14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 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
Readers who love tales of smugglers, hidden caves and buried treasure, and who like a loyal hero fighting for his birthright and his sweetheart on a wild old Cornish coast.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A will leaves one narrow hope
- Jasper inherits a promise and enemies
- Pity interrupts Jasper's desire for revenge
- Trust grows across the family divide
- Jasper refuses to profit from wrecking
- Loyalty reaches Jasper behind barred windows
- Rescue does not yet mean safety
- A birthright means more than land
- Honesty gives Jasper his real strength
Who’s who
- Jasper PenningtonA very tall, honest Cornish farmer's son who has promised his dying father to win back the family estate of Pennington.
- Naomi PenrynA brave young heiress, ward of the Tresidders, who pities Jasper in the pillory and wants to escape their plans for her.
- Richard TresidderThe magistrate who holds Pennington and guards Naomi's wealth, and who is deep in debt and ready to use any trick.
- Nick TresidderHis son, a skilled and cunning wrestler, who wants to marry Naomi for her fortune and hates Jasper.
- Eli FraddamBetsey's dwarf son, strong and strange, who loves Jasper like a loyal dog and always seems to know more than he says.
- Cap'n Jack TruscottA soft-spoken, scripture-quoting smuggling chief with pale gray eyes, who wants Jasper in his gang and Granfer Fraddam's treasure.
- Tamsin TruscottJack's warm-hearted daughter, who loves Jasper and wants to help him, though her feelings pull her in two directions.
- Betsey FraddamThe local white witch who cures cattle and tells fortunes, and who seems to know everything that happens in the parish.
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.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook 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 USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Birthright in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Birthright
by Joseph Hocking · 1897
A pilloried outcast vows to win back his stolen Cornish estate, and a girl's pity changes his life.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Never rest until you are master and owner at Pennington again.”
In short
What would you do if a stranger's trick took your family home, and a dying father made you swear to win it back? That is the question that drives The Birthright, a Cornish adventure by Joseph Hocking.
The Birthright at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 40 min5 h 15 min fast, 7 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 95,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1897by Joseph Hocking
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Will That Cut Out the Rightful Heir
Pennington, the finest house in the parish of St. Eve, passes to the Tresidder family. Jasper's grandfather, a widower, married a widow who brought a young son also named Richard Tresidder.
She hated the grandfather's own son, Jasper's father, and spent years setting father against child. A new will left him five hundred pounds and put the whole estate in trust for her son. The family lawyer, Mr. Trefry, could not bear it but had no right to interfere.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1897
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Hocking, Joseph. The Birthright. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-birthright.
Hocking, J. (2026). The birthright. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-birthright (Original work published 1897)
Hocking, Joseph. The Birthright. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-birthright.
@book{hocking2026birthright,
author = {Hocking, Joseph},
title = {The Birthright},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-birthright},
note = {First published 1897}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 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
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Birthright
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 follows Jasper Pennington, a Cornish farmer's son, as he tries to win back the family estate taken by the Tresidders. Along the way he meets smugglers, a witch's son, John Wesley and the girl he loves, Naomi Penryn.
Who is Eli Fraddam in The Birthright?
Eli is the small, strong, misshapen son of Betsey Fraddam, the local witch. He is fiercely loyal to Jasper, follows him everywhere, and seems to find out secrets nobody else can, often helping when Jasper has no other friend.
Is The Birthright a true story, and when is it set?
It is a novel, not a true story, though it uses real settings and the real preacher John Wesley. The action begins in July 1737 and runs through the 1740s, mostly in Cornwall, from Falmouth to the Lizard and the north coast.
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.
“Never rest until you are master and owner at Pennington again.”
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 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
