The Golden Grasshopper, originally The Royal Merchant

The Golden Grasshopper, originally The Royal Merchant

Author: W.H.G. Kingston (1814-1880)

Year: 1880

This book was originally published in 1870, under the title of "The Royal Merchant". As there were sundry things that needed changing, the book was edited and re-issued under the title of "The Golden Grasshopper". Kingston, the author was in the last few months of his life while this was being done, so the work was done by some of his various ghosts, but with Kingston's approval. The tale is told through the eyes of a Dutch boy, Ernst Verner, whose parents had been put to death in Holland for their Protestant faith. It was a difficult time in England, for, between the Protestant sovereigns, Edward the Sixth, and Elizabeth, there were a few years under the Catholic Queen, Mary, during which very many people were put to death for their Protestantism. Most people did their best to pay lip service to whoever was the current ruler, while keeping their own beliefs to themselves. The boy, Ernst has a recommendation to the great Sir Thomas Gresham, a merchant so important at the time that many of his initiatives persist to this day. He is sent to Saint Paul's School, which still exists, though not now in the centre of the City of London. He makes friends with another boy, A'Dale. From here