GR Haggard, "The Daughter of Montezuma": a summary

In this article we will talk about the famous work of Henry R. Haggard "The Daughter of Montezuma." The summary will be the central object of our attention.

About the work

Was written in 1893, the historical novel "The Daughter of Montezuma." The description can be made in several sentences - it covers the events that took place during the conquest of Mexico by Cortés in the 16th century.

The narrator is an Englishman named Thomas Wingfield, who was part of the expedition that went to New Spain. Here he opens the world of the Aztec tribes.

"The daughter of Montezuma": a summary of the book

The father of the narrator, a nobleman by birth, took as his wife the Spanish noblewoman Luis de Garcia, who after the wedding took him to England, although the girl's family was against it. Twenty years have passed, and the former groom and cousin Luisa are coming to England. Juan meets her lover near the estate of her husband and offers to run with him. When a woman refuses, he kills her. Dying, Louis promises that her son will avenge Juan for her.

Later, Huang accidentally meets with Thomas Wingfield, the youngest son of Luis, and, remembering the prediction of the dying, decides to kill him. Thomas overcomes the Spaniard, binds to the tree and leaves, because he does not yet know about the death of his mother. The young man goes on a date with Lily Bozard.

Juan manages to escape. And when it turns out who killed Louis, the father accuses Thomas of letting the killer escape. The son swears to his father that he will find a Spaniard and kill him. Thomas goes to Spain.

Seville

We continue to describe the events of the novel "The Daughter of Montezuma." The summary describes how Thomas arrives in Seville. Here he manages to get a job with Andres de Fonseca, who deals with various delicate problems and is aware of all the secrets of the city. Accidentally, Thomas meets on Juan Street. But their duel is interrupted when a city guard appears.

Soon Fonseka dies, bequeathing his entire fortune to Thomas. Money young man sends to England his beloved Lily, and he goes to America, where he ran Juan.

Swimming and meeting with the Aztecs

The ship of Thomas suffers a wreck, and the heroes with several survivors pick up the Spanish ship. By a strange coincidence, in one of the officers of the ship, Thomas finds out Juan de Garcia. According to the murderer's guilt, the hero is trapped in the hold, and when the epidemic begins, it is thrown overboard. Thomas manages to get into the barrel and swim to the shore, where the Indians found him. First they decide to bring the white man to the victim. But Prince Ciautemok, the nephew of Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, insisted that the prisoner should appear before the king.

During the trip to the city of Tenochtitlan the hero manages to learn the language of the Aztecs and to make friends with the Prince. In the palace, Thomas met with the daughter of Montezuma Otomie. The fate of the hero is decided by the priests - he must represent God Tezcatlipoca for a year, and then he will be sacrificed. According to the ritual, Otomi becomes his wife.

At this time in the Aztec possessions invades Cortez. The sacrifice begins. Otomie decides to share the fate of her husband. At the last moment, the ritual is interrupted by the conquistadors who burst into the sanctuary. Thomas gets to the Aztecs, now they take him as an equal, because again you can not sacrifice.

The fall of Tenochtitlan

Follows Thomas by the daughter of Montezuma. The summary describes how, after the death of the Aztec emperor , Kuautemoku became the ruler . Cortez forced to leave. Thomas and the Indians manage to get the gold of Montezuma and hide it from the Spaniards.

But soon, the hostile Aztec tribe of Indians joins the conquistadors, and they besiege Tenochtitlan. In the end, the city surrenders. Cortes gives Juan an order to torture Cuautemoc and Thomas until they tell where the treasures of Montezuma are hidden. But nothing can be learned. Mistress Cortez Indian Marina helps the hero and Otomie escape from captivity.

Decoupling

Very successfully the author manages to inscribe in the history of the event of the novel "The Daughter of Montezuma." The summary confirms how important Haggard was to demonstrate the historicity of the events described.

Otomie and Thomas find refuge in the town of Sosen Otomi people. For 20 years, the hero is the ruler of this tribe together with his wife. But the invasion of the Spaniards under the leadership of Bkrnal Diaz is changing everything. Enemies are besieging the city, among them, Thomas recognizes Juan.

Thomas declares that he is ready to surrender the city if his family and people save their lives. Juan kills his son Thomas, after that the old enemies again begin the duel on the top of the volcano. Thomas triumphs. Otomie, having lost her son, falls into grief and takes poison.

Thomas returns to England, where he is still waiting for Lily. Beloved marry. Years of quiet life pass, and already in his old age, Thomas decides to describe his life on paper.

Thus ends the work "The Daughter of Montezuma" (a summary of the chapters was described above).