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Following on from his successful novel John Inglesant, Joseph Henry Shorthouse wrote The little schoolmaster Mark in 1883. Subtitled "A spiritual romance" it tells the tale of Little Mark, inspired by the childhood of Heinrich Jung-Stilling, whose autobiography Shorthouse enjoyed reading. Little Mark is:
fair haired and blue eyed: but it is the deep blue of an angel's, not the cold gray blue of a courtier's eyes.
He is given the task of tutoring a Prince's children to give them "the grace of refinement which piety brings."
A fanciful tale set amongst the scenic backdrop of Germany, this story focuses on the two children, unloved by their mother, left in the tutelage of Mark
"I tell them beautiful histories," said Mark, "of good people, and of love, and of God."
The Princess Adelaide, the children's mother, is cold and distant. She greets Mark with disdain:
"I do not want my children to be infected with the superstitions of the past, which still linger among the coarse and ignorant peasantry. I suppose, now, this peasant schoolmaster believes in a God and a hell, and in a heaven for such as he?"
Mark is enticed into the world of the actors and singers who perform for the Princess Adelaide, and during one festivity he is drawn into a dark cave by his young pupil, the little Princess. When he emerges from the cave to the full glare of activity a turn of events change all the characters lives forever.
A sample chapter of The little schoolmaster Mark is available on this website.
The full text can also be read online or downloaded free of charge. It is in XHTML format, like this page. Please note the file size is 169kb and it may take some time to open-up if you choose to read it online. Downloading for reading later may be the preferred option and this can be typically achieved by calling up an option box. If you have a mouse and it is configured for left click to select, right clicking the link may give you this option. Link to the full text of The little schoolmaster Mark.
Page created 26 November 2002 and last
updated 17 December 2002
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