Britfield & the Lost Crown: An Adventure Novel That Integrates English History

My family has been enjoying an adventure novel which includes lots of English history. We received a copy of the book Britfield & the Lost Crown as part of the Homeschool Review Crew. As always, all opinions are our own.

Adventure stories with an air of mystery are always fun to read. Knowing how much my boys and I enjoy this type of story had me willing to tackle Britfield & the Lost Crown for review. The timing was perfect as we would be between school years for our main curriculum but seeking something to fill some of our days. And I absolutely adore just about anything to do with the United Kingdom.

Image by Obsidain Photography from Pixabay

About Britfield & the Lost Crown

Britfield & the Lost Crown is the first book in a series of five planned and written by C.R. Stewart. Set in the United Kingdom, the story the integrates British culture and history. Some may say this is more of a movement than just a story.

So far it has been met with much applause and managed to garner awards and other recognition since it was published.

The story centers around two twelve-year-old orphans who are best friends: Tom & Sarah. You meet them at Weatherly, a rather vile orphanage in Yorkshire. It is government-funded but privately run by the Greviouses. This couple pockets most of the money and then uses equally evil employees to enslave the orphans for their own financial gain. Of particular disdain by the orphans is the main caretaker, Mr. Speckle. 

After a midnight run to acquire illegal goods ( a book to read), Tom is given a surprising revelation by Mr. Grevious regarding his parents. This mention is done as a ploy to make Tom an informant about what happens when the Deviants (orphanage operators) aren’t looking. He has no intention of talking but then is backed into a corner when Sarah is locked up in an attic for 30 days of solitude.  Rather than succumb to their demands, Tom receives help from all the orphans to plan and execute a daring escape.

The escape sets in motion a serious of twists and turns as Tom and Sarah are continually chased by Detective Gowerstone. Along the way, they meet a few individuals who help them and one who goes from friend to foe.

Coupled with their need to stay free is Tom’s desire to learn more about his family. Armed with one word from Mr. Grevious’ secret file, Britfield, he does his best to find clues. Only that might be putting him in more danger.

 

The book is available in all formats including Softcover, Hardcover, Audiobook, and Ebook.

Study Guide for Educators

At the moment, you can get a copy of the Britfield & the Lost Crown study guide written for educators complimentary on their website. In the 83 pages of content, the pdf file contains vocabulary exploration, comprehension questions, digging deeper into concepts, and then suggestions for additional research.

While the comprehension section are mostly open-ended questions, the approach to vocabulary exploration changes. For one chapter grouping, the student picks the synonym of the highlighted word. Then for another one, they define the word as they understand it before looking at the official definition in a dictionary.

Places Visited During the story include:

Yorkshire
The Midlands
Oxford
Windsor
Richmond
London
Canterbury

Our Thoughts on Britfield & the Lost Crown

Since we have been using the study guide as we walk through the book, my boys have not finished the story yet. We still have several chapters to get us through until we reach Alaska and start the new school year.

I’ve done this as a read-aloud. The audiobook files for the first 2 chapters are available free on the Britfield Institute website where the study guide is housed. So, we began with that. Then I switched to reading to them.

While my 9-year-old is my dedicated primary audience, other family members have listened in on the story.

My youngest son enjoys hearing the twists and turns of Tom & Sarah’s adventures, especially when they thwart the adults trying to catch them. He has a fondness for the orphans and a strong dislike of the Deviants.

You can read this just for pure enjoyment. However, I am really enjoying the ability to dig a bit deeper with the study guide. 

My youngest has a rather decent vocabulary but found that some of the words highlighted in the guide eluded him. The older boys would then try to explain through context what those words meant. His favorite explanation was when my 19-year-old showed him a grimace. Definitely an a-ha moment for him and a way to etch it into memory.

Final Thoughts on Britfield & the Lost Crown

Overall, this has been an enjoyable book thus far. With the Study Guide, it becomes an entire unit study when you begin exploring more about the people and places mentioned in the text. The Britfield website offers a lot of background information and maps to launch those studies.

 

Does your family enjoy adventure stories read aloud?
Would Britfield & the Lost Crown appeal to them?

 

Don’t just take my word for how we found this to be. Visit the Britfield & the Lost Crown review post on the Homeschool Review Crew website to see what other homeschooling parents thought about this book.