The Hills of Varna facts for kids
Macmillan, 1958 edition
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| Author | Geoffrey Trease |
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| Illustrator | Treyer Evans |
| Language | English |
| Genre | historical fiction |
| Publisher | Macmillan & Co |
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Publication date
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1948 |
The Hills of Varna (also known as Shadow of the Hawk in the USA) is an exciting historical adventure novel for young readers. It was written by Geoffrey Trease and first published in 1948. The story is all about the exciting time when people rediscovered amazing old books and ideas from ancient Greece and Rome. This period is known as the Renaissance, a time of great learning and art.
Contents
The Story Begins
A Young Man's Mission
The book mostly takes place in Europe during the early 1500s. Our main character is Alan Drayton, a young man from England. He is sent on a very important mission by a famous scholar named Erasmus. Alan's task is to find a lost play from ancient Greece. This play, called The Gadfly, was written by Alexis, a writer from the time of Socrates.
Erasmus believes this valuable old book is hidden in a monastery in Varna, a place in the Balkans. Alan plans to take the play to a printer named Aldus Manutius in Venice. He wants to make sure this important work can be shared with everyone. He refuses to work for the powerful Duke of Molfetta, who only wants the play for his own private collection.
The Adventure Unfolds
In 1509, Alan Drayton has to leave his college in Cambridge. He got into a fight at a local inn. This is how he ends up on his big adventure across Europe.
On his difficult journey to the monastery, Alan meets a brave young Italian woman named Angela d'Asola. She disguises herself as a boy to travel more safely. Together, they face many dangers. They encounter pirates on the sea and survive a shipwreck. They also come across Turkish Janissaries, who were special soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. Even more, they are constantly chased by the Duke of Molfetta's agents.
They finally find the ancient manuscript, but then they lose it again! In the end, their strong desire for knowledge and learning helps them succeed. The author chose a different ending for the main characters. Angela marries an older, wealthy man she had known for some time. Alan returns to England, ready to continue his education as England's own Renaissance begins.
More Adventures: The Crown of Violet
In 1952, Geoffrey Trease wrote another book that tells a story that happened before The Hills of Varna. This book is called The Crown of Violet. The title comes from a famous quote about ancient Athens.
This prequel takes us back to ancient Athens. It tells the story of how Alexis wrote The Gadfly, the very play Alan Drayton searches for. The Crown of Violet is a comedy that defends the famous philosopher Socrates. The book also has exciting descriptions of the Greek theatre from that time.
Just like in The Hills of Varna and Cue for Treason, the hero of The Crown of Violet becomes friends with a spirited girl. She doesn't follow old rules and plays a key part in the adventure. Her name is Corinna, and she is a metic, which means she was a foreigner living in Athens.
The American title for this book is Web of Traitors. This title refers to a secret plan in the story. Some people wanted to overthrow the Athenian democracy. A speech in Alexis's play is cleverly used to trick these plotters into revealing themselves.
