What do you think?
Rate this book
The Lost King
The Lost King tells the story of Louis XVII – the French royal who officially died at the age of ten but, as legend has it, escaped to foreign lands where he lived to an old age. Sabatini breathes life into these age-old myths, creating a story of passion, revenge and betrayal. He tells of how the young child escaped to Switzerland from where he plotted his triumphant return to claim the throne of France.
‘…the hypnotic spell of a novel which for sheer suspense, deserves to be ranked with Sabatini’s best’ – New York Times
The Rafael Sabatini was born on 29 April 1875 in Jesi, Italy, the only son of Maestro-Cavaliere Vincenzo Sabatini and his English wife, Anna Trafford, both of whom were opera singers. He was first educated in Zug, Switzerland, and then in Portugal, but finally settled in England where he married Ruth Dixon (from whom he was divorced in 1932) and became a British citizen in 1918, having worked in War Office intelligence during the First World War.
His first novel, The Tavern Knight, was published in 1904, and more novels followed before his first major success The Sea Hawk which was published just after the start of the war. This then led to renewed interest in his earlier novels and assured Sabatini an ardent and loyal following.
The majority of his novels are based upon events in European history, and many started out as short stories first published in popular magazines before expansion into full length works. Sabatini also produced two notable historic works, The Life of Cesare Borgia (1912), and Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (1913), which have been justly praised for being both comprehensive and definitive.
He touched on biography further in Heroic Lives (1934) in which he drew away from full life stories so as to concentrate on the circumstances and mind sets of the individuals studied in a determination of what made them into heroes touching the lives of others as they did. In The Historical Nights' Entertainments (1918, 1919, and 1938), which is now combined into a single volume, he investigated numerous historical controversies and further delved into the personalities of selected historical figures.
It is Sabatini's deep knowledge of history and his determination to ensure accuracy where facts were stated even within his fictional works, as to customs, politics, religion, together with ordinary everyday human behaviour in context that ensures his books maintain enduring popularity. He covered many periods, but revolutionary France and Renaissance Italy appear most often, with Cesare Borgia making more than one appearance.
Many of Sabatini's works were turned into films, notably Captain Blood, Scaramouche, and The Black Swan, and this ensured immense popular success. It was, however, sometimes at the expense of the opinions of some critics who regarded his genre, fundamentally historic and romantic fiction, as a little outside of that ought to be of merit. Many fellow authors admired the manner in which he constructed his plots and his narrative. In particular, they and his army of readers fully appreciated the way his characters were life-like and convincing, and true to historical form.
In 1935 Sabatini married again, and he and his new wife, Christine, moved to Herefordshire. Fishing the local River Wye was one of his hobbies, but far from 'retiring' to the country he maintained all of his links with the publishing world in London.
Raphael Sabatini died in 1950 following a skiing accident in Switzerland.
‘…the hypnotic spell of a novel which for sheer suspense, deserves to be ranked with Sabatini’s best’ – New York Times
The Rafael Sabatini was born on 29 April 1875 in Jesi, Italy, the only son of Maestro-Cavaliere Vincenzo Sabatini and his English wife, Anna Trafford, both of whom were opera singers. He was first educated in Zug, Switzerland, and then in Portugal, but finally settled in England where he married Ruth Dixon (from whom he was divorced in 1932) and became a British citizen in 1918, having worked in War Office intelligence during the First World War.
His first novel, The Tavern Knight, was published in 1904, and more novels followed before his first major success The Sea Hawk which was published just after the start of the war. This then led to renewed interest in his earlier novels and assured Sabatini an ardent and loyal following.
The majority of his novels are based upon events in European history, and many started out as short stories first published in popular magazines before expansion into full length works. Sabatini also produced two notable historic works, The Life of Cesare Borgia (1912), and Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition (1913), which have been justly praised for being both comprehensive and definitive.
He touched on biography further in Heroic Lives (1934) in which he drew away from full life stories so as to concentrate on the circumstances and mind sets of the individuals studied in a determination of what made them into heroes touching the lives of others as they did. In The Historical Nights' Entertainments (1918, 1919, and 1938), which is now combined into a single volume, he investigated numerous historical controversies and further delved into the personalities of selected historical figures.
It is Sabatini's deep knowledge of history and his determination to ensure accuracy where facts were stated even within his fictional works, as to customs, politics, religion, together with ordinary everyday human behaviour in context that ensures his books maintain enduring popularity. He covered many periods, but revolutionary France and Renaissance Italy appear most often, with Cesare Borgia making more than one appearance.
Many of Sabatini's works were turned into films, notably Captain Blood, Scaramouche, and The Black Swan, and this ensured immense popular success. It was, however, sometimes at the expense of the opinions of some critics who regarded his genre, fundamentally historic and romantic fiction, as a little outside of that ought to be of merit. Many fellow authors admired the manner in which he constructed his plots and his narrative. In particular, they and his army of readers fully appreciated the way his characters were life-like and convincing, and true to historical form.
In 1935 Sabatini married again, and he and his new wife, Christine, moved to Herefordshire. Fishing the local River Wye was one of his hobbies, but far from 'retiring' to the country he maintained all of his links with the publishing world in London.
Raphael Sabatini died in 1950 following a skiing accident in Switzerland.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
8 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Rafael Sabatini
739 books552 followersRafael 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).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 18, 2013
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."
"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."
December 19, 2024
সেই শৈশবে পড়েছিলাম, আহা কতো ম্মৃতি সেবা প্রকাশনীতে।
August 2, 2008
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.
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.
January 22, 2012
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.
January 14, 2024
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.
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.
January 28, 2019
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.
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.
January 29, 2021
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
April 6, 2010
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.
November 30, 2016
In one way, classic Sabatini. In another, it really feels like the author was phoning this one in.
September 20, 2015
جميله
DNA كان ممكن يقفل الحوار ده من اوله :-)
DNA كان ممكن يقفل الحوار ده من اوله :-)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews