The Tavern Knight

by Rafael Sabatini

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Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Historical, Romance, British Literature

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

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).

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tavern Knight is Crispin Galliard, a soldier with a rough reputation who finally gets a long-awaited shot at vengeance after helping Charles II escape the forces of Oliver Cromwell.

People new to Sabatini should start with Captain Blood or maybe Mistress Wilding. This is one of his earliest books, and while I enjoyed it, it's not up to the other things I've read by him so far.

The start is jumpy, the characters aren't very likable, and you can see the plot twists coming. The ending is mean and convenient, and I can't understand why anyone would fall in love with the female lead. The book gives one character an easy way out rather than the confrontation that the reader expects.

But I still love Sabatini's style, and the book was fun for me on that level. It's well-paced historical adventure with a few nice introspective moments and plenty of action. And there's something to be said for a book that, even when you know what's about to happen, can still make you gasp out loud when your suspicions are confirmed.

[Sarah Seele · Rating 2 out of 5]

look, i know you don’t like him, but “thank God my son died” is…a bit harsh, maybe?

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic Sabatini. The English is full of beautifully turned phrases and images. Set in England during the time of Cromwell, the book follows a manly knight named Crispn Galliard on his mission of vengeance against those who stole his life and innocence. The book includes evil plots, lost heirs, mistaken identities, romance along with war and curling. A thumping good read by all standards. I highly recommend it to those of you who like historical fiction, or a romping good tale.

[Лина Сакс · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книга, как сериал.

Как в школьные годы шагнула, когда Дюма читался запоем. Ах, эти приключения, рыцарь, любовь и ожидание, что вот сейчас, сейчас настигнет героя несчастный конец, но ура, этого не происходит и в конце счастливы те, кто этого заслуживает.

Вот такие трогательные книги, как бразильские сериалы надо читать либо в глубоком детстве, либо в глубокой старости. Потому что молодость не знает, а старость прощает. Я как-то из первого давно вышла, а во второе еще пока не дошла))) Поэтому как бы трогательно и мило не было, читаешь конечно книгу с усмешкой. Ах, эти убитые жены, потерянные дети. Ах, эта месть и неожиданная под старость любовь юной и чистой девушки. Ах, эти найденные-потерянные дети, эти неожиданные-уместные смерти. Все это действительно как бразильский сериал, только что никто головой не ударился и память не потерял.

Нет, я не покорена этой историей, я скорее разочарована. Разочарована, что любовь девушки была описана, в том как она начала проявляться, а вот момент влюбленности главного героя упущен. Разочарована, что сын главного героя в своих переживаниях не описан так полно, чтобы понять его. Он капризно негодует. Не гневается подобно юноше двадцати лет, а именно капризно негодует. Он заранее выведен антигероем, что обидно. И главное непонятно, как вышло, что его таким воспитали, если его воспитывали даже не главные враги главного героя Рыцаря Таверны Сэр Гиллиард, а посторонние люди, которым как бы все равно каким он будет. По композиции жанра, все сделано, конечно, хорошо. Нас несколько раз заставляли волноваться, нам показывали благородство, ум и сообразительность главного героя, хотя какое уж тут благородство, когда он на самом деле убийца и убийца не по тому что его призвали в армию, а потому что он хочет много денег, ну и отомстить за жену и ребенка, и убивает он легко. В 12, такой человек восхищает, в преддверие 40, ты уже не так романтично настроена и все изъяны мышления подобного типа видны.

И вспоминается прекрасная серия "библиотека юного читателя" и ты уже не удивляешься почему такие книги переводят в разряд для юных. Ты лишь с удивлением задумываешься над тем, какие были юные умы у людей в начале двадцатого века, если подобные книги не считались детскими, хоть и были призваны развлекать. Может как-то и хорошо, что мы хоть немного выросли и понимаем, что эти книги для детей не старше 12.

Если в детстве не добрали такой литературы, то почему бы вам не прочитать про приключения и еще раз себе напомнить, каким был на самом деле жестоким и совсем не благородным семнадцатый век, где страдали не короли, а простые горожане и крестьяне.

[RaineShadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rafael Sabatini's writing is easy and flowing, the 17 century Old English wording didn’t detract from the story at all, it was easily understandable and immersed you into the story.
The story itself is adventurous and dramatic, and it was perfectly enjoyable, with good action scenes.

The main character is Crispin Galliard, named the Tavern Knight for his drunken and rowdy behavior, who is also a very skilled and famous soldier in the army, biding his time until he can extract his revenge on the people who ruined his life.
He meets a young man, Kenneth, with ties to the people and uses him to extract his revenge.

There were some dramatic turns in the story, but nothing really surprising, I could guess most of it.
As soon as he told his tale to Kenneth, I already knew he would turn out to be his son.
The dramatic portion came in the second half when Galliard came to woo Cynthia for his son, but Cynthia loved him, and he suddenly realized he loved her and wanted his son dead and his son actually died off-screen so he immediately went to marry Cynthia and then everyone lived happily ever after.

[Marko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sabatini's early story is not as impressive as some of his later work. Nevertheless, this is an entertaining mix of a swashbuckler and a romance spiced with mistaken identities, old family secrets, tragic parent-child relationships etc. - all set in the English Civil Wars. What it lacks is a bit more actual buckling of swashes, i.e. swordplay.

[Ash Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Sabatini, but with less of the sword fighting than I'm used to. The hero gets the girl, against overwhelming odds, after he completely destroys the person who has wronged him (without having to be evil to do it, but still having to somewhat compromise on his morals in the process).

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. I look forward to reading more of Sabatini's works.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the spoilers.

It’s your basic Sabatini in most ways: our protagonist is a man of noble character brought low by the sufferings of his life. His enemies inherited his property, and left him destitute. He randomly got sold to the galleys, which sucked.

Now he’s back, a scary broody badass out for vengeance! He’s leading a company of dragoons on behalf of Charles II against Cromwell. By chance he takes an uptight young man into his company and by chance (again!) learns that this young man is the sweetheart of the daughter of one of his mortal enemies.

The opportunity arises for him to save the young man’s life, which he does in exchange for a solemn oath to aid him in his vengeance (but he doesn’t tell the kid against whom).

They ride off to his hereditary home, now the home of his enemies, who are so relieved to have the boy safe they let them stay.

Introduce the love interest! She is pretty and noble, innocent and strong-willed! She’s been engaged to this boy because her father told her to be and she’s naturally dutiful, but as soon as she sees our broody tragic protagonist…Oooo la la! To hell with him! She instantly holds him in the same contempt everyone else holds him in, and starts following our protagonist around, hanging on his every word, while he stares into the distance, brooding.

The boy notices this, tries to be like the protagonist in manner and dress, and so becomes even more awful. We the reader are coming to the opinion that the author is right, the boy is contemptible!

Things come to a head at dinner. After our heroine leaves for bed at the early hour befitting her sweet innocence, our strapping protagonist easily tricks then outfights the cooler of the antagonists, whilst the boy, by accident, stabs his future father-in-law. Game over!

Or is it…? Cooler antagonist says, “Ha! We killed your wife (our cousin) but your son is alive! Spare me and I’ll tell you who it is through an incredibly contrived method that provides me infinite opportunity to betray you!”

Protagonist, broodingly, “I accept your terms.”

So skinny clever antagonist (not to be confused with fat stupid antagonist) writes a letter guaranteed to get our protagonist killed, and sends him off to die.

Meantime, the boy is all like, “I guess, because I stabbed you, you probably don’t want me to marry your daughter anymore?”

Skinny antagonist says, “Take this other note to the same place I just sent your dad…I MEAN THE PROTAGONIST (what a random chance!) and if you get there before him, we’ll talk about it.”

This he utterly fails to do. They both get picked up by Cromwells forces, the leader of whom is the bff of our protagonist, and hates the boy. Awkward. Said bff reads the note the boy is carrying, and has the unenviable job of saying, “Yo dawg, the author really hates your son.”

The protagonist acknowledges this, broodily, and tells the boy, “BOY I am your father!”

Boy: “NOOOOOO! AND you stole my girlfriend! How will I ever get married now, since everyone, especially the author, hates me!”

The protagonist says, “Don’t worry. I’ll kidnap her for you. Because you’re my son. And I love you, even though you’re awful, and the author gave you a girl’s name.”

The boy: “I still hate you, but that is only more proof of how awful I am!”

The protagonist broodingly returns to his ancestral home, and confronts the heroine: “You’re coming with me.”

Heroine: “FUCK YEA!”

Protagonist: “What?”

Heroine: “…Nothing.”

He steals her away to France, where, instead of being met by his son, he is met with the bff, who says, “Well, uh, skinny antagonist killed your son because he fucked up the whole letter thing, but I went ahead and killed him for you because he was a jerk.”

Protagonist: “It’s okay. No one liked either of them. And he had a girls name. I’m going to marry the heroine, as one does.”

[Kaj Roihio]

Historiallinen seikkailuromaani on viihdekirjallisuuden ensimmäisiä lajityyppejä. Alkaen Alexandre Dumas'n ja Walter Scottin teoksista lajityyppi määriteltiin aika tiiviisti. Hyvien ja pahojen jako oli aika selkeä. Hyvät saattoivat hyvinkin olla melkoisia tapauksia, persoja mässäilylle ja juopottelulle, mutta silti ehdottomasti oikealla asialla. Rehellisiä, suorapuheisia ja miehekkäitä. Pahat sitten taas olivat kaksinaamaisia, juonittelevia ja varmaan haisivatkin pahalta. Ei sitä halpamaisuutta, johon pahat eivät sortuneet. Ajallisesti seikkailut sijoitettiin melskeisiin ajajaksoihin, kuten Ranskan vallankumoukseen, ja vastapuolella lankoja vetelee todellinen arkkitörkimys, Kolmen muskettisoturin kardinaali Richelieu on tästä hyvä esimerkki. Siihen päälle vielä kaunis neito ja nurkan takaa tupsahtavia lähisukulaisia, niin keitos on valmis. Italialais-englantilainen Rafael Sabatini oli lajityypin viimeisiä kirjoittajia, 1900-luvulla kirjailijauransa luonut edellisen vuosisadan lapsi. Hänen tunnetuin romaaninsa, joka nykyään ei enää edes ole kovin tunnettu, oli 1920-luvun alussa julkaistu Scaramouche – säilän sankari. Melkein kaksi vuosikymmentä aiemmin Sabatini oli kirjoittanut ensimmäisen historiallisen seikkailuromaaninsa Kuninkaan miekkamies ja tämä on jokseenkin juuri niin järkevä kuin voi odottaa. Pienenä yllätyksenä ehkä tulee päähenkilön antisankarillisuus, valmius käyttää muita ihmisiä härskisti hyväkseen saavuttaakseen tavoitteensa sekä yleensäkin viehätys antaumukselliseen ryypiskelyyn ja elosteluun. Alkukielinen nimi onkin Tavern Knight, kapakkaritari. Richelieu on korvattu protestanttisten keropäiden johtaja Oliver Cromwellilla, mutta muuten askelmerkit ovat kovin tutut. Miekat viuhuvat, tunteet kuohuvat ja paha saa palkkansa. Ei tätä oikeastaan voi lukea muuten kuin kuriositeettina, aikansa ja lajityyppinsä harmittomana tuotteena.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Sabatini's novels. This is another revenge tale, with a twist that has since become a little cliche. Nonetheless, it is a good read - very well written. When you get to the final 10 pages and the final bit of conflict has yet to be resolve, you can kind of guess what will happen.

Anyway, the Tavern Knight is set in the age of Cromwell and the conflict features in the story. The protagonist is a debauched man, living without much care for ethics or honor - he's living just for revenge that he doubts he'll ever get. Then, opportunity presents itself. He begins to make decisions that will result in his long desired revenge, but he'll have to burn some folks to do it. And, the remnant of his sense of ethics reawakens. It is interesting to read the internal struggle that comes as a surprise to the protagonist as he realizes he had been ethically numbed, not ethically destroyed.

I'll not reveal any more. Just know it is a well-written revenge story that raises questions of honor and ethics.

[Jeremy Hollingshead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sabatini's gorgeous prose always warrants 4 stars. However, this was the closest I have ever come to giving a rating of less than 4 stars to Rafael's work.

I loved Crispin Galliard "The Tavern Knight." I liked his story. I found him a complex and sympathetic character. Everything was going well. The novel could have continued another 200 pages, but it didn't.

It was almost like Sabatini thought, "You know, I've been writing this one a while, now. I shall end it." It reminded me of one of those Edgar Rice Burroughs endings when he was running out of pulp pages on a Barsoom novel. I thought, "Rafael, you are better than this."

After finding out that The Tavern Knight was his second novel I realized that Rafael would become better, but was not quite yet the genius he would later be. However, engaging characters and Rafael's signature turn of phrase make this and every Sabatini novel worth the read.

[Becky Harris]

I did not enjoy "The Tavern Knight" as much as "Captain Blood." Sabatini's writing is still good and he still knows how to turn a plot and keep you reading. But I just hated the turns associated with the son and the love interest. I REALLY hated the love interest. I felt bad for Kenneth and the ending felt a bit contrived and a bit convenient. I'll still read more Sabatini. He writes an interesting tale. But this one, is probably not a re-read. The first lines though are really good.

[Gr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was OK, just OK. I have read several books by Sabatini and will re-read Captain Blood on occasion as it is one of my favorites. This one though did not live up to that standard imo. It also seemed to end somewhat abruptly. oh well. Nothing I can do about that. If you want to read a better Sabatini, as I mentioned I suggest Captain Blood or even Scaramouche which is a step above this, but still a step behind Blood.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as Captain Blood or Scaramouche but an entertaining read

[Thor The Redbeard · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Miriam Smirnov · Rating 5 out of 5]

quite the romance. lots of plot twists (but absolutely none unexpected!). Somehow a fun read nevertheless.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An early Sabatini, and it shows. Still an enjoyable read due to his characteristically beautiful prose, but the characters and plot do a lot to leave the reader unsatisfied.

[SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Levent Mollamustafaoglu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a wronged man, the so-called Tavern Knight of the title, who is trying to survive during the conflict between Oliver Cromwell and Charles II in England. Mildly gripping story with a not-so-compelling conclusion, it is somewhat readable.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really? That was the end? Then what was the whole book's point? On a different note, though, I can see his early development for his later books, and I still appreciate his willingness to write strong women.

[Edwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was ok for most of the way through -- it was lesser Sabatini, but still had its charms (even though you could tell he hadn't reached the levels he would achieve with later works)...and then the ending happened. Yikes. First off, it's rushed, and major action is relayed second-hand by a minor character. That's not great. On top of that, it's just an icky, disturbing ending--which might (might--I'm not sure but I'm being generous) work if the book played it right, but Sabatini plays it straight, as a happy ending! To be vaguely spoilery, our main character learns of the death of a long-lost relative, and within two heartbeats he dismisses it as the solution to a personal dilemma, when a major subplot of the novel had been to find said relative! We're clearly meant to be happy that things work out for our hero--I think his character arc is to go from unlikable, then we learn what has made him this way, then he rights the wrongs that ruined his life, and he is now supposed to be a clear hero--but I find the ending more horrifying than happy. If you haven't read any Sabatini before, go pick up Scaramouche or Captain Blood. Try this one later; you might like it more than I did, but there are better introductions to Sabatini's style.

[Pushpa Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Crispin Galliard is known as the “Tavern Knight” for his wild ways in fighting, drinking, gaming etc. he is pledged to Prince Charles Stuart and against the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. In fulfilling this pledge he experiences many adventures, one in particular that would cost him his life and the life of young Kenneth Stewart an unlikely follower of the Scottish Prince. Somehow, Sir Crispin manages their escape and returns Kenneth to Castle Marleigh, the home of his affianced bride, Cynthia. There is more here than meets the eye as we learn the tragic tale that brought the Tavern Knight into being and his desire to wreck his vengeance in response. More surprising revelations follow and while the ending is predictable, it seems callous, sad and a bit facile. An early work which while it shows glimpses of the story-teller Sabatini becomes, it is not quite up to his standard.

[WadeofEarth · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it pains me to give such a low rating to one of my new favorite authors, this book simply wasn't on the same level as the other books of his I have read. I think what bothered me the most about it is that it is very similar, in many ways, to his other works, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, this particular endevour seemed to be a much less evolved version of his other works, when I looked into his works, it appears this is indeed the case; the Tavern Knight being only hes second book, it seems his work improved over time and in later stories, he perhaps sought to rehash earlier terrain with his later acquired surefooted-ness. This is still a fun, exciting adventure story, but it lacks the nuances and witticisms that come with later Sabatini.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

In many ways a typical Rafael Sabatini novel. The lovable rogue done wrong who prevails. This is not the epic like his "The Sea-Hawk" or "Captain Blood", in fact the action is all on shore for a change. There is much I liked about this novel in the tension of the plot for a man bent on revenge and the circumstances that place him in position for that revenge. There are also some Dicken's style coincidences involved. I was quite enjoying the novel till the end which was disappointing and surprising on many levels. Just can't imagine how the author thought that was a good ending.

Available on Project Gutenberg and Librivox. I listened to the Librivox version which was only so-so.

[Pandora · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best way to describe this story it has similarity to St. Martin's Summer but, is closer in tone to Captain Blood and The Sea-Hawk. I preferred the lightness of St. Martin's Summer. There is also the added factor that as dim as the hero is in St. Martin's Summer he does catch on faster than the Tavern Knight so there is more romance in St. Marin's.

On finishing Belliarion I realized there was another weakness in The Tavern Knight that made it less enjoyable than some of Sabtini's other books. It was the treatment of Kenneth was at least for me unjust. I perfered how similar characters to Kenneth were treated in Bellarion and Misstress Wilding.

[John Beach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've come to expect better of Sabatini, but this early work of his had it's moments. I was slow getting into it, and also I found the plot fairly predictable, some situations rather convenient. Still… not everything resolved quite as I expected nor took as long to resolve, and it had exciting moments. I found the main character, the Tavern Knight, interesting, and he carries the story well. No one else is very likable, except for Harry Hogan, and so the whole of this is saved by being a good "buddy book."

[Skoora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very different formula from the other Sabatini works that I've been devouring lately. The great moments of revelation seemed somewhat understated in comparison to such works as Scaramouche. However I did find it highly amusing in some places, even hilarious. I sympathized with the main character for most of the story, and yet in the end I didn't feel the amazing sense of gratification that I had hoped for. Not a bad read, but not my favorite of Sabatini's stories.

[Ellen]

He painted a wholly unfavorable picture of the Covenanters as being falsely-pious, self-righteous weaklings, and of Cromwell's soldiery as being either Psalm-droning bores, or pretenders who were part of the Parliamentarian forces for strictly pragmatic reasons (and were presented as being far better than the genuine Puritans). Didn't like any of the characters, and the story resolved in an very unsatisfactory manner. Not one of Sabatini's best.

[Jeremy Trumble · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I am not one of your repentant sinners, Kenneth. I have lived my life—God, what a life!—and as I have lived I shall die, unflinching and unchanged. Dare one to presume that a few hours spent in whining prayers shall atone for years of reckless dissoluteness? 'Tis a doctrine of cravens, who, having lacked in life the strength to live as conscience bade them, lack in death the courage to stand by that life's deeds. I am no such traitor to myself.”