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Lord Ramage #7
Ramage's Diamond
The youngest captain in His Majesty's Navy, with a reputation for landing impossible assignments, Lord Ramage is dispatched to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Diamond Rock. The mission seems barricade the French within Fort Royal. But when he is sent to sea in the Juno with a crew grown restless and undisciplined under the prior command of a drunk, Ramage realizes his vessel may not be up to battle with the French.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
61 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Dudley Pope
130 books93 followersDudley Pope was born in Ashford, Kent.
By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.
After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.
Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.
Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.
Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.
By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.
After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.
Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.
Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.
Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 22, 2021
Book 7 in the series. I have read this one before but I am reading the entire series this time. Ramage and his crew are back in the Caribbean and he has made Captain. He has to whip his new crew into shape but he had his trusty Tritons with him. His job is to patrol and capture any conveys coming to reprovision the French. Needless to say he does it in his usual style. Am looking forward to the next 11 books.
November 17, 2013
After the disappointment that was the last volume in the series I had high hopes this book would again tie in with the fun and adventure of the earlier novels, seeing how in this installment of the series Ramage returns to sea.
And the book did start promising enough as Ramage leaves his family home to take command of his first frigate. Now, this should have been a big step for the series in many ways. So far, for 6 books, Ramage has remained a lieutenant, in command of very small vessels that didn't require another commissioned officer to serve under him. This in turn gave the series a chance to give a voice to a group of characters that are often sidelined in this type of naval fiction: the common seaman! Ramage's most important relationships in the previous books all had been with characters from a very different class than himself, which made the series pretty unique in its genre.
Now this was about to change. I had already guessed the page-time of the seaman characters we came to know in the previous books would probably get reduced. Only I didn't expect it to be so drastically reduced. The named, beloves seamen from the previous books hardly get a mention. Ramage, at one point even admits he can't even remember the name of the SINGLE ONE master'smate on board. Propably because the author didn't want to waste time coming up with a name for a character that never, ever shows up in person, and isn't mentioned again after a couple of hundred pages anyway. However it does make Ramage come off as rather callous. Not at all like the young lieutenant who cared about each of his seamen.
Yet, this alone shouldn't have hurt the book too much, since it also gave the reader the chance to watch how Ramage would deal with a slew of new characters, gentlemen like himself! A chance to watch him form whole new types of relationships with these new characters.
Unfortunately these new characters are about as lively and three-dimensional as roadkill. It's like Ramage and Southwick are the only two proper characers in this book, while 300 seamen and the new officers are simply set-dressing. The poor French lieutenant of the La Comète gets more characterisation in a single paragraph than Ramage's new officers throughout the whole novel. You would think there would have been room to shove in at least a couple of times in which Ramage has dinner with his officers and they engage in smalltalk just to show us, what kind of characters they are. But we get nothing. Shared meals and similar social situations are only mentioned in passing, in one half-sentence or other.
Instead the book is so in love with its protagonist that it hardly bothers characterising anybody else. We don't get to have a look into the minds of Aitken or Lacey unless it's show us how much they admire their captain. It's sad. The series went from a shallow, but fun adventure series about a lieutenant and a couple of quirky if somewhat naive seamen, to yet another novel about an infaillible sea captain and his admirers.
I am also not a fan of fictional characters not copying real life events too closely, but actually replacing the historic figues. Which is something that happened here with Ramage installing the gun batteries atop Diamond Rock, instead of Sir Samuel Hood.
Well, at least the attack on the convoy at the end was fun. Very much fun! Even if the amount of luck our heroes had in that one seems barely credible. But Pope just had a knack for writing sea action in a way that just draws you in, much more than any other writer I have yet read in this genre. This is even true of actions that appear a bit too outrageous if you think about them for too long, as is the case here with the action off Diamond Rock.
And the book did start promising enough as Ramage leaves his family home to take command of his first frigate. Now, this should have been a big step for the series in many ways. So far, for 6 books, Ramage has remained a lieutenant, in command of very small vessels that didn't require another commissioned officer to serve under him. This in turn gave the series a chance to give a voice to a group of characters that are often sidelined in this type of naval fiction: the common seaman! Ramage's most important relationships in the previous books all had been with characters from a very different class than himself, which made the series pretty unique in its genre.
Now this was about to change. I had already guessed the page-time of the seaman characters we came to know in the previous books would probably get reduced. Only I didn't expect it to be so drastically reduced. The named, beloves seamen from the previous books hardly get a mention. Ramage, at one point even admits he can't even remember the name of the SINGLE ONE master'smate on board. Propably because the author didn't want to waste time coming up with a name for a character that never, ever shows up in person, and isn't mentioned again after a couple of hundred pages anyway. However it does make Ramage come off as rather callous. Not at all like the young lieutenant who cared about each of his seamen.
Yet, this alone shouldn't have hurt the book too much, since it also gave the reader the chance to watch how Ramage would deal with a slew of new characters, gentlemen like himself! A chance to watch him form whole new types of relationships with these new characters.
Unfortunately these new characters are about as lively and three-dimensional as roadkill. It's like Ramage and Southwick are the only two proper characers in this book, while 300 seamen and the new officers are simply set-dressing. The poor French lieutenant of the La Comète gets more characterisation in a single paragraph than Ramage's new officers throughout the whole novel. You would think there would have been room to shove in at least a couple of times in which Ramage has dinner with his officers and they engage in smalltalk just to show us, what kind of characters they are. But we get nothing. Shared meals and similar social situations are only mentioned in passing, in one half-sentence or other.
Instead the book is so in love with its protagonist that it hardly bothers characterising anybody else. We don't get to have a look into the minds of Aitken or Lacey unless it's show us how much they admire their captain. It's sad. The series went from a shallow, but fun adventure series about a lieutenant and a couple of quirky if somewhat naive seamen, to yet another novel about an infaillible sea captain and his admirers.
I am also not a fan of fictional characters not copying real life events too closely, but actually replacing the historic figues. Which is something that happened here with Ramage installing the gun batteries atop Diamond Rock, instead of Sir Samuel Hood.
Well, at least the attack on the convoy at the end was fun. Very much fun! Even if the amount of luck our heroes had in that one seems barely credible. But Pope just had a knack for writing sea action in a way that just draws you in, much more than any other writer I have yet read in this genre. This is even true of actions that appear a bit too outrageous if you think about them for too long, as is the case here with the action off Diamond Rock.
May 5, 2012
The first of the Ramage books - all of which are exciting and well written. The Ramage series ranks 3rd with me behind Hornblower and Bolitho for age of sail excitement. Ramage is just a little too good and nothing is impossible..
July 3, 2019
I think this is my favourite ‘Ramage’ book even though some of his escapades are almost beyond belief, it is still ‘rip-roaring’ naval adventure at its best.
August 22, 2021
Ramage is fresh off his mission in France where he is sent to find information the the French invasion fleet. It was a different type of plot and the situation inside "Republican" France was interesting to read.
In this book he is promoted to post captain instante and sent off to the West Indies. The whole book is based on the HMS Diamond Rock, a real event where a high rocky outcrop off the coast of French held Martinique island was captured by the British. Guns are hoisted on top and they caused havoc to the shipping for 17th months until a big force of French was able to capture it back.
Spoilers ahead:
Quite well written and easy to read. I've been reading this series non-chronologically for some reason when it really should be read in order.
Summary: Ramage meets his commander in chief who is of an unknown quantity to us and him. He is sent off to blockade Port Royal in Martinique with the foremost order to prevent a convoy from reaching it. He replaces a brig(?) but I'm not sure how he was supposed to do all that with a single ship. I guess the admiral didn't really know or trust him at that point.
Anyway Ramage goes there, looks in the harbor, counts the ships and then patrols outside. During a moonless night the French send out two schooner privateers loaded with men to try and capture him. Ramage pretends not to notice, allows the schooners to go alongside him and then captures both ships instead.
He now sails back into Port Royal harbor with all 3 ships, pretending to have been captured. Instead he boards and captures a frigate that is almost ready to sail and sails out. Now he has 2 frigates and 2 schooners under his command. He also has information as when the convoy is supposed to come.
He sends one schooner back to Barbados with Lt. Baker with the news for Admiral Davis, hoping that Davis with come with his 74 and frigates in time to capture the convoy. Meanwhile, he is sailing around the cape off Grande Anse du Diamant and notices that if he put guns on the Diamond Rock, he could control the passage around the cape where the convoy would have to pass.
He manages to put two 12lb on top and 2 more guns on the rest of the rock and sets the trap. This part was rather long and I thought overly detailed but it must have been a masterful accomplishment and feat of skill for the men who did it historically (Commodore Sir Samuel Hood and his first Lt. James Wilkes Maurice).
Davis doesn't come but the convoy does. The convoy (4 frigates and 7 merchantmen) sails into the trap where the Diamond battery explodes one frigate with plunging fire and damages another killing the captain. Two more frigates run into each other and are sunk. All the merchantmen are captured. Because he doesn't have enough men to guard the French he sends them all on land and releases them on parole not to serve until exchanged.
Davis finally appears explaining that Lt. Baker's ship sank and it took him 4 days to row to Barbados in a boat where he and his crew is now recovering. Davis switches Ramage and all his men into the surviving French frigate because it is faster and has more guns than Juno for a new task. Apparently this task was in the original orders that Ramage had brought Davis but Davis gave it to the senior frigate captain Eames instead and Eames has failed so now Ramage gets the task, which I think was supposed to be his in the first place (alluded to in the last book). But Davis was pleased with Ramage's performance and now believes in him.
All in all, not a bad book. I thought the writing could have been tighter. The longer the book is, the slower the action is and there is plenty of filler here. Cutting out the fat would have made the book more exciting. There was one part however that was nice and it was a longish description of the journey and how beautiful the islands were and I actually quite enjoyed reading it. It does show that Pope has good writing skills.
Then there was a part that Pope likes to indulge in and that I don't like and that was a 5 page worship of Ramage by the first Lt. Aiken. It's the 7th book in the series, do we still need reminders that everyone on Earth loves Ramage? At least we don't get the long pages of dialog filler that Pope loves later in the series. It's ok for the book to be short. OK, now on to the next Ramage book.
In this book he is promoted to post captain instante and sent off to the West Indies. The whole book is based on the HMS Diamond Rock, a real event where a high rocky outcrop off the coast of French held Martinique island was captured by the British. Guns are hoisted on top and they caused havoc to the shipping for 17th months until a big force of French was able to capture it back.
Spoilers ahead:
Quite well written and easy to read. I've been reading this series non-chronologically for some reason when it really should be read in order.
Summary: Ramage meets his commander in chief who is of an unknown quantity to us and him. He is sent off to blockade Port Royal in Martinique with the foremost order to prevent a convoy from reaching it. He replaces a brig(?) but I'm not sure how he was supposed to do all that with a single ship. I guess the admiral didn't really know or trust him at that point.
Anyway Ramage goes there, looks in the harbor, counts the ships and then patrols outside. During a moonless night the French send out two schooner privateers loaded with men to try and capture him. Ramage pretends not to notice, allows the schooners to go alongside him and then captures both ships instead.
He now sails back into Port Royal harbor with all 3 ships, pretending to have been captured. Instead he boards and captures a frigate that is almost ready to sail and sails out. Now he has 2 frigates and 2 schooners under his command. He also has information as when the convoy is supposed to come.
He sends one schooner back to Barbados with Lt. Baker with the news for Admiral Davis, hoping that Davis with come with his 74 and frigates in time to capture the convoy. Meanwhile, he is sailing around the cape off Grande Anse du Diamant and notices that if he put guns on the Diamond Rock, he could control the passage around the cape where the convoy would have to pass.
He manages to put two 12lb on top and 2 more guns on the rest of the rock and sets the trap. This part was rather long and I thought overly detailed but it must have been a masterful accomplishment and feat of skill for the men who did it historically (Commodore Sir Samuel Hood and his first Lt. James Wilkes Maurice).
Davis doesn't come but the convoy does. The convoy (4 frigates and 7 merchantmen) sails into the trap where the Diamond battery explodes one frigate with plunging fire and damages another killing the captain. Two more frigates run into each other and are sunk. All the merchantmen are captured. Because he doesn't have enough men to guard the French he sends them all on land and releases them on parole not to serve until exchanged.
Davis finally appears explaining that Lt. Baker's ship sank and it took him 4 days to row to Barbados in a boat where he and his crew is now recovering. Davis switches Ramage and all his men into the surviving French frigate because it is faster and has more guns than Juno for a new task. Apparently this task was in the original orders that Ramage had brought Davis but Davis gave it to the senior frigate captain Eames instead and Eames has failed so now Ramage gets the task, which I think was supposed to be his in the first place (alluded to in the last book). But Davis was pleased with Ramage's performance and now believes in him.
All in all, not a bad book. I thought the writing could have been tighter. The longer the book is, the slower the action is and there is plenty of filler here. Cutting out the fat would have made the book more exciting. There was one part however that was nice and it was a longish description of the journey and how beautiful the islands were and I actually quite enjoyed reading it. It does show that Pope has good writing skills.
Then there was a part that Pope likes to indulge in and that I don't like and that was a 5 page worship of Ramage by the first Lt. Aiken. It's the 7th book in the series, do we still need reminders that everyone on Earth loves Ramage? At least we don't get the long pages of dialog filler that Pope loves later in the series. It's ok for the book to be short. OK, now on to the next Ramage book.
October 11, 2023
This is the seventh adventure of Lord Nicholas Ramage of the Royal Navy at the time of Napoleon. Britain is in the middle of its war with revolutionary France. Lieutenant Ramage ends his leave on the family estate in Cornwall. He is surprisingly called for a meeting in London with the First Sea Lord, Lord St. Vincent. He is promoted to Post Captain, also a surprise and given the fully crewed but undisciplined frigate, Juno, and an assignment to the Caribbean. He is to deliver an important message and orders for Admiral Davis, Naval Commander of the Windward and Leeward Islands. Ramage is told the Admiral has been given a special function, but he is not told what the special function is.
Admiral Davis gives the special function to one of his favorites and assigns Ramage to blockade the harbour at Fort Royal and the French fort St. Louis with his solitary frigate. Previous ships have sailed back and forth across the mouth of the bay and reported little activity. Ramage starts off with similar activity but decides to sail deep into the Port Royal harbour to find out what it hides. He finds a French frigate with sails and spars not mounted and another frigate ready to sail. He also finds ten schooners and a handful of droghers in water too shallow for the Juno.
The French do not like Ramage’s interest and make a daring and dangerous attempt to take the Juno, overnight, when the crew is asleep except for the few on watch. With surprise and cunning he defends his ship. From a prisoner, he learns of French expectations of a soon to arrive convoy and prepares plans of his own. He sends a message to the Admiral and spends a few days preparing the Juno for battle. When the convoy is spotted, the Juno finds seven French merchant ships with four French frigates for protection. Against this massive fleet, Ramage and the Juno are at serious risk of being overwhelmed. A major battle breaks out and Ramage springs a couple of surprises on the French in an attempt to disrupt the larger fleet and fight on his terms.
This was an excellent story. There is even a few pages and a diagram describing the technical aspects of Ramage’s plan. There is lots of battle and danger. Pope is adept at always ensuring a sense of dramatic tension. Four and a half stars.
Admiral Davis gives the special function to one of his favorites and assigns Ramage to blockade the harbour at Fort Royal and the French fort St. Louis with his solitary frigate. Previous ships have sailed back and forth across the mouth of the bay and reported little activity. Ramage starts off with similar activity but decides to sail deep into the Port Royal harbour to find out what it hides. He finds a French frigate with sails and spars not mounted and another frigate ready to sail. He also finds ten schooners and a handful of droghers in water too shallow for the Juno.
The French do not like Ramage’s interest and make a daring and dangerous attempt to take the Juno, overnight, when the crew is asleep except for the few on watch. With surprise and cunning he defends his ship. From a prisoner, he learns of French expectations of a soon to arrive convoy and prepares plans of his own. He sends a message to the Admiral and spends a few days preparing the Juno for battle. When the convoy is spotted, the Juno finds seven French merchant ships with four French frigates for protection. Against this massive fleet, Ramage and the Juno are at serious risk of being overwhelmed. A major battle breaks out and Ramage springs a couple of surprises on the French in an attempt to disrupt the larger fleet and fight on his terms.
This was an excellent story. There is even a few pages and a diagram describing the technical aspects of Ramage’s plan. There is lots of battle and danger. Pope is adept at always ensuring a sense of dramatic tension. Four and a half stars.
March 3, 2024
I liked this book a lot, and if you asked me three-quarters of the way through I would have leaned toward four stars. However, the ending left me cold. Ramage does seem to work his way out of nearly any situation, but this was frankly ridiculous.
The details on this installment:
Ship: HMS Juno (frigate)
Rank: finally a Post Captain
Love Interest: Marchesa
Crew: the core four are here, with the return of Southwick and Bowen. New adds of note are lieutenants Aitken and Wagstaffe, along with Midshipman Paolo (Marchesa’s nephew)
The details on this installment:
Ship: HMS Juno (frigate)
Rank: finally a Post Captain
Love Interest: Marchesa
Crew: the core four are here, with the return of Southwick and Bowen. New adds of note are lieutenants Aitken and Wagstaffe, along with Midshipman Paolo (Marchesa’s nephew)
October 11, 2020
Ah well, I love the Ramage series, but this one I found a little bit tedious.
Fans, pls. forgive me. Maybe it is due also to the narrator (Stephen Crossly) that I am not happy with the book. He has a certain reading pattern which is the same in every sentence. It got a bit on my nerves and distracted me from the story.
Fans, pls. forgive me. Maybe it is due also to the narrator (Stephen Crossly) that I am not happy with the book. He has a certain reading pattern which is the same in every sentence. It got a bit on my nerves and distracted me from the story.
October 25, 2020
Good, solid world of Hornblower tale of derring do in the Caribbean as our protagonist runs rings around those foolish yet honourable (not as honourable as us, mind) Frenchies. He's a bit too squeaky clean and perfect to rate 4*s but his world is brilliantly described and the tale sweeps along very satisfactorily. I'll keep an eye out for#8.
March 26, 2022
Another good Ramage book. Just made post captain after his mission to France. Ramage is sent to the Caribbean and ends up pulling picket duty outside Martinique. Put with a new ship despite several of his long term shipmates he has a limited time to whip them into shape to complete his mission.
June 9, 2017
I couldn't follow this very well, perhaps because I've been sick. I'm not too good with block & tackle, but according to the Postscript, "In 1804 Commodore Samuel Hood...reported to the Admiralty that he had taken possession of Diamond Rock...." So this is based on a historical occurrence.
February 24, 2019
I'm hooked on this series based on truth.Hood really did perform miraculous feat, haul cannon up Diamond Rock. Author Pope embues cast with hope and smarts to get the jobs done that Captain envisions.
December 12, 2020
A great tale. It seems fantastical, but it is based on a true story. You can tell that the author was a naval historian. Some probably find his occasional weaving of the specs on the ships and stores to be a bit tedious, but it really helps me visualize and understand the life a little better.
May 2, 2021
Ramage’s leadership qualities remind me of management challenges in my own career. I liked the comparison between a sea battle and a chess match. A map of the actual battle would have aided understanding. Look up Diamond Rock on Google before reading to get an idea of the locale.
July 10, 2022
great sea tale
Fun fast paced read best of the series yet. Though the idea that a new post captain, admonished by Nelson and St Vincent about obeying orders would risk 3 prizes in the way described. We’ll suspend your disbelief and have fun.
Fun fast paced read best of the series yet. Though the idea that a new post captain, admonished by Nelson and St Vincent about obeying orders would risk 3 prizes in the way described. We’ll suspend your disbelief and have fun.
October 7, 2019
Outstanding book, like all Ramage books.
I highly recommend all the Ramage books. This is the second time I’m reading the Ramage Series and happy that I am doing so.
I highly recommend all the Ramage books. This is the second time I’m reading the Ramage Series and happy that I am doing so.
November 24, 2019
Second time of reading and just as good as the first time some years ago. The author holds ones interest and his prose is a joy to read.
October 8, 2020
Full of the sea action I love. Extremely well written. One of the best so far in the series.
March 13, 2022
Back in a ship!
After the last novel I was hoping to get Ramage back onto the water… mission accomplished. This is a fine read and moves along nicely.
After the last novel I was hoping to get Ramage back onto the water… mission accomplished. This is a fine read and moves along nicely.
September 7, 2022
Another of Ramage’s Excellent Adventures!
Read
May 4, 2023Another fine addition to the series. Less Marchesa and old boys Triton camaraderie, which was refreshing.
January 3, 2020
In which the Lord Ramage as a reward and promotion to post csptain, is given a frigate and dispatched to the west Indies. There he is sent to blockade Martinique and in doing so seizes HMS Diamond Rock (aka Commodore Hood) and uses this to help capture/destroy four French frigates and a pack at merchantman, thereby making his new admiral a rich and happy man.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2010
This is number 7 in the Lord Ramage series of nautical novels by Dudley Pope, considered by many (including me) to be a suitable replacement to C. S. Forester. This is also another nautical series I am trying to read in order, somewhat unsuccessfully, I might add.
Ramage is now a post captain. He has been awarded the Juno, a ship whose previous captain had left in disgrace. Ramage must whip the crew into shape (which he does) and then take the ship to the Caribbean and the West Indies to blockade the French at Fort Royal on the island of Martinique. (Apparently, the actions of Ramage are based on the real-life exploits of Commodore Samuel Hood.) After cutting out two small French frigates from the port, Ramage, hearing that a large French naval convoy is soon due, decides to fortify a huge rock that commands the sea lane to the French island. Some of the most interesting detail concerns exactly how the huge guns from the Juno were taken off the ship and hauled up to the top of this rock, substantially higher than the masts of the ship. Much too heavy to be placed on the ship's small boats, the guns were hung in the water on poles between two of the boats to reduce their weight and then towed in this way closer to shore where they could be lofted by a complicated system of blocks and tackles.
The English had advance information of the French convoy of merchant ships and the approximate date when they were to arrive, but not how many escort vessels would accompany the convoy, so they were at considerable risk. Ramage/Hood was very short of men, but he stationed the Juno in such a way that it could not be seen by the approaching enemy, and then he used one of the little French ships he had captured previously to masquerade as a French schooner. At the right moment, with the assistance of a favorable breeze -- and the ineptitude of the French commodore -- he managed to separate the merchant ships from the escort. That two of the escorts ran into each other helped him immeasurably. These actions, coupled with the plunging fire from the batteries he had placed on Diamond Rock, decimated the escorts, which had vastly outnumbered him in men almost five to one.
Pope was apparently "anointed" by C.S. Forester as his successor, and his books do have the flavor of the Hornblower series. Of the many people writing excellent nautical historical fiction, Pope has recreated the atmosphere and style of Forester most similarly. Other wonderful authors are Dewey Lambdin, Patrick O’Brian, Richard Woodman, and recently James Nelson, who approaches the war from the American point of view.
Ramage is now a post captain. He has been awarded the Juno, a ship whose previous captain had left in disgrace. Ramage must whip the crew into shape (which he does) and then take the ship to the Caribbean and the West Indies to blockade the French at Fort Royal on the island of Martinique. (Apparently, the actions of Ramage are based on the real-life exploits of Commodore Samuel Hood.) After cutting out two small French frigates from the port, Ramage, hearing that a large French naval convoy is soon due, decides to fortify a huge rock that commands the sea lane to the French island. Some of the most interesting detail concerns exactly how the huge guns from the Juno were taken off the ship and hauled up to the top of this rock, substantially higher than the masts of the ship. Much too heavy to be placed on the ship's small boats, the guns were hung in the water on poles between two of the boats to reduce their weight and then towed in this way closer to shore where they could be lofted by a complicated system of blocks and tackles.
The English had advance information of the French convoy of merchant ships and the approximate date when they were to arrive, but not how many escort vessels would accompany the convoy, so they were at considerable risk. Ramage/Hood was very short of men, but he stationed the Juno in such a way that it could not be seen by the approaching enemy, and then he used one of the little French ships he had captured previously to masquerade as a French schooner. At the right moment, with the assistance of a favorable breeze -- and the ineptitude of the French commodore -- he managed to separate the merchant ships from the escort. That two of the escorts ran into each other helped him immeasurably. These actions, coupled with the plunging fire from the batteries he had placed on Diamond Rock, decimated the escorts, which had vastly outnumbered him in men almost five to one.
Pope was apparently "anointed" by C.S. Forester as his successor, and his books do have the flavor of the Hornblower series. Of the many people writing excellent nautical historical fiction, Pope has recreated the atmosphere and style of Forester most similarly. Other wonderful authors are Dewey Lambdin, Patrick O’Brian, Richard Woodman, and recently James Nelson, who approaches the war from the American point of view.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2021
The book before this seventh one in the otherwise pretty good and generally enjoyable Napoleonic naval series was not one of the author’s more successful efforts, focusing as it did on Lieut. Lord Nicholas Ramage’s undercover mission into Boulogne to spy out the French preparations for the invasion of Britain. Ramage did well out of it, however, being made post into a frigate by the First Lord himself. He was immediately sent off to Barbados with important dispatches to the admiral and on the way had to whip into shape a very slovenly crew nearly ruined by a drunken captain and his equally alcoholic first lieutenant. He has three young new lieutenants of the First Lord’s choosing and all turn out to be excellent, fortunately for him.
From Barbados, he’s sent to take over the blockade of the harbor of Fort Royal at Martinique, the only remaining significant French holding in the Caribbean. Ramage mounts a cutting-out operation that nets him a French frigate and a couple of privateer schooners. And off the southwest coast of the island is Diamond Rock, sticking up like a canine tooth from deep water. In 1804, Commodore Hood managed to sway up enough ship’s guns to turn the Rock into a fortress to control the shipping lanes into Martinique, but here (naturally) Ramage does the job, spurred on by the knowledge that a French convoy is due with very badly needed supplies for the island. With his small squadron, he makes his preparations, building his plans around the element of surprise -- a point Pope makes a number of times as Ramage drums the principle into his subordinates.
The whole thing, from the arming of Diamond Rock to the breath-holding action against the convoy, is fascinating and very well done indeed. And at the end of it all, Ramage is poised to embark on another “special service,” so there’s more to come. This is one of the best in the series so far.
From Barbados, he’s sent to take over the blockade of the harbor of Fort Royal at Martinique, the only remaining significant French holding in the Caribbean. Ramage mounts a cutting-out operation that nets him a French frigate and a couple of privateer schooners. And off the southwest coast of the island is Diamond Rock, sticking up like a canine tooth from deep water. In 1804, Commodore Hood managed to sway up enough ship’s guns to turn the Rock into a fortress to control the shipping lanes into Martinique, but here (naturally) Ramage does the job, spurred on by the knowledge that a French convoy is due with very badly needed supplies for the island. With his small squadron, he makes his preparations, building his plans around the element of surprise -- a point Pope makes a number of times as Ramage drums the principle into his subordinates.
The whole thing, from the arming of Diamond Rock to the breath-holding action against the convoy, is fascinating and very well done indeed. And at the end of it all, Ramage is poised to embark on another “special service,” so there’s more to come. This is one of the best in the series so far.
April 19, 2010
A used bookstore owner recommended this author after discovering that I had read the complete Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin Series. I might have appreciated the book more if I had not been exposed to the O'Brian books.
Unfortunately this is a somewhat pale imitation of what O'Brian has done. Additionally, Pope spends far too much time describing, in tedious detail, what the sailors and officers do to sail the ship. At times I thought I was back reading Moby-Dick which I did not like.
His descriptions also reminded me of what I don't like about the Tom Clancy books: unnecessary detail that does nothing to move the plot or the characters forward but does allow the author to parade his knowledge for all to see.
In this volume of the Ramage Series, young Lord Ramage is given his first captaincy, is dispatched to the Caribbean Sea and given the task of blockading the French Island of Martinique. He manages to whip the ship and its crew into shape and to accomplish an almost impossible victory. This is not a spoiler because the reader knows what is coming long before it arrives.
The action scenes are well-described and the inter-play between the Captain and his officers and crew are well drawn. Unfortunately there is just too much filler.
Unfortunately this is a somewhat pale imitation of what O'Brian has done. Additionally, Pope spends far too much time describing, in tedious detail, what the sailors and officers do to sail the ship. At times I thought I was back reading Moby-Dick which I did not like.
His descriptions also reminded me of what I don't like about the Tom Clancy books: unnecessary detail that does nothing to move the plot or the characters forward but does allow the author to parade his knowledge for all to see.
In this volume of the Ramage Series, young Lord Ramage is given his first captaincy, is dispatched to the Caribbean Sea and given the task of blockading the French Island of Martinique. He manages to whip the ship and its crew into shape and to accomplish an almost impossible victory. This is not a spoiler because the reader knows what is coming long before it arrives.
The action scenes are well-described and the inter-play between the Captain and his officers and crew are well drawn. Unfortunately there is just too much filler.
March 3, 2011
Once more I am struck by what feats can be accomplished with singleness of mind and unrelenting, brutally hard work. Having finally been promoted to post captain and getting command of a frigate in this the seventh of the series, Lord Ramage stretches his men and himself past breaking while fighting the French in the Caribbean. Geography plays the part of a main character in this story, which is based in part on the Royal Navy's capture of Diamond Rock off the coast of Martinique in 1804. This and the other Lord Ramage books were recommended to me by a friend who is an enormous fan of historical novels about the British Royal Navy in the Napoleonic era--the golden age of fighting sail. The archetype (and still greatest) of this genre is the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Foerster, which I strongly recommend to all. The Lord Ramage series is still excellent, but maybe best suited to fans of the genre.
November 6, 2016
I don't know what other people think about this book as for me I liked it. I read part of another review that had a lot of problems with this book. I didn't see the problems that were listed so I must not be a good reviewer, because I read mostly for enjoyment not to criticize the supposed lack of some detail. One thing I do know that a great many writers use historical events to add to their stories and yes they usually have their main character involved in the action that is a literary device. If you don't believe it then read Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books. What I am saying is if you like stories about tall ships and the men, who sailed them, then this is a good series of books, because I have read most of this genre. Also I have read some books that could be called be garbage, but they have done what they are supposed to do entertain.
Read
July 28, 2009Enjoyed
July 22, 2013
I really enjoyed this one--a bit lengthy on discussion of Ramage's fortifications of "The Diamond", but a great sea battle and adventure in the end with lots of action!
May 3, 2013
good story
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