Bretwalda, Part 10

 

cover art by Rudolph Belarski

Read/Watch 'em In Order #145

"Farewell, England," published in the October 14, 1939 issue of Argosy, is arguably Philip Ketchum's finest entry in the Bretwalda series.

It's the 10th in the series and we've reached the year 1649. David Wilton, the current owner of the axe Bretwalda, is fighting for Oliver Cromwell. The current objective of Cromwell's army is capturing the Irish town of Drogheda, which is harboring Royalists.

But for David, there's more to it than that. One of those Royalists is Sir George Huntley. Sir George's beautiful daughter Barbara is almost certainly with him. And, despite their political differences, David has a serious thing for Barbara.

Cromwell has declared No Quarter, so all Royalists are to be killed when the town is captured. In theory, this refers just to combatants--no women and children. But Colonel Brand, Cromwell's man in charge of such things, has a bad habit of just killing everyone. 

Cromwell, by the way, considers David to be his best officer. We've reached an era of muskets and artillery, but after the muskets are empty, the fighting becomes hand-to-hand. David's ancient battleaxe is still proving to be an awesome weapon.

David, in turn, sees Cromwell as a man who sincerely wants to overthrow tyranny and establish a government that really cares for the people. Barbara, by the way, sees Cromwell as a ruthless murderer. It is made clear to us that both points-of-view have legitimacy. 

What follows is a story that, as it typical of the series, is exciting and punctuated by superbly written action scenes. But the meat of the story revolves around the theme of loyalty. That loyalty to one's country or an important cause is certainly important, "Farewell, England" explores the idea that loyalty between individuals might be even more important. David protects Barbara and her father despite his established loyalty to Cromwell. A small cadre of his followers are in turn loyal to David--in a few cases, loyal unto death. This is despite their having good reason to hate Royalists. Even Cromwell might have to make a decision based on personal loyalty before the story ends. 

Where does one loyalties lie? "Farewell, England" makes a case that it exists most deeply between individuals and that perhaps that's as it should be. 

You can read this story online HERE.