The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince of Wales, Edward Tudor, was thrown to a filthy drunken mob, by his own guards. Beaten, starved, chased by dogs, forced to beg and steal, while even the prince's one friend, adventurer Miles Hendon, thought the boy was only a demented beggar. The beggar, Tom Canty was thrust into an alien life of protocol, ritual, and diplomacy. He, too, was thought mad, for suddenly "forgetting" classical languages, courtly manners and his role in world destiny. The beggar began to realize-with growing terror-that he was expected to rule, wage war and send people to their deaths. Then King Henry VIII died, and unless two "mad" boys could convince someone of the truth, their fates would be sealed forever. By a crown. Recommended for grade 10. 2007. 202 pp.