Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "french"

Two Times a Traitor by Karen Bass

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Being uprooted from your home and moving to a new country can ruin your life. At least that’s how twelve-year-old Lazare Berenger sees it and he blames his dad for doing so without any discussion. They’ve been arguing now for seven months, but Laz wildly lashes out while vacationing in Halifax, Canada. Out of control he runs off to explore the Citadel alone and let his anger ebb. Deep inside a tunnel under the fort that an ancestor once guarded during the American Revolution, he trips, falls, and blacks out.

When Laz awakens and emerges from the tunnel, Halifax has disappeared. Instead of a fort, there are only silhouettes of old sailing ships and an English sentry pointing a long-barreled rifle at him. Laz assumes this is an elaborately staged trick of his father’s to make him cease rebelling and behave. During his confrontation with British Captain Elijah Hawkins, however, he painfully discovers this is not a charade. The year is 1745 and Captain Hawkins believes him to be a French spy, not only because of how Laz pronounces his name and his ability to speak both French and English, but also because he wears a St. Christopher’s medal – a decoration only a Catholic would wear and the English are not Papists.

Laz believes his medal holds the key to getting back home, but Hawkins confiscates it. If Laz’s purpose is to learn more about the upcoming invasion of Louisbourg and take that information back to the French, he will hang as a spy. But there is one way to earn Hawkins’ trust and regain his medal – sneak into the fortified city of Louisbourg, cause mischief, and return to the ship. On the journey closer to where he will disembark, he makes both friends and enemies, one of whom will do his utmost to kill Laz simply because he’s French.

Sneaking ashore where the French will easily find him, getting to Louisbourg, and convincing the French that the English plan to attack turns out to be more difficult than Laz imagines. Only one officer takes him seriously. Port Commander Pierre Morpain not only listens and asks questions, he provides Laz with food, a place to shelter, and new clothes. Laz becomes his confidential messenger – a job that teaches him how to get around and introduces him to many citizens and soldiers. Before long, he can come and go as he pleases without arousing anyone’s curiosity. But the longer he’s among the French, the more he feels like he’s found a new home among friends the harder it becomes to betray them and Morpain, who treats him like a son.

Two Times a Traitor is a riveting time-slip adventure. From first page to last you are caught in the vortex that whisks him from the present back to the past. When the sword slices his hand or musket balls whiz by, you feel and hear both. His emotions become yours as he wends his way through dangerous actions and foreign places where he doesn’t know the rules, yet his life depends on knowing them. Bass vividly recreates past places and times and her characters, both good and bad, compel you to discover how Laz resolves the conflicts he faces as he matures from an immature youth to a teenager wise beyond his years. Beware: Putting the book down is near impossible. Nor is this book just for older children and young adults; adults will equally be enthralled with this historical novel that explores a period in Canadian history of which few Americans are aware. Once you begin to read, you soon discover why this highly recommended book was chosen as a 2017 Junior Library Guild selection and one of the Best Books for Kids & Teens for 2017.




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The Admiral's Pursuit by Lyle Garford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Shortly after crowning himself emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte devises a plan. Not trusting his naval advisers to oversee its deployment, he sends orders to several of his admirals, telling each only what they need to know to carry out single stages of his strategy – a plan to which no one else is privy. He, the most powerful man in the world, is determined to finally bring about the demise of his nemesis, the British, and particularly the Royal Navy.

Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, who commands the British naval forces in the Mediterranean, is beyond frustrated. Two days ago, the French navy broke through the blockade of Toulon and vanished in foul weather. Determined to break them once and for all, he must pursue them, but where? The list of possibilities – Egypt, Portugal, the Caribbean, the English Channel – precludes venturing off in any direction without some clue as to their destination. Yet no one has seen even one of their ships.

Like his English counterpart, Rear Admiral Edouard Burguês le Comte de Missiessy is frustrated. He commands a French squadron of ships, but his orders are vague and the ultimate goal remains unknown. He receives three sealed envelopes containing his emperor’s commands, but he can only open each at a specific time and place. The first tells him to sail from Rochefort, France to Spain where he is to take aboard a large contingent of soldiers. No reason is given. Nor do the contents of the second envelope provide enlightenment. They simply provide him with his next destination and a warning not to open the third envelope until after he arrives there.

Admiral Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve is unhappy and troubled. His orders tell him to break through the British blockade, but the storm that permits him to accomplish this feat damages his ships so much that they must return to Toulon for repairs. Escaping the blockade a second time will not be so easy, but his emperor’s orders give him little choice in the matter. Unlike previous orders, these are strangely silent on why. Does this mean Napoleon no longer trusts him? Or is someone setting him up to fail? The answers are not forthcoming, and all he can do is obey.

Best friends and fellow spies, Captain Evan Ross and Commander James Wilton are desperate to capture Hubert Montdenoix, their archrival in the Caribbean, who time and again has been a thorn in their sides. They finally have that chance on St. Lucia, but the firing of a cannon alerts the French spy and he escapes, even though the lookout’s signal could not have been a warning about Evan and James’s carefully laid snare. Evan has the unsettling feeling that some other danger is afoot and it isn’t long before he discovers what it is. He is also certain that Montdenoix is behind the many rumors that keep him from pinpointing exactly where the danger lies. This makes it doubly important that he and James bring an end to this man’s interference as soon as possible.

This last entry in the Evan Ross series takes place between December 1804 and November 1805, and provides an account of the Royal Navy’s chase of the French fleet from Europe to the Caribbean. Garford does a commendable job showing the various commanders’ frustration at being hampered by orders and lack of knowledge, while making this sometimes muddy episode in naval warfare crystal clear. Evan and James meet new comrades in arms, such as Admiral Alexander Cochrane, and renew old acquaintances. Horatio Nelson devised the plan that allowed both Evan and James to remain and excel in the navy in spite of their disabilities. In addition to a tale of the chase that precedes the Battle of Trafalgar, it also recounts a little-known episode in naval history about HMS Diamond Rock, the only rock to be commissioned as a sloop of war in British naval history. The Admiral’s Pursuit is a fitting conclusion to this series, and while Evan and James will be missed, readers will find the ending satisfying, surprising, and emotional.




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Tyranny's Bloody Standard: An epic Napoleonic naval adventure by J. D. Davies

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In February 1794, Philippe Kermorvant and some of his men escape from the English prison hulk where they are imprisoned with the help of an American. Once back on French soil, Philippe is given command of Le Torrington, whose slowness earns the thirty-eight-gun ship the nickname of English Tortoise. It takes luck and ingenuity to elude a British warship hunting them, and while they succeed, they and the rest of the French fleet end up blockaded within the port of Île Sainte-Marguerite.

Orders arrive summoning Philippe away from his ship to a rendezvous at an inland tavern. There, he meets with a general who advises him that he is to accompany an emissary to Corsica. The purpose is to gain permission for the French navy to use the island as their base of operation in the Mediterranean, and the man Philippe is to meet, General Leandre, has personally requested him. Equally surprising is the emissary, a young woman who seems an odd choice to carry out this mission. What perplexes Philippe is why he has been tasked with this assignment and why would anyone want the bones of Christopher Columbus?

Meanwhile, back in England, spymaster Lord Wilden is perturbed that his French-American cousin, Philippe Kermorvant refused his overture to spy for the British. A mob rioting for fair wages attacks Wilden’s coach and kills his driver. He blames the French for the attack because their Jacobin ideas are infecting Englishmen. He vows to make the enemy pay, and to that end, he sets in motion a collision between his cousin and the man who slew Philippe’s wife and son.

Thibauld de la Porte is a young aspirant aboard Philippe’s ship. He comes from a family whose men have long fought in the army, but he chooses to follow a different path and enlisted in the navy. He pens letters to convince his father that he has made the right decision. Initially, he is pleased to be aboard Le Torrington, but little incidents make him think that perhaps his enigmatic captain may be the British mole within the Marine Nationale. When an incident involving the Knights of Saint John on Malta embarrasses the young midshipman, he also blames the captain for his disgrace and wants vengeance.

Tyranny’s Bloody Standard focuses on a little-known period of history when King George III of Britain also ruled Corsica. Some readers may find there’s a bit too much rehashing of past events in this second book in the Philippe Kermorvant Thrillers, but Davies spins a tale of intrigue, superstition, murder, and vendettas that introduces readers to a young Horatio Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte. (Neither man is mentioned by name, but their descriptions leave little doubt as to each man’s identity.) A fair portion of this tale takes place on land rather than at sea, which is inevitable since it unfolds principally from a French perspective and the French fleet spends much of the war with England penned up in port because of the Royal Navy’s blockade. A riveting duel at sea does take place between Le Torrington and an Italian warship during a gale that keeps readers guessing and on the edge of their seats. Equally compelling are witnessing the psychological effect cowardly behavior has on someone and the inability to come to the aid of a merchant vessel attacked by Algerine corsairs because France and Algiers are at peace.


(This review was originally published at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/JDDavies.h...)




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Token of Betrayal by C.V. Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jersey seems like a haven from the turmoil of war until an insider permits the French to seize the island fortress one night in 1461. Sir Philippe de Carteret sends word to the newly crowned English king, but he is too busy dealing with internal and external disputes to lend assistance, and Warwick, Lord of the Channel Islands, ignores all missives. To protect family and tenants, de Carteret pays homage to his new overlord while biding his time. Not everyone is willing to wait. While the French terrorize the islanders, another seigneur and a minister plot to drive away the French. It takes only the claims of a stranger to light their fuse.

Neither child nor adult, de Carteret’s nine-year-old son, also Philippe, finds life exceedingly frustrating. He forms an attachment to his new tutor, who came to Jersey after the House of York dethroned the House of Lancaster. When pirates attack one night, Philippe saves his tutor’s life but doesn’t fully comprehend her sufferings. Nor does he understand a fortuneteller’s prediction or his surreptitious visit to the French dungeons; both become haunting memories.

This first book in the Roses & Rebels series is a fictional rendering of France’s medieval invasion of the Channel Island and the resultant events, as well as a coming-of-age tale seen from the perspectives of father and son over nine years. Occasional word choices pull readers from the story, and one incident in an inn seems a bit contrived. Overall, Token of Betrayal is an interesting read depicting the Wars of the Roses from an unusual angle. The themes of growing up, loyalty, and the effects of war on regular people have relevance to readers today.


(This review originally appeared in Historical Novels Review: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/re...)



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