Where I Read a Good Book and Learned Some History

The Snare by Rafael Sabatini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had read Scaramouche several years ago and was looking for another Sabatini novel to see if I liked it as much. Turns out, I do.

Set in Portugal in the time of the Napoleonic wars, when the British under Wellington were somewhat unwelcome guests and allies, it tells the story of an officer and his wife, her brother, his friend, some spies, and a few unfortunate events that could destroy all their lives. Sabatini does a wonderful job of establishing the setting and keeps larger events in the reader's mind while telling a smaller, more personal story.

This book is 100 years old, but the prose feels very modern. The action, from drawing room intrigues to sword fights, moves along at a gallop, not unlike a Sir Walter Scott novel, but his language is much more accessible. (That's not to say simple or bland--he's an excellent wordsmith. It's just that much clearer to a modern reader, IMO.)

Sabatini's characters are nicely drawn with comprehensible motivations and inner lives. I would say that they are appropriate to this kind of story, though probably less deeply developed than more dramatic novels of the era. He tells adventure stories, and I think the characters found here answer the need very well. The upright and loyal Captain Tremayne is betrayed by his honorable but jealous friend, Sir Terence, while trying to save his foolish wife's equally foolish brother from a court martial and firing squad. I found their behavior believable and very readable--and wonder at his books' obscurity. (I pretty much picked this one at random off Ebay. It was the most reasonably priced hardcover available of Sabatini books.)

I enjoyed this book and found the conclusion very satisfying. Time to go hunt down some of his pirate books and other adventures. :)

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