Rafael Sabatini (1875 - 1950) was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure. At a young age, Rafael was exposed to many languages. By the time he was seventeen, he was the master of five languages. He quickly added a sixth language - English - to his linguistic collection. After a brief stint in the business world, Sabatini went to work as a writer. He wrote short stories in the 1890s, and his first novel came out in 1902. Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book approximately every year. He consciously chose to write in his adopted language, because, he said, "all the best stories are written in English. " In all, he produced thirty one novels, eight short story collections, six nonfiction books, numerous uncollected short stories, and a play. He is best known for his world-wide bestsellers: The Sea Hawk (1915), Scaramouche (1921), Captain Blood (1922) and Bellarion the Fortunate (1926). Other famous works by Sabatini are The Lion's Skin (1911), The Strolling Saint (1913) and The Snare (1917).
I love this heroine. She responds to a villain's cruelty by taking his sword and beating him with it. You gotta love that spirit!
The rest of the story is quite enjoyable, as is generally the case for me with Sabatini novels. The bastard son of a nobleman has been raised to avenge his cast-off mother's death. The problem is that our hero has too much decency to follow through once he has met his real father. Not that the father is very admirable, but this guy is just that decent. It is a fun story with plenty of nobility, sword fighting, and English history.
Opening lines: Mr. Caryll, lately from Rome, stood by the window, looking out over the rainswept, steaming quays to Notre Dame on the island yonder. Overhead rolled and crackled the artillery of an April thunderstorm, and Mr. Caryll, looking out upon Paris in her shroud of rain, under her pall of thundercloud, felt himself at harmony with Nature. Over his heart, too, the gloom of storm was lowering, just as in his heart it was still little more than April time.
Free download available at .
4* Scaramouche 4* The Sea-Hawk 3* The Sword of Islam 3* The Red Mask 2* The Curate and the Actress 4* Love-at-Arms 4* Casanova's Alibi and Other Stories 3* The Lion's Skin TBR Captain Blood TBR Captain Blood Returns TBR The Fortunes of Captain Blood
Justin Caryll, after being raised by a vengeful guardian, travels to England to destroy his birth father for the crime of dishonoring and abandoning his late mother.
This is one of my favorite Sabatini books yet. It may be because of my growing addiction to his style, but it's also partly because the female lead in this book is better than I'd expected.
When we first meet Hortensia, she responds to a cruel trick by beating a villain with his own sword. It's awesome. Justin's mixed feelings on what to do about his absent father are still the main focus of the novel, but it's nice to see him falling for a woman that's worth his time.
The story has plenty of excitement, including some interesting social maneuvering and a first-rate duel scene. The twist at the end is predictable, but Justin reveals his newly-discovered information in such an entertaining way that having my suspicions confirmed just made me feel like I was in on the joke.
Sabatini's heroes are so quick-witted and hilariously sarcastic. He's at ease in virtually every situation but his love life. And it NEVER gets old. The historical accuracy of a time period in which kings are in exile, rebellions are beginning, and loyalties are being questioned--how easily a tale of vengeance can unravel. But it's more complicated than that. It's how Sabatini likes it. And it's how I like it. This man is one of the most entertaining historical authors in the history of the genre. I love him to death. And I can't wait to read more.
What a marvelous novel about love, loyalty, honor and family with healthy doses of betrayal and subterfuge. What's best about this novel, is Rafael Sabatini's fantastic ability to build suspense in nearly every single chapter. This book is well worth your time.
I really enjoy Sabatini's works. This is another classic tale of revenge, but with a different premise than Sabatini's other works in the vein.
Here, a young man has been raised by a benefactor to avenge his mother's abandonment and death cause by his father. The young man never even knew his father, nor the father that he had a son. When the young man goes to do the deed, he meets not only his father but his half brother. This humanizes his father to him and he struggles with the idea of patricide and fratricide.
Sabatini weaves an intriguing tale! The resolution of the conflicts created in the story are satisfactory.
Another enjoyable Sabatini. Set in England and France around the year 1720, after the 鈥淪outh Sea Bubble鈥� economic crash and in the midst of Jacobite plots to restore 鈥淥ld Pretender鈥� James Stuart to the throne, this story is nevertheless a mostly personal tale of vengeance and, of course, romance. There鈥檚 a lot of excellent wit and humor as well, and the requisite Sabatini novel swordfight. Hortensia, the lovely lady of the story, also memorably whips one of the villains with his own sword in what is now one of my favorite Sabatini scenes. And of course, as always, the prose is a delight.
Justin Caryll is a young man of means, thanks to his adopted father Sir Richard Everard, and also an instrument of destiny. His ultimate goal has been, at the behest of Sir Richard, to wreck vengeance on his biological father, the Earl of Ostermore, for the cruel abandonment of his mother and her untimely death. Against this fraught backdrop, he finds love in the form of the Earl鈥檚 ward, Mistress Hortensia Winthrop, and some resolution of his relationship not only with Earl who is not quite the dastard he had supposed, also with his half-brother Charles, a rake-hell member of the Hellfire Club and an avowed enemy. The turning of the tables at the end may not be unexpected but is satisfying nonetheless.
I enjoyed this novel very much but, then I love Sabatini. In a way this book does read like a protype for Scarmouche as you can see the beinging of ideas will become more developed in Scarmouche. I enjoyed the way the plot worked out and it did keep me guessing. The scence of the wedding near the begining of the book was vintage Sabatini with lots of funny smart lines.
Plot: Basically Justin of France is being sent to England to get revenage on his natural father who abandon his mother. His father doesn't know he exists.
The only quibble I could mention is tht Sabatini uses the phrase "what the" too much but, otherwise the book is an excellent choice for Swashbuckler fans.
English was has second or third language, but wow does he have a good grip of it! One of the most beautifully written books that I have read in a long time.
Not as good as Captain Blood, but I really liked this story. Of course, I have liked every one of Sabatini鈥檚 books I have read. I like the style and the humor.
Entertaining. Typical Sabatini hero is sharp witted and sharp tongued. Wins the girl and the money. Not better then Captain Blood, Scaramouche, or Sea Hawk, but not much worse either.