King of the Wind

Agba and Sham are uprooted numerous times throughout the novel, and their struggle to find a place they belong is but one of the many hardships they endure. King of the Wind is a continent-crossing underdog story, allowing Henry to examine the theme of perseverance through displacement and adversity.

After their departure from the sultan’s stables in Morocco, Agba and Sham experience years of displacement. During their time in Europe, the stableboy faces language barriers, isolation, and xenophobia. He’s the only person of color and the only Muslim character for much of the story, and some of the European characters exhibit a demeaning attitude toward other cultures. For example, Monsieur le duc shows prejudice when he quickly dismisses the assertion that the Arabian stallions could improve European horse breeding: “I trust you will send these old sand sifters back to the desert where they belong” (73). This moment reflects the novel’s broader interest in how cultural gifts are often dismissed before their value is understood, highlighting how misunderstanding and prejudice distort cross-cultural exchange. Agba and Sham’s time in difficult environments, such as the wood carter’s shed and the marsh of Wicken Fen, add to the emotional impact when the earl finally gives them a home where Sham is appreciated: “Godolphin means God’s Downs. […] And here, on God’s Downs, your Arabian will live out his days” (153). Although their journey toward acceptance is a long and arduous one, Agba and Sham never lose hope.

Throughout the novel, the boy and his horse respond to adversity with a determination to endure and a zeal for life. Agba faces many forms of adversity. He is enslaved at the start of the story, and he continues to experience abuse and neglect as a child laborer even after leaving the sultan’s palace. Likewise, Sham is an underdog due to factors like his mother’s death and the many times that his exceptional qualities are overlooked and he is consigned to physical labor. The horse’s perseverance inspires some of the novel’s characters, including the Parisians in this excerpt: “The people in the market place stood in open-mouthed wonder at the spirit of Sham. Secretly they admired the proud way he took the cook’s lashes” (78). Henry portrays such moments not as acceptance but as fleeting glimpses of recognition, reminding readers how difficult it is for true worth to be acknowledged in a hostile environment. Agba and Sham also show tenacity by supporting one another and finding camaraderie and beauty even in an isolated marsh: “The wild creatures of Wicken Fen, however, accepted Sham and Agba and Grimalkin” (147). No matter the hardships they face, Agba and Sham help one another press onward.

The novel’s happy ending teaches that perseverance pays off. Agba and Sham are but “skin and bones” when they arrive in Europe (67), but they ultimately earn the praise of the king and queen of England like “a fairy tale come true” (170). Over the course of their transformative journey, the pair gain fast friends and defy their detractors: “Would not the carter of Paris and the King’s cook and the mistress of the Red Lion have laughed in scorn at the idea of Sham’s attaining such fame?” (171). The Epilogue extols the Godolphin Arabian’s name and says that his “blood reigns” in “almost every superior Thoroughbred” centuries after his death (172). The horse’s enduring historical legacy speaks to the importance of perseverance through displacement and adversity.