Castaway

by Frances Murray

“Isabelle Audley, delirious and half-drowned, is the soul survivor of a shipwreck of the Isle of Guernsey in 1804. Her parents had died in India, and Isabelle was on her way to England to claim her inheritance. Grudgingly taken in at a Guernsey farm, she slowly regains her strength, only to be faced with greater dilemmas. Destitute, and with no way of proving who she is, Isabelle must establish her identity with her unknown Audley relations, and aunt and uncle with everything to gain from her death. Meanwhile, on the French coast, little more than an hour's sail from Guernsey, Napoleon Bonaparte is massing his forces for an invasion of England. When Lieutenant Charles de Beaumanoir of the Royal Navy arrives to investigate the castaway, Isabelle at last finds an ally--and more--in the young Guernseyman. CASTAWAY is an exciting and romantic story, with a vividly described naval encounter as its gripping climax."--from inside dust jacket flap

191 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Rosemary Frances Sutherland was born on 10 February 1928 in Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK, the daughter of Frances (Wotherspoon), an artist, and Donald Sutherland, a journalist and playwright. She studied at the University of Glasgow (1945–1947), later she decided took a year out and worked for and toured with the Unity Theatre of Glasgow (1948–1949). On August 28, 1950 she married Robert Edward Booth, a manager, and they had three daughters: Lesley, Judith, and Frances.

In 1965, she gained an MA at the University of St Andrews, followed by a Diploma in Education in 1966. She taught History at Perth Academy, Scotland (1966-1972) and was Head of History Department at Linlathan School, Dundee (1972-1976). She was principal teacher of History at the Ladies' College, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Isles (1976-1993). In 1993, she retired from teaching. Throughout her professional teaching career and her retirement, she has always written. She was published from 1966 to 1986. Since 2011, she auto-published e-books in amazon.

After her retiring, Rosemary and her husband then moved to Spain to live, then to France where she now lives in the Tarn River area, where she has her second residence during years.

Reviews

[Claire S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-written and interesting book from an author new to me. The main appeal in terms of originality is the setting. I believe this is my first historical book set in the island of Guernsey. This is not technically within the Regency years, but it's close enough that Regency fans would enjoy it. It's set in the beginning of the Napoleonic wars and, due to Guernsey's proximity to France, there's a lot of naval activity going on in the area, including the usual smuggling and spies.

The blurb is pretty spot on, but it doesn't seem to emphasize that there's a lot more adventure in this book than romance. The heroine, Isabelle, stays in the farm where a man suspected of treason lives and gets unwillingly involved in the action. Both the hero and heroine are nice, likeable and sensible people. The romance is not completely overshadowed by the action, but it's also not front and center. There's a lot of action initially with the shipwreck and at the end when everything comes to a close. In the middle, we follow Isabelle's journey as she becomes accustomed with the customs, language, and the people of Guernsey.

*The book is clean, but there's violence.