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Master-at-Arms
1977, mass market paperback reprint edition (of a work first published in 1940), Ballantine, NY. 378 pages. Historical fiction.
378 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
13 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Rafael Sabatini
741 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).
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 8, 2016
A perilous adventure set during the days of the French Revolution. I've always enjoyed stories about fencing-masters, for some reason, and this fellow definitely needs every skill he's got.
June 20, 2012
This was an amazing book. The Marquise de Carabas is a name I've seen elsewhere like in Gaiman's Neverwhere, but I did not know until I read this book that it meant the Marquise of Nothing. This is an extraordinary tale of the post-revolutionary war years in France as well as in England where royalist emigres from France that were now living in England were trying to get the English government to help them fight the Republican army currently in France and troubling the monarchy. The emigres were to be joined by former French military that had either been captured in other countries or were in hiding. The bulk of the army was to be made up by royalist French peasants called chousans who'd been fighting the Republic already for two years.
In the middle of all this is our hero, the fencing master Molinex, who owns a fancy fencing school in London that is patronized by both the English Crown and the French emigres. Both of his parents are dead, and he's been in England since he was little, so he doesn't remember France at all. One day, a lawyer calls upon him to say that his brother has died and he has 60 days to get to France to claim one of the biggest estates in the country because he is now a Marquise.This is where things really get moving. We have; false identity papers, smugglers, murderous cousins, beautiful women, dishonest Republicans, briberies, duellings, attempted hangings, massacres, bayonettings, ambushes, all out warfare, haughty stupid generals, tricksy harlots, defections, firing squads, romance, mistaken identities, pay back, a potential peace treaties, thousands executed, new found fathers, dereliction of duties, and finally failure.
I never knew that all this happened between the Royalists and the Republican armies. The story is simply so amazing. The events leading up to it, and the decisions that were made during the battle. I won't give away any spoilers, but we all know there's been no French King on the throne since the Revolution, so obviously, something didn't work for the Royalists. The details of why he didn't get there are what are so stunning. He actually had a chance - a real chance to make it back to the throne again.
In his own ineffable way Sabatini brings a whole cast of characters to life - like a Cecil B. DeMille movie, you have our hero, there is his love interest Germaine, there are his two murderous cousins - Constant and Armand. Then there are all the chousans. The leaders include Tintiniac, St. Regent, Caulard, and there a lot of others that I can't remember. The head of the Royalist army is General Paisey. The head of the Republican army is General Hoche. There are so many more people in this book and Sabatini brings them all to life quite effortlessly with his beautiful command of the English language. All his books are this way. With a few well turned sentences, he paints pictures like an artist. These are not just adventure novels, but works of art.
I enjoyed this book immensely and believe others would too. You can read it free here on Goodreads, I found the list of free books through the help menu. I had never found this book before, so I read it right away. I'm very glad I did. I will be adding it to my favorites list.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a mild interest in history. It is a view you won't get anywhere else. I also recommend this book to people who like war and adventure stories. This one's a good one, and one you've never heard before. Also anyone who likes a thumping good read will love this one - it is one of the best that I've read in historical fiction in a while. You don't even have to buy it - just read it! You won't be sorry.
In the middle of all this is our hero, the fencing master Molinex, who owns a fancy fencing school in London that is patronized by both the English Crown and the French emigres. Both of his parents are dead, and he's been in England since he was little, so he doesn't remember France at all. One day, a lawyer calls upon him to say that his brother has died and he has 60 days to get to France to claim one of the biggest estates in the country because he is now a Marquise.This is where things really get moving. We have; false identity papers, smugglers, murderous cousins, beautiful women, dishonest Republicans, briberies, duellings, attempted hangings, massacres, bayonettings, ambushes, all out warfare, haughty stupid generals, tricksy harlots, defections, firing squads, romance, mistaken identities, pay back, a potential peace treaties, thousands executed, new found fathers, dereliction of duties, and finally failure.
I never knew that all this happened between the Royalists and the Republican armies. The story is simply so amazing. The events leading up to it, and the decisions that were made during the battle. I won't give away any spoilers, but we all know there's been no French King on the throne since the Revolution, so obviously, something didn't work for the Royalists. The details of why he didn't get there are what are so stunning. He actually had a chance - a real chance to make it back to the throne again.
In his own ineffable way Sabatini brings a whole cast of characters to life - like a Cecil B. DeMille movie, you have our hero, there is his love interest Germaine, there are his two murderous cousins - Constant and Armand. Then there are all the chousans. The leaders include Tintiniac, St. Regent, Caulard, and there a lot of others that I can't remember. The head of the Royalist army is General Paisey. The head of the Republican army is General Hoche. There are so many more people in this book and Sabatini brings them all to life quite effortlessly with his beautiful command of the English language. All his books are this way. With a few well turned sentences, he paints pictures like an artist. These are not just adventure novels, but works of art.
I enjoyed this book immensely and believe others would too. You can read it free here on Goodreads, I found the list of free books through the help menu. I had never found this book before, so I read it right away. I'm very glad I did. I will be adding it to my favorites list.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a mild interest in history. It is a view you won't get anywhere else. I also recommend this book to people who like war and adventure stories. This one's a good one, and one you've never heard before. Also anyone who likes a thumping good read will love this one - it is one of the best that I've read in historical fiction in a while. You don't even have to buy it - just read it! You won't be sorry.
September 22, 2021
Do you ever read a bit of history, particularly history about some French or British military campaign, and nearly double yourself into anxious knots by the end of the account of all the politics, stupidity, misfortune, petty intriguing, cowardice, treachery, and arrogant mishandling of EVERYTHING by some of the people in charge that ends up ruining the best-laid plans, causing needless tragedy, and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?
Well, then, you know what to expect if you read this book. I still enjoyed it (I like scornful heroes and virtuous heroines and obscure pockets of history - it’s about an attempt by Breton farmers, haughty emigres, and some others to restore the French monarchy shortly after Robespierre’s death), but man was it frustrating.
Well, then, you know what to expect if you read this book. I still enjoyed it (I like scornful heroes and virtuous heroines and obscure pockets of history - it’s about an attempt by Breton farmers, haughty emigres, and some others to restore the French monarchy shortly after Robespierre’s death), but man was it frustrating.
January 19, 2015
Master-At-Arms takes place mostly in France during a royalist uprising against the French Revolution. There are the usual battles and duels here, but it's a denser read than some of Sabatini's other books because this one's more historical than adventure.
The history aspects seem very detailed, but I don't know enough about the period to have an opinion on their accuracy. The book is at its best when it focuses in on the personal story of Quentin de Morlaix, a fencing master who tries to claim his newly-discovered inheritance despite the political turmoil in the country of his birth. He's got potential to be an interesting character, but he falls a bit flat because his location and activities seem arranged so that Sabatini can show us the larger dramas of the war.
I enjoyed this as a view into an unfamiliar time, but I prefer Sabatini books with a little more personal involvement.
The history aspects seem very detailed, but I don't know enough about the period to have an opinion on their accuracy. The book is at its best when it focuses in on the personal story of Quentin de Morlaix, a fencing master who tries to claim his newly-discovered inheritance despite the political turmoil in the country of his birth. He's got potential to be an interesting character, but he falls a bit flat because his location and activities seem arranged so that Sabatini can show us the larger dramas of the war.
I enjoyed this as a view into an unfamiliar time, but I prefer Sabatini books with a little more personal involvement.
September 5, 2009
My favorite Sabatini story. Lots of action and a good romance besides. Plenty of historical details to add realism. Especially good is the twist at the end.
April 8, 2024
I picked this up because Georges Cadoudal was mentioned as featuring as a character in it (which he does), and because I was intrigued by the existence of a Rafael Sabatini novel of which I'd never heard; I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. The final twist satisfactorily explains away elements that had been unexplained since the start of the novel and carries emotional weight, while managing to provide some depth to its villains, and for once the book avoids Sabatini's besetting trope of the despicable weak intellectual betraying and then being defeated by the designated Manly Man.
The protagonist, Quentin de Morlaix, is an eighteenth-century professional fencing-master, which provides a credible rationale for why he is consistently able to defeat talented amateurs of the sword but also means that it is not considered honourable for him to accept a challenge to a duel (nonetheless he fights a few over the course of the book). He becomes mixed up in the Royalist resistance to the French Republican regime in the aftermath of the fall of Robespierre, not from political conviction, since he is not himself an exiled aristocrat but has been brought up to earn his own living in England since he was a small child, but because he discovers that he has improbably inherited property in France, which comes along with a set of resentful Royalist cousins whom he strongly suspects of wanting to see him dead. If anything it is the Royalists who pose the most danger to him in the course of the book, when he is simply attempting to gain possession of his property under the tolerance of the Republican authorities; nonetheless he ends up fighting with Cadoudal and his Chouans against the 'Blues', more for reasons of personal allegiance than any burning desire to restore the emigré nobility, many of whom he despises, to their former position.
Quentin becomes a dedicated adherent of the Comte de Puisaye, a flamboyant and questionably trustworthy figure whose insistence on helping him he at first finds suspicious, like the too-eager suggestions of his Morlaix de Chesnières cousins, and later repays with a dogged loyalty despite Puisaye's unpopularity among his fellow exiles. Puisaye is cited as the successor to La Rouërie, who inspires the (fictional) Gilbert with his guerilla organisation in Chantemerle, and it is to the advantage of the book that I am not familiar enough with this period of the fighting to be certain which of the characters is real (and thus has a predetermined fate) and which is not. It turns out that Puisaye was, in fact, a real person, as was the Chevalier de Tinténiac (and the house of Coëtlogon where Quentin tries to obtain money), but not being aware of this I had no idea what to expect, or of who would survive and who was to be trusted! The outcome of Quiberon is all too well known; whether Quentin's relief column of Chouans had any real-life existence I did not know, but against all history I found myself hoping desperately that despite all the internal dissent they would somehow make it through...
Quentin's other personal attachment is to his cousin Germaine, to whom he is attracted despite his feud with the rest of her family, but she is an ardent Royalist who finds his amicable relationship with the Blues highly suspicious and persists in denying that his cousins can actually be out to kill him - quite apart from the fact that she cannot marry him in any case until she reaches her majority! So despite their mutual attraction neither of them is entirely sure of the other's allegiances; again, Germaine's attitude is finally explained by the revelation at the end.
The protagonist, Quentin de Morlaix, is an eighteenth-century professional fencing-master, which provides a credible rationale for why he is consistently able to defeat talented amateurs of the sword but also means that it is not considered honourable for him to accept a challenge to a duel (nonetheless he fights a few over the course of the book). He becomes mixed up in the Royalist resistance to the French Republican regime in the aftermath of the fall of Robespierre, not from political conviction, since he is not himself an exiled aristocrat but has been brought up to earn his own living in England since he was a small child, but because he discovers that he has improbably inherited property in France, which comes along with a set of resentful Royalist cousins whom he strongly suspects of wanting to see him dead. If anything it is the Royalists who pose the most danger to him in the course of the book, when he is simply attempting to gain possession of his property under the tolerance of the Republican authorities; nonetheless he ends up fighting with Cadoudal and his Chouans against the 'Blues', more for reasons of personal allegiance than any burning desire to restore the emigré nobility, many of whom he despises, to their former position.
Quentin becomes a dedicated adherent of the Comte de Puisaye, a flamboyant and questionably trustworthy figure whose insistence on helping him he at first finds suspicious, like the too-eager suggestions of his Morlaix de Chesnières cousins, and later repays with a dogged loyalty despite Puisaye's unpopularity among his fellow exiles. Puisaye is cited as the successor to La Rouërie, who inspires the (fictional) Gilbert with his guerilla organisation in Chantemerle, and it is to the advantage of the book that I am not familiar enough with this period of the fighting to be certain which of the characters is real (and thus has a predetermined fate) and which is not. It turns out that Puisaye was, in fact, a real person, as was the Chevalier de Tinténiac (and the house of Coëtlogon where Quentin tries to obtain money), but not being aware of this I had no idea what to expect, or of who would survive and who was to be trusted! The outcome of Quiberon is all too well known; whether Quentin's relief column of Chouans had any real-life existence I did not know, but against all history I found myself hoping desperately that despite all the internal dissent they would somehow make it through...
Quentin's other personal attachment is to his cousin Germaine, to whom he is attracted despite his feud with the rest of her family, but she is an ardent Royalist who finds his amicable relationship with the Blues highly suspicious and persists in denying that his cousins can actually be out to kill him - quite apart from the fact that she cannot marry him in any case until she reaches her majority! So despite their mutual attraction neither of them is entirely sure of the other's allegiances; again, Germaine's attitude is finally explained by the revelation at the end.
August 26, 2013
I had a hard time with this one. Saabtini covers the French Revolution again as he did in Trampling the Lilies. The problem is this time the story is from the side of the French nobolity and those who supported the idea of restorying the monarchy. The main fighters who are French peasents loyal to the monarchy are brave, noble, and do a great job of holding off the Republicans. Then the French nobility comes in and with their aggrorance destory everything.
The main story though is about a French fencing master who lives in England learns he is the a newly discovred son of a French noble. Instead of being content in England he is entince to claim his heritage. Why is beyond me? Though the story has some fencing there is also a lot of battles. I perfer Sabtini's more personal fencing stories - Scarmouche, The LIon's Skin. The twist at the end is very effective. As Sabtini novel I say two stars on it own maybe 3. It is certainly not for someone starting with Sabtini and is best for true Sabtini fans.
PS Carabas means north west wind.
The main story though is about a French fencing master who lives in England learns he is the a newly discovred son of a French noble. Instead of being content in England he is entince to claim his heritage. Why is beyond me? Though the story has some fencing there is also a lot of battles. I perfer Sabtini's more personal fencing stories - Scarmouche, The LIon's Skin. The twist at the end is very effective. As Sabtini novel I say two stars on it own maybe 3. It is certainly not for someone starting with Sabtini and is best for true Sabtini fans.
PS Carabas means north west wind.
June 8, 2009
Set mostly in Brittany during the war following the French Revolution. Carabas means nowhere. The Marquis is inserted into actual events that occurred and Sabatini's usual assured style keeps the action moving along at a great pace.
Sabatini is my personal favourite historical novelist.
Sabatini is my personal favourite historical novelist.
January 31, 2025
I picked up a copy of this novel at the recommendation of Historical European Martial Arts practitioners, for how accurately it describes this style of swordsmanship.
First published in 1940, and somewhat challenging to find in print today, the novel (bearing the alternate title, "The Marquis of Carabas" - a allusion to the fairytale, Puss in Boots) takes place in England and France during the late 1700s. It centres on the adventures of Quentin de Morlaix, a young fencing master living in London, born to a line of noble French émigrés; he finds himself caught in the middle of the counter-revolution and royalist uprising when he returns to France to claim his heritage. Facing a great deal of antagonism due to class tensions casting doubt upon his true lineage, Quentin must use his wits to survive not only in unfamiliar territory, but against the cutthroat machinations of his fellow émigrés.
Sabatini uses the backdrop of class struggle within a civil war to cleverly comment on how loyalties are formed and tested, and questions the nature of authority and on what basis a leader merits that authority. Appreciators of military history and strategy will enjoy the latter parts of the book. My only (very minor) quibble with it is that I was hoping for more swordfighting opportunities for the protagonist; there are few scenes in which Quentin gets to use his skills as a fencer, and sadly, none of these bouts seemed particularly challenging to him.
First published in 1940, and somewhat challenging to find in print today, the novel (bearing the alternate title, "The Marquis of Carabas" - a allusion to the fairytale, Puss in Boots) takes place in England and France during the late 1700s. It centres on the adventures of Quentin de Morlaix, a young fencing master living in London, born to a line of noble French émigrés; he finds himself caught in the middle of the counter-revolution and royalist uprising when he returns to France to claim his heritage. Facing a great deal of antagonism due to class tensions casting doubt upon his true lineage, Quentin must use his wits to survive not only in unfamiliar territory, but against the cutthroat machinations of his fellow émigrés.
Sabatini uses the backdrop of class struggle within a civil war to cleverly comment on how loyalties are formed and tested, and questions the nature of authority and on what basis a leader merits that authority. Appreciators of military history and strategy will enjoy the latter parts of the book. My only (very minor) quibble with it is that I was hoping for more swordfighting opportunities for the protagonist; there are few scenes in which Quentin gets to use his skills as a fencer, and sadly, none of these bouts seemed particularly challenging to him.
June 18, 2020
What you'd expect from a Rafael Sabatini novel. Not his best (see: Scaramouche), but not far from it either. But then, to my knowledge, he never wrote anything that was too far from his best.
This is a historical adventure from the early- to mid-20th century with all that comes with that genre and period -- chance events to turn the tide of the narrative, female characters who are either marginal or love interests, a hero of unsurpassed skill, and so on. And with Rafael Sabatini, you can also always expect an intelligent and level-headed hero who has a propensity to act rashly. But you also get Sabatini's fast-paced yet somewhat florid style of writing that betrays the fact that he is truly enjoying telling the story -- and that is why I enjoy his books. Ah! If only modern writers wrote like this...
This is a historical adventure from the early- to mid-20th century with all that comes with that genre and period -- chance events to turn the tide of the narrative, female characters who are either marginal or love interests, a hero of unsurpassed skill, and so on. And with Rafael Sabatini, you can also always expect an intelligent and level-headed hero who has a propensity to act rashly. But you also get Sabatini's fast-paced yet somewhat florid style of writing that betrays the fact that he is truly enjoying telling the story -- and that is why I enjoy his books. Ah! If only modern writers wrote like this...
March 7, 2021
Rafael Sabatini at his best! This amazing novel, full of swashbuckling adventures and action, is set in the French Revolution, and consists of daring royalist plots and so much more. Definitely recommended for fans of Alexandre Dumas and action adventure or historical fiction fans. This book astonished me by how interesting and impossible to put down it was!
February 13, 2014
A great offering from the author of Captain Blood. Tells the story of a young French sword master who fled the Revolution and his perilous attempts to win his noble inheritance (and thereby, the noble beauty he hopes to marry). A swashbuckler in the old style.
Sabatini always provides a good villain, and never fails to provide the hero with some satisfying revenge.
Ten years ago, I had to special order the book and wait nearly two years.
Sadly, the book can be hard to find outside of a library.
One of my other favorites by Sabatini, also set in the French revolution, is Scaramouche. Stuart Granger played the title character in the movie.
Sabatini always provides a good villain, and never fails to provide the hero with some satisfying revenge.
Ten years ago, I had to special order the book and wait nearly two years.
Sadly, the book can be hard to find outside of a library.
One of my other favorites by Sabatini, also set in the French revolution, is Scaramouche. Stuart Granger played the title character in the movie.
September 29, 2022
Love the story and quotes like this: "Besides, I am of those who respect the opinions of others even when I do not share them." I have a hardback published by P.F. Collier & Son Corporation, New York. Not sure of the year. The wonderful repartee throughout reminds me also of Scarmouche by Sabatini. An interesting take on why Puisaye was so supportive of the French monarchy.
February 11, 2023
sabatini at his best.
In a literary world populated by such noble, daring and fate-bound characters such as Scaramouche, Captain Blood and Bellaron, also. Lives a man whose life’s tale is as rich, and adventurous as any of those: The Marquis of Carabas. A tale rich with history and blazing with action and honor. A great tale, magnificently told%.
In a literary world populated by such noble, daring and fate-bound characters such as Scaramouche, Captain Blood and Bellaron, also. Lives a man whose life’s tale is as rich, and adventurous as any of those: The Marquis of Carabas. A tale rich with history and blazing with action and honor. A great tale, magnificently told%.
July 9, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11227089
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11227089
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews