Physical description

Hard cover book. Martin Hyde “The Dukes Messenger”
Author: John Masefield
Publisher: Wells Gardner Darton & Co
Date: 1928 to 1949
Further Information: Blue Cloth hardcover with lettering and patterning to spine in black. Publisher Logo to front cover with title & authors name. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with typed text PAT FIC MAS
Pastedown front endpaper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Front loose endpaper has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute
Front loose endpaper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service

Summary

Martin Hyde, the Duke's Messenger is a historical novel set in the late 17th century, following a young boy named Martin Hyde as he moves from a carefree childhood in rural Suffolk into a web of intrigue in London. Orphaned young, Martin goes to live with his uncle in London, where he becomes tangled up in royal conspiracies and secret missions. After his father's death in 1685, the 12-year-old goes to live with his uncle and eventually becomes messenger for James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, as Monmouth tries to build support for his claim to the English throne after the death of Charles II. It's often compared to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island or Kidnapped a boy's-own adventure that takes Martin overseas and eventually back to England to take part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, with a rival working for the Crown whom he has to outwit. A reviewer also notes a small, restrained love-story thread Martin's messenger rival turns out to be a girl in disguise which nudges the book slightly outside the standard boys'-adventure genre of its era.