What do you think?
Rate this book
The High Heart
Excerpt from The High Heart
I Could not have lived in the Brokenshire circle for nearly a year without recognizing the fact that in the eyes of his family J. Howard, as he was commonly called by the world, was the Great Dispenser; but my first intimation that he meant to act in that capacity toward me came from Larry Strangways, on a bright July morning during the summer of 1913, when we were at Newport.
I was crossing the lawn, going toward the sea, with little Gladys Rossiter, to whom I acted as companion in the hours when she was out of the nursery, with a specific duty to speak French. Larry Strangways was tutor to the Rossiter boy, and in our relative positions we were bound to exercise toward each other a good deal of discretion. We fraternized with constraint. We fraternized because - well, chiefly because we couldn't help it. In the mocking flare of his eye, which contradicted the assumed young gravity of his manner, I read an opinion of the Rossiter household and of the Brokenshire family in general similar to my own. That would have been enough for mutual comprehension had there been no instinctive sympathies between us; but there were.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
I Could not have lived in the Brokenshire circle for nearly a year without recognizing the fact that in the eyes of his family J. Howard, as he was commonly called by the world, was the Great Dispenser; but my first intimation that he meant to act in that capacity toward me came from Larry Strangways, on a bright July morning during the summer of 1913, when we were at Newport.
I was crossing the lawn, going toward the sea, with little Gladys Rossiter, to whom I acted as companion in the hours when she was out of the nursery, with a specific duty to speak French. Larry Strangways was tutor to the Rossiter boy, and in our relative positions we were bound to exercise toward each other a good deal of discretion. We fraternized with constraint. We fraternized because - well, chiefly because we couldn't help it. In the mocking flare of his eye, which contradicted the assumed young gravity of his manner, I read an opinion of the Rossiter household and of the Brokenshire family in general similar to my own. That would have been enough for mutual comprehension had there been no instinctive sympathies between us; but there were.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
434 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2022
About the author
Basil King
235 books7 followers'William Benjamin Basil King was born 26 February, 1859, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He had a stormy childhood and strict religious upbringing, alluded to in his The Conquest of Fear (1921), inspired by his fears of becoming blind. As an adolescent who had already for some years been losing his sight along with having thyroid gland problems, the young King was deemed not fit for work. He spent a lonely and melancholy autumn at Versailles in France, unoccupied and alone with his introspection and agonising over his fears of fate dealing him a bitter blow, a total loss of vision.
In 1881 he graduated from the University of King's College in Nova Scotia and two years later married Esther Foote. 1884 saw him ordained as Anglican priest and he served as the rector of St Luke's Cathedral in Halifax. In 1892 he became the rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, yet in 1900 was forced to resign as a result of further failing eyesight. He would devote the rest of his life to literature.
A major turning point in King's life came from a teacher who spoke of the ingenuity and adaptability of the life-principle, which had somehow arrived on earth and for eons had continually met adversity and remained undefeated. King realised he was allowing his own wealth of ability to lie fallow. He rose to the challenge but still struggled with the seeming fate of Nature and his own untapped spiritual faith. He needed to heed his own advice: "Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid."'
...
http://www.online-literature.com/basi...
In 1881 he graduated from the University of King's College in Nova Scotia and two years later married Esther Foote. 1884 saw him ordained as Anglican priest and he served as the rector of St Luke's Cathedral in Halifax. In 1892 he became the rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, yet in 1900 was forced to resign as a result of further failing eyesight. He would devote the rest of his life to literature.
A major turning point in King's life came from a teacher who spoke of the ingenuity and adaptability of the life-principle, which had somehow arrived on earth and for eons had continually met adversity and remained undefeated. King realised he was allowing his own wealth of ability to lie fallow. He rose to the challenge but still struggled with the seeming fate of Nature and his own untapped spiritual faith. He needed to heed his own advice: "Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid."'
...
http://www.online-literature.com/basi...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
June 17, 2026
For some reason I struggled with this novel about a young Canadian woman who finds herself in a moral predicament when a rich young American man wants to marry her despite his family wanting him to marry into wealth.
First, I'm not sure how this book ended up on my shelf. I'm guessing it was part of a door prize at a literary event, because it is not a book I would normally purchase.
Second, I decided to pull the novel from my shelf because the day before I had a dream about needing to read a Basil King book and so I decided that perhaps it was a sign that I needed to read and learn something. Well, that is probably the main reason I kept reading and hoping that I would find meaning in the book. The book did not speak to me at all. Perhaps a different Basil King novel would appeal to me more.
Third. Even though Basil King's books were considered best sellers and were often used as inspiration for silent movies, I hadn't heard of this Canadian author before, but that's not a good reason for not liking the book.
Fourth, I was surprised that this author, a former clergyman decided to write from a female's first person perspective. Did that throw me off? Could a male really get inside a woman's head?
Fifth, I found the wealthy aristocratic characters to be too rigid, too gossipy, too detailed, too long-winded in philosophical thought for my liking. I even tired of the protagonist. And yes, it was a book of the times when wealthy men were considered powerful and women were considered to be ornaments with little brains.
So, even though this book did not appeal to me, it would most likely be of interest to those readers who are interested in Canadian Studies or for those who like historical fiction or romance novels.
Life is too short to be reading about people who seem to be wandering aimless in spacious homes. Too much drama and not enough valuable insight in how to make the world a better place. Perhaps that is the morale of the book. Do something meaningful for a change.
First, I'm not sure how this book ended up on my shelf. I'm guessing it was part of a door prize at a literary event, because it is not a book I would normally purchase.
Second, I decided to pull the novel from my shelf because the day before I had a dream about needing to read a Basil King book and so I decided that perhaps it was a sign that I needed to read and learn something. Well, that is probably the main reason I kept reading and hoping that I would find meaning in the book. The book did not speak to me at all. Perhaps a different Basil King novel would appeal to me more.
Third. Even though Basil King's books were considered best sellers and were often used as inspiration for silent movies, I hadn't heard of this Canadian author before, but that's not a good reason for not liking the book.
Fourth, I was surprised that this author, a former clergyman decided to write from a female's first person perspective. Did that throw me off? Could a male really get inside a woman's head?
Fifth, I found the wealthy aristocratic characters to be too rigid, too gossipy, too detailed, too long-winded in philosophical thought for my liking. I even tired of the protagonist. And yes, it was a book of the times when wealthy men were considered powerful and women were considered to be ornaments with little brains.
So, even though this book did not appeal to me, it would most likely be of interest to those readers who are interested in Canadian Studies or for those who like historical fiction or romance novels.
Life is too short to be reading about people who seem to be wandering aimless in spacious homes. Too much drama and not enough valuable insight in how to make the world a better place. Perhaps that is the morale of the book. Do something meaningful for a change.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review