Bardelys the Magnificent

by Rafael Sabatini

Speak of the Devil, whispered La Fosse in my ear, and, moved by the words and by the significance of his glance, I turned in my chair. The door had opened, and under the lintel stood the thick-set figure of the Comte de Chatellerault. Before him a lacquey in my escutcheoned livery of red-and-gold was receiving, with back obsequiously bent, his hat and cloak...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Romance, Historical, France

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

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

[Gary Inbinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

In “Bardelys the Magnificent” the story driver is a wager: “Marcel Saint-Pol, Marquis de Bardelys, had laid a wager with the Comte de Chatellerault that he would woo and win Mademoiselle de Lavedan to wife within three months.”

The ill-considered wager sets in motion an intricately plotted comedy of errors, and I suspect Sabatini wrote it with tongue in cheek. In pursuit of the young lady, the magnificent Marquis makes one regrettable blunder after another. The errors threaten his reputation, fortune, his status as King Louis XIII’s favorite and, at several crucial points, his life. The dramatic tension is heightened by the historical background. Most of the action takes place in the Languedoc during and immediately after a rebellion launched by the provincial governor, the Duke de Montmorency, at the instigation of Gaston, Duke of Orleans, the king’s brother. The defeat of the rebels at The Battle of Castelnaudary and its aftermath plays a prominent role in the novel.

Bardelys, the first-person narrator, while in pursuit of the subject of his wager, argues with himself, questions his motives and actions, admits his mistakes and then compounds them, often making a bad situation worse. His blunders reminded me of the old expression, “When you're in a hole, stop digging.”

Like Shakespeare’s Romeo, at one point a despairing Bardelys declares himself fortune’s fool:
“Into the mind of every thoughtful man must come at times with bitterness the reflection of how utterly we are at the mercy of Fate, the victims of her every whim and caprice. We may set out with the loftiest, the sternest resolutions to steer our lives along a well-considered course, yet the slightest of fortuitous circumstances will suffice to force us into a direction that we had no thought of taking.”

Nevertheless, after all the twists and turns of Sabatini’s corkscrew plot, the Marquis proves he’s nobody’s fool.
“Bardelys” is an early novel, first published in 1906. As in his more well-known later works, such as “The Seahawk”, “Captain Blood”, and “Scaramouche”, Sabatini displayed significant knowledge of the historical period in addition to his skills as a story-teller and creator of interesting characters and complex plots. “Bardelys” may not be his very best work, but it certainly held my interest and entertained me from first page to last.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering how much appeal I find in historical adventure stories, whether THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, BEAU GESTE, or others of that sort, and how deeply I enjoy the films made from the works of Rafael Sabatini (THE SEA HAWK, CAPTAIN BLOOD, etc.), somehow I'd never gotten around to reading one of his novels. I picked as my first one BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT, a story I'd enjoyed immensely in its silent-film version starring John Gilbert. Having just finished another historical novel set in France, one I found often tedious, I was unprepared for the compelling adventure and superb phrasing of Sabatini. I approached the book somewhat warily, but within minutes of beginning began to look forward with excitement to the fact that there are a lot more unread Sabatini novels in my future. Sabatini is no Fitzgerald or Chandler or Wolfe, but for sheer pleasurable reading, I have to mark him excellent. BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT is a first-person adventure told by a wealthy French nobleman of rakish, but honorable, character. Mistaken identity, romance with a beautiful woman, and delicious revenge serve, as they so often do in stories of this sort, to propel the reader happily through episodes of intrigue and derring-do. Implausible? Improbable? Of course. Engaging? Thrilling? Absolutely. If the rest of Sabatini is as much fun to read as this book, I've got a lot of great reading ahead.

[Joe Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved all of Rafael Sabatini's books for decades. I read through a handful a few years ago and then took a break and read a bunch of other stuff. I recently came back to Rafael when I found some of his books for free on my Kindle. This is one of those, and Viola' the love affair has been rekindled.

Sabatini has a way with words. You feel like your reading a sacred text almost. Just the flair; the way he crafts his sentences. It's like one part King James old English and one part poetry; not too much of either, but just enough.

But even more: he tells a great story always.

Reading Sabatini is much like reading a Dumas novel, without requiring quite so much concentration. The words flow instead of having to be interpreted.

Really, read Sabatini.

[Seema Bakhtiyar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent!!! Its the least i can say!! The intricate understanding and depiction of the characters and especially Bardelys is commendable. Kept me intrigued,excited overwhelmed and wanting for more!! Overall a very satisfying Book. Loved Monseigneur Bardelys' character with all its grey shades. The book very well deserves its place in history as a remarkable depiction of a period drama!!

[L J Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardelys is fairly different than the protagonists that I’ve read in this genre. He is vindictive, pompous and too lordly for my taste. But you have to admit that he is the hero of the novel. The story takes place around 1640, but hasn’t much to do with war or battle. This is a romance between Bardelys and Roxalanne. It begins with a wager that Bardelys cannot bring this proud and stern woman to love him within three months. Off goes Bardelys to win the wager. What he finds in Roxalanne in no way matches his suppositions. As usual, there is a large amount of turmoil in the land and they find themselves caught up in it. There are some nasty villains and a King unlike any that you have read of before. I enjoyed the book thoroughly, with some somewhat unhappy opinions about the hero.

This was filmed as a silent movie in 1926. I have to search it out.

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review now available on Vintage Novels!

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I think I want to review this in a little more depth later, but for now suffice it to say I was pleasantly surprised how well this little swashbuckler stood up to a re-read! It's right up there with the likes of The Prisoner of Zenda and Captain Blood. Even though this is the second or (possibly) third time I've read it, I couldn't tear myself away and even felt sorry for the rapscallion of a hero.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to pretend that this is a perfect book in the abstract, or even a very good one, but it is perfect of its kind – a dumb swashbuckling romance, with duels and Honor and an obvious villain, and it brought me joy. I don't like to defend or explain my ratings, but five stars for a book that is objectively only okay probably does need some explanation.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

While I did take pleasure in this book, I found myself troubled by the arrogance of the main character. Bardelys' attitudes were completely within reason for a wealthy nobleman of the French court of Louis XIII around 1632, but something in the manner of it made it difficult for me to "root" for him wholeheartedly.

[D.S. Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sabatini was a wordsmith, his books are almost poems. Perhaps the language is a little overblown in places, but I’m yet to read something by him I haven’t enjoyed. Bardley’s the Magnificent is surely one of his most underrated works.

[Amir Anis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing swashbuckling adventure that has it all: romance, political intrigue, sword fights, and an instantly admirable hero. Just what you'd expect in a Sabatini novel. Very highly recommended.

This man is CRIMINALLY underrated!

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafael Sabatini was description in a book of this age, flowery language, and always the hero and heroine. If one likes old movies, swashbucklers and historical romance, they'll like this book. Be warned, it is hard for a modern reader to keep up.
Sabatini wrote Captain Blood which was made into a movie staring Errol Flynn. Flynn's first movie as a matter of fact, with Basil Rathbone as his nemesis.
He also wrote the book Scaramouche which was also made into a movie with Stewart Granger.
If one isn't acquainted with these actors, one must not watch old movies.
Check the books out, then watch the movies. It'll be fun.

[Julie Bye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel by Sabatini that I had read. It was fun to read. I had visions of 1930s films flashing through my mind while reading it. It is overblown, but it is fun to read. A typical swashbuckling adventure of its time.

[michele stroud · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling tale of deception and redemption.

This story is 100+ years old and therefore classiest and misogynistic. But I found it easy to root for this young rogueish dude of great wealth and privilege as he pursues the fair maiden.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one back in my early high school years and remember really liking it. A swashbuckling romp through 17th century France by a master of that genre.

[Pushpa Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcel de Saint-Pol Marquis de Bardelys is one of the glitterati of Louis XIII’s court, so much so he is known by the title of the book. He is young, handsome, witty, a devil with a sword—and a favorite of the King. In that enviable position, he is a target of the less well endowed namely Comte de Chatellerault. A wine-soaked evening produces the conditions for a wager not becoming to chivalry. The wager is to woo and convince Mlle Roxalanne de Lavedon to marry him something that the Comte has recently failed to accomplish. He is so sure Bardelys will fail, he stakes his estates forcing a like stake by the Marquis.
The backdrop is the rebellion lead by the Duc d’Orleans against Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu. In a case of mistaken identity, Badelys is taken for a rebel, chased and wounded by the King’s troopers. He escapes and is rescued by the Vicomte de Lavedon, our heroine’s father who is also a supporter of the rebel cause. Bardelys is forced by his rescuers’ politics to hide his identity and this drives the rest of the story. As the rebel Renee de Lespéron, he woos and wins Roxlanne but then his rebel status catches up with him in more ways than one. It is left for the King to take a hand.
Excellent story and characters.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy Sabatini's romantic, action-adventure writing style. I tend to eat up descriptions and dialogue that would irritate me from most other authors, just because he is that good! LOL
The hero in this book is flawed despite his "superhero" aspects, and his frequent mistakes made him interesting and appealing. The heroine is slightly idealized, but since the story is told entirely from the guy's POV, this works!Both characters grow in (mostly) believable ways, and. . .well. . .it's just plain fun reading.
Although the plot contains many "it just so happened" events, these include both good and bad fortune for the hero, and some of the events were the direct results of characters' poor choices, so it worked for me!
Planning to read more Sabatini soon. Before this book, I had only read Scaramouche (and loved it). Now I am hungry for more, although I've got a big stack of TBR's that must come first. :-)

[Maris McKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as enjoyable as the other Rafael Sabatini novels I've read. If this is your first time reading Sabatini, I highly recommend you pick up "Scaramouche" instead. I spent more time than I care to admit shouting at the main character asking, "How can you be so stupid?" Wish I'd read it in printed form instead of on my phone so I could have beat my forehead against the book in frustration.

[mild spoilers ahead]

The main character/narrator consistently makes bad decisions (often the same bad decisions multiple times in a row), is violent toward people under his control, and emotionally manipulative toward the woman he loves. He says he's learned his lessons, but everything works out perfectly for him in the end with very little real effort on his part or evidence of character growth. It's very frustrating.

[Skallagrimsen]

I'm tempted to dismiss Bardelys the Magnificent as "lower shelf" Sabatini on the grounds that, while I distinctly remember reading it, the details of the plot and characters didn't impress themselves very firmly into my memory. I mostly recall that it's set in France during the reign of Louis XIII, partially against the backdrop of the famous siege of La Rochelle. It therefore shares a historical stage with The Three Musketeers,and teases us with the possibility that d'Artagnan and his famous friends would show up for a cameo. (Spoiler: They don't, at least directly; I believed they were alluded to in one scene, but that may have been wishful thinking.)

[Steven Drachman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that most readers will find this pretty fusty, though it is probably a must-read curiosity for big Sabatini fans. The film, starring John Gilbert, is much better, and done with some knowing wit, as well as great action and romance, and holds up much better today than the book. Unfortunately for Sabatini's reputation, he demanded by contract that the film be destroyed when the contract expired. Luckily, one copy survived with just a reel missing. So five stars for the film, and two stars for the book and Sabatini's attempt to sabotage film history.

[Jeremy Hollingshead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rafael Sabatini. His Novels are always at least 4 stars in my opinion, as Bardelys is. Though I normally do not like Rom/Com court novels, I really liked Bardelys the Magnificent. Court, treasonous rebellion, sword fights, and mistaken identity await the reader of this highly enjoyable text. Bardelys is not Captain Peter Blood or Scaramouche, but is a fine hero in his own right and sphere.

Sabatini is a master of pacing and Bardelys was almost as hard to put down as Sabatini's more famous works.

[Robert Edelstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mighty early and mighty good Sabatini entry. You will have to restrain yourself from actually climbing inside the narrative in order to slap the title character now and again, but it won't stop you from reading in order to find out what happens. The villain is wondrously cruel as well.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great romp by Sabatini. It really is a pity his work is not better known.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the court of Louis XIII an enjoyable romantic adventure story.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Sabatini. Can't get enough. Adventure/tragic romantic comedy.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hero was frustrating at times, but it was fun to see a Sabatini lead whose toughest challenges are brought on by his own bad decisions.

[Samantha Glasser]

Read this book online for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2389/2...