The Baltic Gambit
-
-
4.2 • 13 Ratings
-
-
- £4.99
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
January 1801, and Captain Alan Lewrie, RN, known as 'St. Alan the Liberator' for freeing a dozen slaves, is at last being brought to trial with his life on the line.
At the same time, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia are forming a League of Armed Neutrality, to Napoleon Bonaparte’s delight, to deny Great Britain their vital exports, even if it means war. England will need all her experienced sea dogs, but … even Alan Lewrie?
Ultimately he is acquitted, but he’s also ignored by the Navy, so it’s half-pay on civvy street for him, and with idle time on his mischievous hands, Lewrie is sure to get himself in trouble again! Lewrie is summoned to Admiralty and the command of the Thermopylae frigate as the fleet gathers to face down the League of the North and the mad Tsar Paul. He must venture into the Baltic in the dead of winter, alone and with no support, to scout the enemy fleets, saddled with a pair of Russian noblemen as a last-minute peace delegation, but if the wily Foreign Office spy-master, Zachariah Twigg, sent them, what else might their mission be?
All that and the Battle of Copenhagen, too, and it’s broadsides at close quarters, and treachery for Lewrie, forcing him to use all his wiles to survive!
Number fifteen in The Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures, The Baltic Gambit is perfect for fans of Patrick O'Brian, Julian Stockwin and C.S. Forester.
‘You could get addicted to this series. Easily’ New York Times Book Review
'The best naval series since C. S. Forester… Recommended’ Library Journal
‘Fast-moving… A hugely likeable hero, a huge cast of sharply drawn supporting characters: there's nothing missing. Wonderful stuff’ Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lambdin and his Napoleonic War hero, Capt. Alan Lewrie, do their usual nautical thing in the series' 15th installment, but this account of the Battle of Copenhagen takes a backseat to the main character's Tom Jones antics and some underdeveloped espionage activities. The novel begins, in prologue, with unfinished business from the previous novel (Troubled Waters), and soon, after cooling his heels in London and plotting personal revenge, Lewrie gets his new orders to deliver a peace delegation to Russia. Lewrie is then pressed into service to help Vice Adm. Lord Horatio Nelson defeat the Danish fleet at Copenhagen. For those who know history, the outcome of this engagement is never in doubt, but the author still has one surprise in store when the true purpose of the peace delegation is revealed. With his mannered style, leering sensibility and attenuated plotting, Lambdin has always been second tier to C.S. Forester. This new novel is no exception but it does the trick as an entertaining time killer.
