The Adventures of Laforest-Dombourg (vol 1)

Eric Gautier (translated by Roger Barnes)

Fitzroy Press

£14.99

When dinghy cruiser Roger Barnes met French author Eric Gautier in Concarneau, he also discovered Gautier’s well-researched novels about the young pre-Revolutionary Naval officer Pierre-Marie Laforest-Dombourg. Gautier’s aim had been to write historical novels rivalling the work of Patrick O’Brien or CS Forester: Barnes was determined to make these available in English. The action of this first volume (the length of two standard novels) takes place between 1776-1779, mainly in Brittany but with a blood-stained dénouement during the unsuccessful French siege of Savannah in the American Revolutionary War.

The hero doesn’t possess the psychological complexity of Hornblower nor the robust charm of Jack Aubrey, nevertheless lovers of naval fiction who enjoy a long, immersive read should consider this book.