The Red Axe

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Pages: 317

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About this book

From a tower above the city of Thorn, ten-year-old Hugo Gottfried watches the snowy streets and waits for Duke Casimir to return from a raid. Other children reject him because of the red badge he wears, the mark of his father's feared office in the Wolfmark. Hugo's recollection begins with loneliness, a recent family loss and the night when a little playmate is brought home.

S. R. Crockett's historical adventure follows Hugo into a world of armed retainers, rival loyalties and courtly affection. Prince Karl questions his friendship with Princess Ysolinde, while Hugo insists on his devotion to Helene, the Little Playmate. His service later includes visits to different courts and fighting border thieves. The first-person voice brings childhood vulnerability and awkward adult conversations into the same story, giving readers both the pressures of princely power and the personal stakes of loyalty.

About the author

S. R. Crockett

S. R. Crockett, the publishing name of Samuel Rutherford Crockett, was a Scottish novelist closely associated with Galloway landscapes and communities. Tales of Our Coast is a collaborative collection to which he contributed the opening story, alongside work by Harold Frederic, Gilbert Parker, Arthur Quiller-Couch, and William Clark Russell.