দ্য লস্ট কিং

by Rafael Sabatini, Qazi Shahnoor Husain (Translator)

ফরাসী রাজবংশের তখন ঘোর দুর্দিন। রাজা-রানী কাটা পড়েছেন গিলোটিনে। রাজপুত্র ডফিন বন্দী হয়ে আছে টেম্পল কারাগারে। রাজভক্তদের একটা দল সিদ্ধান্ত নিল, ডফিনকে উদ্ধার করে সিংহাসনে বসাবে। একাজে সাহায্যের হাত বাড়িয়ে দিলেন প্রুশিয়ার রাজা। পদে পদে বিপদ, ডফিনকে উদ্ধার করে সিংহাসনে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করে কি আদৌ সম্ভব হবে রাজভক্তদের পক্ষে?

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

141 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

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

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good Sabatini but, not one to start out with. Unfortuntely it is not narrated by the lost king but, instead by another character. The lead Florence la Salle is a good character as he journey from idealist to con man. I was also disappointed in that the lost king was never allowed the freedom to choose his own path. It was a good read but, if you are expecting a fun adventure story alla Scarmouche this is not it. It is not as dark as Captain Blood but, it does have cycnical edge. Knowing this you might enjoy the story more.

"We age quickly, we who live in the hotbed of decay; and we are harden. We are not even ashamed to become escrocs and ask for money as I do. What the devil is the purpose of pride, Jean, when you boots leak?"

After la Salle mentions he makes money by gameing Jean de Batz replies:

"Expoliters of human weakness seldom do. There is so much weakness to exploit. Those who perish are the fools who live by a code of honor, who live by ideals invented by rouges for their own protection."

[Rocky Rahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

সেই শৈশবে পড়েছিলাম, আহা কতো ম্মৃতি সেবা প্রকাশনীতে।

[Old-Barbarossa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A plot to restore the Bourbons to the throne of France...well, the rightful Bourbon anyway.
A bunch of political manipulation around someone who may or may not be Louis XVII.
Napoleon lurking on the horizon.
Not as much revenge as in other Sabatini novels (and no swordplay), but this is made up for by the character of La Salle. In my book he's up there with Alan Breck (Kidnapped) as one of my favourite honest rogues in fiction.

[Chet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although DNA evidence supposedly put this mystery to rest back in 2000, this was still a fascinating take on what may have been the fate of the Orphan of the Temple.

[Steve Goble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this one, as the first chapter featured quite dense prose, historical scene-setting, and a large cast of characters. Subsequent chapters moved slowly. But I have read a lot of Sabatini and felt confident that patience would be rewarded — and it was.

This is not a swashbuckler, although Florence de La Salle — the catalyst behind a scheme to put the lost Dauphin on the throne of France — did exchange harsh words with another that surely must have led to pistols at dawn once the novel closed. The focus here is intrigue, and by the latter third of the novel all the set-up and groundwork results in machinations and plots and conversations full of cut-and-thrust. The back half of the book more than made up for some heavy going at the outset.

[Kate Joekel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and a Book to be expected from Sabatini

I happened upon this author after reading Dorothy Dunnett who mentioned in an interview that she had enjoyed the books of Sabatini. Thanks to this tip I began years ago tracking his books in used book stores, and after getting my Kindle, through Amazon. Well worth the efforts, these books are super.

[Stuart Lutzenhiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read someone’s comments about this book that while well written and moves along at a nice clip, it is a struggle to enjoy in that there are really no characters to admire. They are all scoundrels or weak creatures of one stripe or another. Hard to really back any of them

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a novel of political intrigue and machinations that take decades to play out. It' a very exciting journey that Sabatini takes the reader on - escapes from prisons,pursuits of escaped kings and so on. Nearly every detail in the first half proved critical to understanding what transpired in the second, and I found myself referring back frequently and smiling at how neatly the author had set things up. All in all I really liked the book.

[Redsteve · Rating 2 out of 5]

In one way, classic Sabatini. In another, it really feels like the author was phoning this one in.

[Amy Badawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

جميله
DNA كان ممكن يقفل الحوار ده من اوله :-)