''John Inglesant'' is a celebrated

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Joseph Henry Shorthouse Joseph Henry Shorthouse (9 September 1834 – 4 March 1903) was an English novelist.Barbara Dennis, "Shorthouse, Joseph Henry (1834–1903)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 30 Nov 2012 doi:10.1093/r ...

, published in 1881, and set mainly in the middle years of the 17th century.

Story

The eponymous hero is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, despite being educated partly by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, and remains so, largely on the advice of his Jesuit mentor, despite strong temptations to convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Even so, he finds himself involved in intrigues between the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

party of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and becomes a courtier of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. He also spends some time at the

Little Gidding community The Little Gidding community was an extended family and religious group based at Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire (now in Cambridgeshire), England, in existence from the middle of the 1620s to the later 1650s. It gained attention in its time becaus ...

in Huntingdonshire, where he falls in love (the girl soon dies). He fights on the Royalist side in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, is wounded at the

battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

, and fights at

Naseby Naseby is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census was 687. The village is north of Northa ...

. As a result of his role in negotiations on the King's behalf in Ireland, he is tried and condemned for treason; he only narrowly escapes execution. Soon afterwards his brother is murdered, and he pursues his brother's murderer to Italy, where among much else (including marriage) he observes a

Papal Conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

as it elects a new Pope in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Analysis

Despite all the above, this is a book of ideas, not action, and religious ideas at that. Almost every page of brisk activity or intrigue is followed by at least two more of debate on such topics as

Arminianism Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was origina ...

, Quietism, the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, and the like. Even by the standards of its time, it is a wordy book, and at the opposite extreme from the preferred all-action mode of the 21st century. It nonetheless has what might be described as a cult following. Its subtitle ('John Inglesant: a romance') may be misleading to modern readers; it implies free invention, not love interest, and the book has little or nothing in common with the

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

of the present day.

Legacy

Holly Ordway Holly Ordway is a professor of English at Houston Christian University. She is known also as a Tolkien scholar. She won a 2022 Mythopoeic Awards, Mythopoeic Award for her book ''Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages''. Li ...

notes that Tolkien remained interested in Shorthouse's "strange, long-forgotten" novel, and suggests that ''John Inglesant'' "moral conflict and competing loyalties" and its "providentially freeing climax consequent upon the exercise of pity" are reflected in "perhaps the key theme" of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''.

References

* ''The Edinburgh Review: Or Critical Journal'', Volume 202 (1905) *

External links

John Inglesant: a romance (eBook)
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John Inglesant, a romance
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John Inglesant: A Romance (Volume 1 of 2)
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John Inglesant: A Romance (Volume 2 of 2)
at

*
The Author of John Inglesant
by Charles W. Spurgeon {{Authority control 1881 British novels Historical novels English philosophical novels Macmillan Publishers books Novels set in the 17th century Christian novels Cultural depictions of Charles I of England