The Jailer's Little Son by L.L. Weedon
Little Patricia, a knight's daughter, hides behind the arras while her mother's visitors discuss her father's imprisonment by Puritan foes after the war. Patricia asks her mother for the letter the visitors spoke of, one that could help her father escape, saying she will have Giles, the jailer's little boy, deliver it. She reveals she has secretly exchanged tokens with her father before, through Giles, including a small wooden horse he whittled in his cell. Giles is introduced as a cheerful, kind-hearted boy living within the prison, out of step with his father's stern Puritan associates, who has grown devoted to Patricia since she arrived. He contrives errands into the prisoners' quarters and occasionally gets brief unsupervised moments to pass whispered messages. On a June morning, Patricia goes to the green with only a servant boy attending her. She sends the boy off to retrieve a deliberately misdirected arrow, leaving her alone with Giles. She asks if he loves her and whether he would risk death for her, and he declares he would die for her gladly. She gives him the letter meant for her father, warning that discovery would mean death for both of them. Overcome, she embraces and kisses him before he carries the letter away. Years later, after King Charles the Second's restoration, a beautiful lady arrives by coach at the fortress town with her husband and parents, asking for Giles Dorman. Giles, now a grown man who has lived under suspicion since a prisoner's escape, appears. The lady is revealed as Patricia, who greets him warmly. Her father, the gray-haired gentleman, offers Giles the post of steward on his daughter's estate, citing his faithfulness. Giles accepts, pledging lifelong service to her.
By L.L. Weedon · First published 1913 · Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Children's Literature · 1,866 words
First lines
THE little child was quivering all over. Hidden behind the arras of the stately room where her sad-faced mother sat talking with sympathising friends, little Patricia was listening with eager ears to the earnest talk of the elders. The child knew that her father was in prison -- in the big prison which they could almost see from the windows of the house they had come to live in to be near him. A knight faithful to his King in the dreadful war only just ended, he was lying in prison, and every day they feared to hear that his life had been made forfeit. Every night little Patricia's pillow was wetted by her tears; every night and morning she added to her customary childish prayers a petition for her dear father's liberation. But she knew he was in the hands of stern political and Puritan foes, and that her mother's heart was very sore and heavy, and that the friends who came and went, and sought to comfort them, feared the worst themselves.
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Genres
- Historical Fiction — Set during the English Civil War and Restoration periods with explicit references to King Charles II and historical political conflict between Royalist and Puritan factions
- Romance — Central narrative arc follows the developing romantic love between Patricia and Giles from childhood through adulthood, culminating in their reunion and implied commitment
- Children's Literature — Features child protagonists as primary characters with accessible narrative voice and themes of courage, loyalty and virtue aimed at young readers
- Adventure — Plot driven by dangerous escape scheme involving letter smuggling with life-threatening consequences and suspenseful delivery through the prison
Tags
childhood love · English Civil War · Puritan England · 17th century · imprisonment · escape · secret letter · loyalty · sacrifice · courage · class differences · separation and reunion
What this Textopian page supports
The Jailer's Little Son is listed on Textopian as a short story by L.L. Weedon, dated 1913 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: L.L. Weedon
- Date: 1913 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Children's Literature, Adventure, Sentimental Fiction
- Length: 1,866 words
- Structure: 1 section, 42 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Jailer's Little Son by L.L. Weedon
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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