannot be surmounted by patience, resolution, and pluck, and great as are the obstacles that nature and the Russian government oppose to an escape from the prisons of Siberia, such evasions have occasionally been successfully carried out, and that under far less advantageous circumstances than those under which the hero of this story undertook the venture.
Book Excerpt
friendly enough with Englishmen in business, in the club, and so on, do not as a rule invite them to their houses; and therefore the English, especially the class I am speaking of, are almost forced to associate entirely with each other and form a sort of colony quite apart from native society. I was fortunate enough to make some acquaintances among them soon after I went out, and your mother and I were much more in Russian society than is usual with our countrymen there. I found great advantage from it, and shall be glad for you to do the same. You will have one very great advantage, that you will be able to speak Russian fluently in a short time."
"I don't think I remember much about it now, father."
"I dare say not, Godfrey; that is to say, you know it, but you have lost a good deal of the facility of speaking it. You have always got on fairly enough with it when we have spoken it occasionally during your holidays since we have been in England, and in a very few weeks you will find that it h
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A surprisingly good entry from Henty. He does much better when not writing about British subjects.
In this one, a young boy, the usual Henty hero, an uber-competent English boy, gets wrongful arrested and exiled to siberia.
Henty solves the language problem by having the boy be Russian born. The politics are cut short as we only see the Nihilists as rabble rousers. Most of the book is on the hard to believe escape from Siberia to Norway.
Not terribly exciting (but it wouldnt be, in truth) but enough to hold your interest. With some nice little cultural nuggets, mostly on the Samoyads of norther russia.
It also is unintentionaly hilarious as an add for tobacco. the protagonist is constantly extolling the health benefits of tobacco. It is as important as food to these adventurers.
but really one of the more palatable Henty books.
In this one, a young boy, the usual Henty hero, an uber-competent English boy, gets wrongful arrested and exiled to siberia.
Henty solves the language problem by having the boy be Russian born. The politics are cut short as we only see the Nihilists as rabble rousers. Most of the book is on the hard to believe escape from Siberia to Norway.
Not terribly exciting (but it wouldnt be, in truth) but enough to hold your interest. With some nice little cultural nuggets, mostly on the Samoyads of norther russia.
It also is unintentionaly hilarious as an add for tobacco. the protagonist is constantly extolling the health benefits of tobacco. It is as important as food to these adventurers.
but really one of the more palatable Henty books.
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