Halfhyde for the queen

Halfhyde Adventure #5

by Philip McCutchan

In Andalusia, Lieutenant St Vincent Halfhyde is sent by the unpredictable Captain Watkiss on a secret mission to aid the Queen's Messenger who is being pursued by nefarious Spanish agents. But when Halfhyde discovers a plot to kill Queen Victoria herself, the stakes are raised. Now he and the rest of his flotilla must face down the Spanish Navy and get the Messenger back to Britain with vital information.

Genres: Historical Fiction

178 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1977

About the author

aka Robert Conington Galway, Duncan MacNeil

Philip McCutchan (1920-1996) grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest resulting in several fiction books, from amongst his large output, about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years.

Reviews

[Greg Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halfhyde is in trouble again! This time he is caught in a whirlpool of intrigue in Spain with only his wits, his rashness, and his bombastic admiral to get him back to England alive and to save Queen Victoria from a dangerous plot.

Swashbuckling Victorian adventure.

[Mike Glaser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read in this series. The author does a good job of keeping you guessing throughout the story making it nearly impossible to figure out who was plotting what or who were the real conspirators. Highly recommended if you are reading the series.

[Steve Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halfhyde has to try and save the life of Queen Victoria while getting the Queen's Messenger out of Spain and back to England. Not bad for this series, but twisty.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first time, I felt like the Halfhyde series was faltering in Halfhyde for the Queen. To be sure, his captain offered considerably more comic relief than he had in Halfhyde to the Narrows, but the adventure itself seemed lackluster. At least, the diplomatic ping-pong match with the Spanish fleet offered different antagonists than the previous books in the series (with its obsession toward Germans and Russians) and the very presence of the Spanish themselves provides ample opportunity for the captain's racial prejudice to come to the fore. It is interesting to see these outrageous comments from the perspective of Halfhyde and know that even as the captain believes himself (by the mere genetic accident of being born British) to be superior to the "dagoes" (defined by the captain as anyone who is not fortunate enough to be British or a Hun), Halfhyde is actually superior to his commanding officer in terms of competence and accultured grace. Of course, he doesn't get appropriate credit for either his competence or his gentility.

Obviously, we anticipate from the initial briefing that such a simple mission as is outlined by Captain Watchkiss is likely to go awry--particularly as the captain defines the mission. Obviously, it is clear that McCutchan is delivering an entertaining adventure replete with double-dealing, double-crosses, and misdirection. Unfortunately, however, we have the sense that we have been in this plot line before. Yet, somehow, there is just enough intrigue that one finds oneself reading all the way through the narrative just to make sure that it is, indeed, as predictable as one ascertains early on.

Still, one cannot fault a naval adventure series with occasional appearances by Admiral Jackie Fisher. The book should be read with Al Stewart's song "Old Admirals" playing in the background--right era, right tone, and fabulous music. Although McCutchan writes about an era before he enlisted in the Royal Navy, his expertise shines through in every way. His protagonist is noteworthy and even when the pacing and innovation falls off a bit as in this installment, the books are still worth reading. And I still couldn't wait to move to the next one...