11 h 51 minAudiobook11 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
What if the land you call your birthright is the very thing you must fight to reclaim?
In Joseph Hocking’s The Birthright, a man sets out to win back what is his. Stolen lands and a family claim lie at the heart of this Cornish adventure. His struggle raises a plain but powerful question: what does a rightful claim mean when you have to fight to make it count?
Cornwall gives that struggle its ground: a rough coastal community, old families, and a life shaped by hard work and faith. Smugglers belong to this world, too. Hocking brings together the pull of inheritance and the dangers of the coast in an old-fashioned tale of loss, resistance, and growing purpose.
What you’ll discover
- A claim worth defending Follow a hero whose determination turns the loss of his birthright into a struggle.
- Cornwall at the heart Enter a coastal world where place matters as much as the claim being fought over.
- The lure of smugglers Discover the smuggling world that gives this Cornish adventure its promise of danger.
- Land, family, and right Explore how an inheritance can become a question of belonging and personal resolve.
- An old-fashioned adventure Settle into a tale built around loss, struggle, setbacks, and a hero’s growing purpose.
Who will love it
For readers who love Cornish coastlines, smugglers' caves and wreckers' lights, and for anyone who enjoys a stubborn hero, a bitter family feud and a love story that must win through against clever enemies.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stepmother steals the Pennington estate
- A father's dying promise and a hated family
- Jasper loses the farm and is pilloried
- Granfer Fraddam's cave and Naomi on the rock
- Jasper overhears the Tresidders and meets Captain Jack
- The wreckers' light and a midnight visit
- Mr. Wesley, a forged letter and a prison above the sea
- A secret stair, a fight and a plunge into the sea
- Rescue from Lanherne, and the treasure hunt
- What the story is about, and how it is told
Who’s who
- Jasper PenningtonA very strong, honest young Cornishman who has sworn to win back his family's stolen estate and who falls deeply in love with Naomi.
- Naomi PenrynA kind, brave young heiress, kept by her guardian at Pennington, who pities Jasper in the pillory and later risks much to help him.
- Richard TresidderThe cunning squire of Pennington and Naomi's guardian, who needs her money and will do almost anything to keep Jasper poor.
- Nick TresidderRichard's son, a skilled and unfair wrestler, whom the family hopes will marry Naomi and secure her fortune.
- Eli FraddamBetsey's small, misshapen son, fiercely loyal to Jasper, who seems to know everything and keeps a secret map.
- Captain Jack TruscottA smuggler and wrecker who talks like a preacher, rules a feared gang and wants Jasper to join it.
- Tamsin TruscottThe captain's warm-hearted daughter, who loves Jasper and is torn between love for him and jealousy of Naomi.
- Lawyer TrefryA sharp, grunting Truro lawyer who helps Jasper again and again though he often says the Tresidders cannot be beaten.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 51 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear El derecho de nacimiento in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
El derecho de nacimiento
by Joseph Hocking · 1897
A giant Cornishman, robbed of his family estate, hides in a smugglers' cave and sets out to win back Pennington.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Birthright is a Cornish adventure novel by Joseph Hocking, set in the 1730s and 1740s. It is told in the first person by Jasper Pennington, a farmer's son, who sets out to write the true account of his life because gossip has blackened his name.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stepmother steals the Pennington estate
Jasper begins with the wrong done to his father. His grandfather, a widower, marries a lawyer's widow named Tresidder, who brings her son Richard into the house. She is jealous for her boy and spends years turning the old man against his own son Jasper.
Just before the younger Jasper turns twenty-one, a new will leaves him five hundred pounds and puts all the Pennington lands in trust for Richard Tresidder. The family lawyer, Mr. Trefry, is made to watch it done. Yet the grandfather insists on one clause. If Jasper or his heirs can ever raise the money, they may buy the estates back for half their value, set by five county gentlemen.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about El derecho de nacimiento
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Birthright by Joseph Hocking about?
It tells how Jasper Pennington, a strong young Cornishman, tries to win back his family's estate from the Tresidders. Along the way he meets smugglers, a witch's son and a young heiress he loves, and learns what a man should refuse to do.
Is The Birthright a true story?
No. It is a historical novel by Joseph Hocking, set in Cornwall in the 1730s and 1740s. Real places and the real preacher John Wesley appear, but Jasper, the Tresidders and the smugglers are invented.
Who is Captain Jack Truscott in The Birthright?
He is a smuggler and wrecker who rules a gang from Kynance Cove. He talks in pious phrases and calls himself a man of peace, yet he plots murder, and he is also known by the name Jack Fraddam.
The author
Joseph Hocking
1860–1937 · English novelist
Joseph Hocking (1860–1937) was a British novelist and Methodist minister. He was born in St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, and lived in England. He wrote novels during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including The Birthright. His brother, Silas Hocking, was also a novelist and Methodist minister.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
