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The Assiduous Quest of Tobias Hopkins: The Complete Novel

James Faro

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Jul 04, 2016 Sonal Panse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Set in 1675, during the height of the maritime rivalry between the Spanish and the English, 'The Assiduous Quest of Tobias Hopkins' by James Faro - who has a naval background - is a very well-written, well-paced, and engaging account of Tobias Hopkins, a young merchant seaman who left England to begin life anew in Maryland.

Haunted by the loss of his mother and two sisters in the Great Fire of London and dogged by a set of other misfortunes in Maryland, Tobias acquires a ship, The Chesapeake Vent Set in 1675, during the height of the maritime rivalry between the Spanish and the English, 'The Assiduous Quest of Tobias Hopkins' by James Faro - who has a naval background - is a very well-written, well-paced, and engaging account of Tobias Hopkins, a young merchant seaman who left England to begin life anew in Maryland.

Haunted by the loss of his mother and two sisters in the Great Fire of London and dogged by a set of other misfortunes in Maryland, Tobias acquires a ship, The Chesapeake Venture, and sets course for Barbados to discover the fate of his long-lost father.

At the time, piracy was commonplace in the region, and The Chesapeake Venture is commandeered by French buccaneers and roped in to attack the Spanish colony of Maracaibo in Venezuela. The story actually opens here, with the subsequent sinking of the ship by the Spanish port defenders and the rescue of Tobias and his surviving crew by the English ship, Lady Charlotte. They are taken to Port Royal, Jamaica, and, en route, an English seaman mentions sailing with a man named Hopkins, whose description fits that of Tobias's father, and this renews his flagging hope of finding him.

A parallel story-line follows Sergeant Smithson and his assistant, Corporal Jones, as they investigate a series of brutal murders in St. Jago de la Vega and Port Royal.

Are these murders connected in any way to Tobias's quest for his father? Read the book to find out.

The author has done a great job of detailing the maritime life of the 1600s and the brutality of the privateers. I particularly liked the scene of the storm, very vividly done, you might almost be there to experience the unruly sea. The descriptions of the Jamaican town-life and the countryside are also well-rendered.

Tobias is a likable character, not a swashbuckler for all his adventures. He is introverted in disposition, rather unsure of himself, a bit pompous, and easily embarrassed. He feels responsible for his crew, but is incapable of mixing with them informally like his First Mate John Fowler. Tobias has a lady friend, Sarah, in Plymouth, with whom he corresponds, and, in Port Royal, where he acquires a new ship, The Dunstan, he meets Elizabeth, a rich whore, who invests in his business and gives him important trading contacts. He seems attracted to her friend, Beatrice, but does nothing about it. Beatrice helps him to find his step-mother, Magdalena and his half-brother, Eduardo, and later stows away on his new ship, a fateful decision as it turns out.

All the characters are well-sketched and believable. My only issue was that the conversations seemed a fit forced at times, not entirely natural, and I'm not sure what the point was of inserting the lesbianism between Beatrice and Elizabeth. It didn't seem to fit in with the story structure.

That aside, this book was a marvelous experience. Well-recommended if you enjoy historical novels.

I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review. ...more

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