Thrown back in time from the mid-twentieth to the fourteenth centuries, English schoolboy Peter Staunton becomes Peter de Blois, eldest son and heir of Sir Roger de Blois, the lord of Carreg Cennan Castle, and one of the South Wales Marcher Lords who occupied that country after the Norman conquest. Soon deeply enmeshed in the life around him, Peter learns many things about medieval life, from the duties expected of him as a page to the art of falconry, the life of the Cistercian monks at nearby Valle Crucis Abbey to the finer points of jousting. When the native Welsh rise up in rebellion, he is in the thick of things, and his acts of bravery turn the tide of the battle...

Originally published in 1951, The Gauntlet was one of Ronald Welch's first books for children, written before he began his marvelous Carey Family series, which chronicles the adventures of members of the same landed Welsh family through many centuries of history. In many ways, I think it shows the author finding his feet, in terms of writing historical fiction for children. I enjoyed the story immensely, and think I would have really loved the book as a child reader, although the author's didactic purpose, when it comes to teaching young readers about various aspects of medieval life, does come through. This is natural of course, as Welch was also a history teacher, and the headmaster of a boys' school, and it didn't particularly bother me, as I took the "infodump" aspect of the narrative as a natural outgrowth of Peter's own unfamiliarity with the information in question.

My main critique of the book would be that I thought there was a missed opportunity to give the narrative a deeper emotional resonance, by creating a relationship between Peter and Glyndwr Llewellyn, the son of the local Welsh lord, and an unwilling page at Carreg Cennan. I was rather surprised that this didn't happen, as I was expecting something of the sort: a friendship that must be cut off when the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. But then, perhaps doing this would have distracted from Welch's purpose in writing the story: namely, informing young readers about medieval life. I did find Glyndwr's name interesting, as it immediately reminded me of Owain Glyndŵr, the great Welsh prince who led a revolt against the Norman/English during this same period. It's hard not to think that that choice was deliberate, on the author's part.

In any case, despite not being the equal of Welch's later books, this is one I would recommend to young readers who enjoy historical fiction and/or time-slip stories. ( )

I remember reading this aged about 10, though all that had stayed with me was Peter's scary climb down the castle wall. It's basically a boys' adventure story written by an ex-soldier who clearly loved action. He was also a teacher, and I can see now what probably escaped me then: it's very educational! Its charm lies in the loving descriptions of life in a castle (and a monastery), and Peter's growing love for his medieval family. I couldn't help getting caught up in the excitement of the siege, even though my sympathies were definitely with the Welsh, who after all were trying to throw out a hated invader (this issue simply doesn't seem to exist for Welch though).

This is a Medieval historical novel published in 1951 and, I realised once I started it, aimed at intelligent children rather than adult readers. A teenage boy (how earnest and sober-minded such teenage boys are in fiction written in that era!) Peter Staunton, finds a Medieval gauntlet on a Welsh mountainside that has the power to transport its wearer back to 14th century Wales. Later, he falls asleep in the ruins of a Welsh castle and wakes up during that era, where is taken for one of his ancestors, Peter de Blois, son of the local Norman knight who is fighting Welsh insurgents. He has various adventures, and a lot of educational information is imparted to the reader about Medieval life and customs, castles, armour, heraldry, clothes and monastic life. As a straight novel, it is very average, but it gets a decent rating for its worthy intent. ( )