Escape from France

Carey Family #8

by Ronald Welch, William Stobbs (Illustrator)

For young Richard Carey, the dangers of Revolutionary France stood out in sharp contrast to the sheltered life he had known in Cambridge and London. And for the first time his intelligence, tenacity and courage are called upon in the challenging mission which he agrees to undertake. With the help of his cousin Armand D'Assailly and an English frigate, Richard manages to send several of his French relatives to safety. Now the more severe task of freeing Armand's father from the Abbaye prison makes great demands on the ingenuity of these young men. Assuming the identity of the Republican whom Richard kills in a duel, he is able to secure the discharge of Armand's father and his safety across the Channel. The path to final safety is strewn with obstacles and dangers all the way, but Richard and his friends manage to overcome them, if often at a sacrifice. Definitely a first rate tale of intrigue.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, French Revolution, Childrens, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Ronald Welch is the pen name of Ronald Felton, author of twelve historical novels for children. After reading history at Cambridge, he taught at Bedford Modern School and then became headmaster of Okehampton Grammar School in Devon. He was awarded the Carnegie Medal forKnight Crusader in 1954 which is to be serialized in Story Time on BBC on 4th July, 1972. His interest in military history stems from his family background and his service in The Welch Regiment during the 1939–45 war.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The privileged son and heir of the Earl of Aubigny, Richard Carey was impatient with those he considered awkward or slow, and unconscious of the degree to which his family position had eased his passage through life. Dispatched to France by his father and uncle to evacuate the wife and children of the imprisoned Marquis de Vernaye—the head of the d'Assailly family, with whom the Careys had a long-standing history of friendship and inter-marriage—Richard found himself catapulted into the chaos of the French Revolution. When the plan to assist his d'Assailly kin did not proceed exactly as expected, the resultant adventure, in which Richard and his cousin Armand set out to free the Marquis, forced him to stand on his own two feet for the first time...

Originally published in 1960, Escape from France is the eighth entry in the Carey Family Chronicles—a loosely-connected collection of historical children's novels following the adventures of a noble family through some of the major events of English history—that I have read. The "series" (if it can be called that) is now arranged by historical chronology, rather than publication date. In any case, I found it an engaging tale, and I enjoyed reading it, although perhaps not quite as much as some of its predecessors. Perhaps my experience was undermined by my high expectations, as I had particularly been looking forward to this story, given my interest in the relationship between the Careys and the d'Assaillys—the Welsh and French families descended from Philip d'Aubigny and his friend, Sir Gilbert d'Assailly, of Knight Crusader . There's less of Ronald Welch's historical explanation here than in previous books, most likely because he assumed his readers would already possess the requisite knowledge about the French Revolution. But I think the real issue here, in terms of my reading pleasure, was that I just wasn't able to take Richard entirely to heart, as a hero, in the way that I have done with other Careys. I also think I was hoping for a more interesting character, in Armand, than Welch was able to deliver. He (Armand) is, after all, the first d'Assailly we really get to know in any real way, since the initial adventure with Sir Philip and Sir Gilbert.

Leaving that aside—and really, I don't wish to overstate matters, as I still found the story entertaining enough that I whizzed through it in two sittings—I would nevertheless recommend this one, both to those who have enjoyed other novels about the Careys, and to young readers who enjoy good historical fiction. It reminded me quite a bit of the story of The Scarlet Pimpernel , so readers who enjoyed that novel might also want to take a look at this one, if they also appreciate children's fiction.

[Suzannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first stumbled across Ronald Welch's stirring adventure stories for boys at our local library, which still owned a few of the old Oxford University Press hardbacks, and Escape from France was one of the books I read. At the time, I considered it an exciting story, but also less substantial than many of the other Carey Family books I'd read, especially my favourite, Captain of Dragoons.

So I was interested to see what I would think of it lo these many years later, as an adult.

We meet Richard Carey at Cambridge, a capable but arrogant young man who easily deals with all the challenges that come his way--whether it's academic study, a crooked bookmaker with a pugilistic bodyguard, or a ne'er-do-well cousin who must be rescued from his gambling debts. Meanwhile, however, political conditions are deteriorating across the channel in pre-revolutionary France. When the Careys' distant cousin the Marquis of Vernaye is arrested, Richard's father (the 7th Earl of Aubigny) and uncle (international hellraiser Sir Rupert Carey) commission Richard to cross the Channel to France and rescue the Marquis's family.

Richard laughs at Sir Rupert's wild stories and wilder advice. But once landed in France, he finds that the once most civilised nation on earth has become a more dangerous place than he imagined. To make matters worse, cousin Armand is determined not to escape until the Marquis of Vernaye can be rescued from the feared Abbaye Prison itself. In a France beset with spies, informants, adventurers, card sharks, and duellists, Richard begins to realise that Sir Rupert may not be as crazy as he thought...

This story reminded me very strongly of two other books, GA Henty's In the Reign of Terror and (of course) Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. Indeed I'm sure there have to have been a lot of other books written about heroic Englishmen crossing the Channel to rescue French aristocrats from the Reign of Terror. Given that, it's tempting to ask what Escape from France adds to the conversation.

In some ways, I don't know that it tries to add much to the conversation about the French Revolution and as usual, Ronald Welch shies away from investigating too closely the ethical questions inherent in the period of history he's writing about. The Marquis of Vernaye is said to have been kind to his tenants, while other aristocrats and the ancien regime at large are shown to have been oppressive. One thing I liked was that there are sympathetic characters and villainous characters among both the aristocracy and among the republicans, and one main character is shown to be a moderate republican who remains loyal to his country despite the Terror--I felt there was a good representation of a few different perspectives.

Ronald Welch is worth reading for two main reasons. One is the depth and accuracy of his military history, and his best books (like Captain of Dragoons and Tank Commander) tend to focus on wars. I actually missed that focus in Escape from France, which seemed a little more romantic and less grounded in tone.

There's another main reason to read Ronald Welch, though, and that is his continual discussion of masculine maturity. Escape from France is about a young man who thinks himself competent, but has really lived a short and privileged life. It's only when he finds himself alone and on the run in France, without any of the advantages of being an Earl's son in England, that he begins to realise how much he has to be humble about.

Escape from France is an exciting, fast-paced adventure through revolutionary France. I enjoyed it, and I'd recommend it, together with the rest of the Carey Family series, for children and young teens. The series has been out of print for many years, and is currently being reprinted in limited clothbound editions for Slightly Foxed, so get a copy while you still can!

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't need much background on the French Revolution, and Welch didn't waste time providing any. Once again we've got a champion swordsman, though pistols are the more common weapon throughout the book.

There are some unsavory characters that Richard Carey is obliged to involve in his plans. Having read earlier books, I was perhaps too especially on the lookout for double-crossers. This wariness may have impeded my reading enjoyment. Sometimes it's nice to be blindsided and just gasp.

Richard didn't seem as complicated a character as some of the other Careys, but he performed his duties admirably. The supporting cast was mostly unremarkable, though Uncle Rupert Carey is someone that I'd really like to know more about, but I don't know that this will happen. His past exploits certainly aren't covered in the previous instalments of the series.

It was interesting to note that in the course of providing some incidental Carey family history, Welch dropped hints of the next novel in the series, which was not yet published at the time. I continue to be curious about how much of a big picture he planned before getting these books written. (Or were they completed and only published at appropriate intervals?) I only noticed because I am reading according to historical chronology. I don't know that such a brief reference would stick in my mind to be recalled otherwise.

[Siobhain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a little vague on details, but I enjoyed reading this and am happy to add it to my bookshelf of historical novels, history nonfiction, and biographies. It is a different perspective on the French Revolution from any other book for youth that I have read. I am really intrigued by the plan for the books, each book following a different member of the family from different generations and at different periods of time. I was quite saddened to see how expensive some of the books were. I hope to track down a few more of the books in the future. Discovering author Ronald Welch was great find.

[Doodles McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young child I liked this children's story of Richard Carey, set against the dangers of Revolutionary France.

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The least interesting of the Carey novels notwithstanding that means it is dim only by comparison.