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Markham of the Marines #1
A Shred of Honour
The adventures of Lieutenant Markham, a soldier in the British army during the Napoleonic Wars. He takes part in the defense of Toulon, one of the attackers being an artillery officer by the name of Napoleon.
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 24, 2023
‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.’
Early nineteenth-century sea opera. British naval warfare against France. A new take on seas already sailed. Excellent historical fiction, with cameo appearances of all the usual suspects. Protagonist is a loser who finds himself leading men who won’t follow for leaders who don’t lead. What could go wrong?
‘If stupidity is the charge, sir, you’d be looking at your entire command. There is not a brain amongst the lot of them.’ ‘So that’s why they put me here.’
Starts in the middle of a battle and never slows. Excellent character development through first-person narration. Back story provided as needed.
“driving them re-. lentlessly back”, “had been ab;mdoned”, “when it seei:ns to go silent”
Lots of typographic errors which appear to be OCR scan errors. Apparently, no one at Allison & Busby bothered to proofread the ebook.
‘Nothing is as it seems. Not in this house.’
Early nineteenth-century sea opera. British naval warfare against France. A new take on seas already sailed. Excellent historical fiction, with cameo appearances of all the usual suspects. Protagonist is a loser who finds himself leading men who won’t follow for leaders who don’t lead. What could go wrong?
‘If stupidity is the charge, sir, you’d be looking at your entire command. There is not a brain amongst the lot of them.’ ‘So that’s why they put me here.’
Starts in the middle of a battle and never slows. Excellent character development through first-person narration. Back story provided as needed.
“driving them re-. lentlessly back”, “had been ab;mdoned”, “when it seei:ns to go silent”
Lots of typographic errors which appear to be OCR scan errors. Apparently, no one at Allison & Busby bothered to proofread the ebook.
‘Nothing is as it seems. Not in this house.’
December 28, 2014
This series written by Tom Connery (a pen name for David Donachie) is a bit different from the usual Royal Navy stories of the 1793 French-English Wars. Instead of a story about a sailor this series is about a Royal Marine.
Our protagonist is Lieutenant George Markham. Connery has created our hero as a classic rogue. Markham has previously served in the Russian Army as a mercenary officer. He served in the British Army in the American Revolution. He is a bastard, Irish, a papist and a womanizer, possibly a coward. He is in a platoon of misfits from the British Army Regiment, the 65th foot. Somehow he is seconded to the Royal Marines.
As this is book one in the series Connery spends time building his characters. Markham has just been made –by “accident” a commander of a marine platoon assigned to HMS Hebe, a frigate. What makes it interesting is he hasn’t a clue what to do.
The action takes place in Toulon, which is in the hands of the Bourbon French and the English against the Jacobins. (Read “Awkward Commission” by David Donachie to learn how the English and Bourbon’s obtained control of Toulon)
The author has created a multi-dimensional main character and interesting relationships to the various other characters. As with other Donachie leading characters Markham speaks French. The plot is quite rich with spies, con-artists, arrogant officers, false Dauphin, romance and betrayal. The story also contains lots of swashbuckling action. A note of historical interest the 65th foot was not at the battle of Toulon.
I believe this may prove to be a promising start to a new series. Tom Connery’s (David Donachie) writing style is easy to read and the plot line is well laid out. If you enjoy nautical historical fiction of the 18th century era, I highly recommend this book. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Gerry O’Brien narrates the book.
Our protagonist is Lieutenant George Markham. Connery has created our hero as a classic rogue. Markham has previously served in the Russian Army as a mercenary officer. He served in the British Army in the American Revolution. He is a bastard, Irish, a papist and a womanizer, possibly a coward. He is in a platoon of misfits from the British Army Regiment, the 65th foot. Somehow he is seconded to the Royal Marines.
As this is book one in the series Connery spends time building his characters. Markham has just been made –by “accident” a commander of a marine platoon assigned to HMS Hebe, a frigate. What makes it interesting is he hasn’t a clue what to do.
The action takes place in Toulon, which is in the hands of the Bourbon French and the English against the Jacobins. (Read “Awkward Commission” by David Donachie to learn how the English and Bourbon’s obtained control of Toulon)
The author has created a multi-dimensional main character and interesting relationships to the various other characters. As with other Donachie leading characters Markham speaks French. The plot is quite rich with spies, con-artists, arrogant officers, false Dauphin, romance and betrayal. The story also contains lots of swashbuckling action. A note of historical interest the 65th foot was not at the battle of Toulon.
I believe this may prove to be a promising start to a new series. Tom Connery’s (David Donachie) writing style is easy to read and the plot line is well laid out. If you enjoy nautical historical fiction of the 18th century era, I highly recommend this book. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. Gerry O’Brien narrates the book.
October 2, 2011
Kind of a strange mix of sea and land but more the land. This was a nice break from purely naval heroes and I enjoyed it. It was very stereotypical of the genre (an Irishman has to prove himself, his sergeant and soldiers must be won over and the leadership out to disgrace him) but hey, if I didn't like this era then I wouldn't read these books! He did a good job of it all the same and kept getting his hero in and then out of scrape after scrape. Lots of action and therefore fun.
August 13, 2020
Tom Connery sets this adventure story in the Royal Navy at the time of the French Revolution when the Brits had taken over the southern French port of Toulon but were unable to hold it. The main character, George Markham comes up against a newly minted Napoleon B. leading the French forces as these forces rather tragically end up defending the Revolution's reign of terror.
July 24, 2021
First in a series
The siege of Toulon is the setting; securing the town afterwards is the basis of this novel. Plenty of action that never stops.
The siege of Toulon is the setting; securing the town afterwards is the basis of this novel. Plenty of action that never stops.
October 31, 2025
A new look at the loss of Toulon
Captain Matkham achieved a resounding success in bringing st least a part of his force home from the “Troubles” in Toulon. An engrossing book. Well plotted. Fantastic characters. Great action scenes. Looking forward to Vol 2
Captain Matkham achieved a resounding success in bringing st least a part of his force home from the “Troubles” in Toulon. An engrossing book. Well plotted. Fantastic characters. Great action scenes. Looking forward to Vol 2
July 30, 2013
Quick review. This novel is a bit of a mix of naval battles and land action (for the landlubbers who want their skirmishes ashore), set during the early years of the French Revolution and the wars that would soon engulf Europe for the next quarter-century. This is well-tread ground in the historical fiction world and few authors can stand out in a crowded field that includes C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian and Bernard Cornwell. No small feat.
Kudos to Connery for attempting to carve his own slice in the Napoleonic universe by introducing readers to Lt. George Markham, a newly-commissioned junior officer in the Royal Marines -- who until now have been in the background and have had to settle for second-billing to the navy or army in other works. It's an entertaining read, with Reign of Terror conspiracies afoot and culminating in a daring final battle during the siege of Toulon. Markham may not be in the same league as Horatio Hornblower or Richard Sharpe, but there's at least a hint that he 'could' be someday.
Recommended for true fans of the genre who like swashbuckling military heroes, the usual class-conscious snobbery of the early 19th-century British officer class vs. the common rogues they command and history nerds (like me) who don't mind reading -- again -- about the French Revolution, its fallout and Britain's early call to arms. These books aren't that easy to find in bookstores on this side of the Atlantic: I just lucked out and I haven't come across the others in the Markham series. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, the public library may be a better bet.
[For casual readers and those not too familiar with the history or genre, start with Forester, O'Brian and Cornwell to get your feet wet. It wouldn't hurt to Wikipedia 'french revolution' or 'napoleonic wars' either ;)]
Kudos to Connery for attempting to carve his own slice in the Napoleonic universe by introducing readers to Lt. George Markham, a newly-commissioned junior officer in the Royal Marines -- who until now have been in the background and have had to settle for second-billing to the navy or army in other works. It's an entertaining read, with Reign of Terror conspiracies afoot and culminating in a daring final battle during the siege of Toulon. Markham may not be in the same league as Horatio Hornblower or Richard Sharpe, but there's at least a hint that he 'could' be someday.
Recommended for true fans of the genre who like swashbuckling military heroes, the usual class-conscious snobbery of the early 19th-century British officer class vs. the common rogues they command and history nerds (like me) who don't mind reading -- again -- about the French Revolution, its fallout and Britain's early call to arms. These books aren't that easy to find in bookstores on this side of the Atlantic: I just lucked out and I haven't come across the others in the Markham series. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, the public library may be a better bet.
[For casual readers and those not too familiar with the history or genre, start with Forester, O'Brian and Cornwell to get your feet wet. It wouldn't hurt to Wikipedia 'french revolution' or 'napoleonic wars' either ;)]
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews