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St. Ives
being the adventures of a French prisoner in England
First published 1897 · 599 pages
A classic nineteenth-century adventure of captivity and survival set against the looming shadow of the Napoleonic Wars.
What it feels like
Stepping into this novel feels like unearthing a time capsule of nineteenth-century historical adventure. The atmosphere is steeped in the damp, shadowy tension of English castles and the claustrophobia of wartime imprisonment during the Napoleonic era. As a tale of a French prisoner of war, the narrative maintains a brisk, dramatic momentum, balancing the grim realities of captivity with the spirited pulse of classic adventure. The reading experience is uniquely textured by its prose, which carries the distinct literary curiosity of a story begun by one master and faithfully concluded by another. It will delight readers who crave vintage historical fiction, atmospheric settings, and the earnest, formal storytelling of a bygone era.
- Mood
- atmospheric
- tense
- shadowy
- historic
- Tone
- adventurous
- dramatic
- earnest
- formal
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- captivity and confinement · wartime survival · historical adventure · cross-cultural conflict
- The writing
- Classic late nineteenth-century prose that shifts in texture as the narrative baton is passed from its original author to a posthumous collaborator.
- The arc
- A journey that shifts from the claustrophobic tension of imprisonment to the sweeping momentum of historical adventure.
- Who it's for
- Readers who savor vintage historical fiction, tales of wartime captivity, and the unique literary artifact of a seamlessly completed posthumous manuscript.
Content notes
- imprisonment
- wartime conflict
About the book
Editorial note signed: S. C. [i.e. Sir Sidney Calvin]
"... The... task of supplying the missing chapters has been intrusted to Mr. Quiller-Couch, whose work begins at chapter XXXI." -- Editorial note.
Filmed from a copy of the original publication held by McGill University, Department of Rare Books & Special Collections, Montreal. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1993.
vi, [1], 438 p.; 19 cm.
Description from Open Library.
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