9 h 14 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Beyond home lie dangerous seas, the sword, and an India where the balance of power is shifting.
In Allen Upward’s adventure novel, young Englishman Athelstane Ford leaves home for a journey through piracy, battle, and a distant land. His path leads toward India, where personal fortunes meet the larger struggle for power. The sea is no simple road: storms, sickness, and enemies threaten those who cross it.
The setting is the eighteenth century, as the Mughal empire loses its grip and regional rulers rise. Upward places an invented young hero against this historical background, bringing one person’s journey into the story of Britain’s growing power in India. This is also a Victorian tale of empire, with the outlook of its time.
What you’ll discover
- A youth far from home Follow Athelstane Ford beyond familiar ground toward the sea, the sword, and India.
- The dangerous sea road Discover a world where an ocean crossing means months exposed to storms, sickness, and enemies.
- Piracy and battle Enter an adventure shaped by sea dangers and the fighting of a changing age.
- India amid shifting power Explore the historical setting as Mughal authority weakens and regional rulers gain ground.
- A Victorian view of empire Read with an eye for the period’s outlook as well as its appetite for adventure.
Who will love it
Readers who love sea voyages, swordplay and sieges, and those drawn to the early days of British India. It also suits anyone who enjoys a first-person tale of love, rivalry and a runaway's road home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A restless boy meets his dangerous cousin
- A secret flight and a tavern of rogues
- A duel in a rocking boat
- Clive's ship and the pirate fortress
- Calcutta darkens as the Nabob marches
- The Black Hole and a captive at court
- Clive returns and the plot against the Nabob
- Guilt, forgiveness and two cousins
- How the old man tells his tale
Who’s who
- Athelstane FordA stubborn Norfolk farm boy who runs away to sea, loves Marian, and later longs to win his parents' forgiveness.
- Rupert GurneyAthelstane's older cousin, a daring, ruthless privateer who rules the Fair Maid and wants both the ship and Marian for himself.
- Marian RisingA beautiful tavern keeper's niece who longs to join her parents in Bengal and is drawn to the man who harms her.
- Old MuzzyThe huge, oath-filled boatswain of the Fair Maid, a master swordsman who grows fond of Athelstane and keeps saving him.
- Robert CliveThe commanding colonel whom Athelstane serves as purser, secretary and messenger, and who means to break the Nabob's power.
- Surajah DowlahThe young, cruel Nabob of Bengal, who hates the English and is sure the Company hides a vast treasure.
- Meer JaffierThe Nabob's uncle and general, a cautious man who befriends Athelstane and listens to the English plan.
- Patience ThurstanThe neighbor's daughter and Athelstane's childhood friend, who keeps faith that he will come home.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 9 h 14 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Athelstane Ford
by Allen Upward
A Norfolk farm boy slips away to sea and lands among pirates, a cruel Nabob and a rival cousin who wants him dead.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Athelstane Ford is an adventure novel by Allen Upward, who died in 1926. An old man tells it in the first person, looking back on his youth in eighteenth century Norfolk.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A restless boy meets his dangerous cousin
Athelstane Ford lives at Brandon Grange, a freehold farm near Breydon Water in Norfolk. His father is a stern Independent who reads long chapters of Scripture and speaks little. His mother is gentle, keeps medicine for the sick, and cares only whether a person is Christian or heathen. Each evening the boy walks the dyke and watches the spire of Yarmouth glow, like a gateway to a larger world.
His father has been bargaining with a Norwich wool merchant, Mr. Peter Walpole, to take the boy as an apprentice. The two honest men cannot agree about fifty pounds, so nothing is settled. Athelstane grows more impatient every week. Then his cousin Rupert rides up on a black mare.
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What is Athelstane Ford about?
It tells how a young Norfolk man runs away from home, falls in with privateers, and is swept into the struggle for Bengal. Love, rivalry with his cousin and loyalty to Clive drive the tale.
Is Athelstane Ford a true story?
No, it is a novel. Athelstane and his cousin are invented, but Robert Clive, Admiral Watson, Surajah Dowlah, Meer Jaffier, the siege of Gheriah, the Black Hole and Plassy are real parts of history.
Who is Rupert Gurney?
Rupert is Athelstane's older cousin, a charming and ruthless seaman who recruits the boy for the Fair Maid, a privateer bound for the East Indies. He is both a model and a rival for Athelstane and for Marian.
The author
Allen Upward
1863–1926 · British novelist and poet
British poet, lawyer, politician and teacher.
More by Allen Upward
All 2 booksMore like this
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