A Shred of Honour - Softcover

Connery, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425184986 ISBN 13: 9780425184981

Publisher: Berkley, 2002

Synopsis

As an Irish-Catholic and a reputed coward, Lieutenant George Markham is a marine with something to prove. When his commanding officer is killed at sea, Markham seizes his chance—and finds himself at the helm of a creaky frigate crewed by malcontents. Now, Markham must gain the crew's respect, teach them to fight as a unit, and lead them into the heart of Revolutionary France on a mission they aren't expected to survive.

About this title

About the Author:

Tom Connery lives in the centuries-old port of Deal in Kent, England, with his wife and two children. He has written three Markham of the Marines novels, and as David Donachie he is the author of the Harry Ludlow novels, published in England.

From Publishers Weekly:

This new addition to the lively subgenre of adventure novels set around the time of the Napoleonic Wars is the first of three in the Markham of the Marines series originally published in the U.K.; it travels familiar ground, but acquits itself honorably enough. In 1793, when Lt. George Markham takes up a low-ranking commission in the English army, the French Revolution is only four years old and Napoleon is still a French artillery officer. On board the ship carrying Markham's regiment to the siege of Toulon, the officer's reputation is much discussed. Markham is an Irish bastard (son of an English general), "probably a Papist, certainly a rake," and labeled a coward because of a mysterious court martial 12 years earlier. Though no one trusts him to command even his ground troops after he is implicated in the death of another officer, Markham finds himself in charge of a "mixed bag of Lobsters and Bullocks"Amarines and armyAdefending Toulon from the onslaught of French troops. Once on the ground, the plot complications are worthy of Baroness Orczy or either Dumas. Is that silent boy the Dauphin? Are those anti-Terror bourgeois really Directorate spies? Has Markham seen a glimpse of incest? There is plenty of swashbuckling action and gory detail, and events include amorous dalliances, British snobbery and conflicting loyalties leading to diverse betrayals. A loving history of the English rifle "Brown Bess" and cameo appearances by Sir Sydney Smith, Horatio Nelson and Napoleon himself flesh out the military plot, which culminates in a daring last-minute escape from the victorious French. The writing is serviceable, and genre fans will probably enjoy the tale, as long as they don't expect anything near the level of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0425184986
• ISBN 13: 9780425184981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320