Prenez Garde
Encyclopedia
Prenez Garde is a novel by Terence de Vere White
.
Prenez Garde is about a nine-year-old boy who lives in a middle-class Irish
family. However, due to the conflict throughout Ireland
, life is not as simple as it once was. He is an only child and has a fetish for older woman. His parents worry about their boy being exposed to the outside world and so he has never been to school and learns from a beautiful, if not fully qualified, governess
. Of course, living where they do at the time, makes it difficult for them to protect him from talk of the IRA
and the Black and Tans
. So, in an effort to avoid this talk whenever they discuss such matters, they lapse into French
. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work and in the boy's desire to learn more, he ends up in relying more and more on unreliable and dangerous sources.
The author uses a child to make the message of the book stronger.
Terence de Vere White
Terence de Vere White was an Irish writer, lawyer and editor.Born in Dublin, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin where he qualified as a solicitor and became a partner in a leading Dublin law firm. He gave up law when he became the literary editor of The Irish Times from 1961 to 1977...
.
Prenez Garde is about a nine-year-old boy who lives in a middle-class Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
family. However, due to the conflict throughout Ireland
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, life is not as simple as it once was. He is an only child and has a fetish for older woman. His parents worry about their boy being exposed to the outside world and so he has never been to school and learns from a beautiful, if not fully qualified, governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
. Of course, living where they do at the time, makes it difficult for them to protect him from talk of the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and the Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
. So, in an effort to avoid this talk whenever they discuss such matters, they lapse into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work and in the boy's desire to learn more, he ends up in relying more and more on unreliable and dangerous sources.
The author uses a child to make the message of the book stronger.