Sir Hugh Abercrombie very neatly sums up Bartholomew Hoare's odd position in King George III's Royal Navy.Because a throat injury suffered in the service of the Crown in the war with France has left Hoare fit to do no more than whisper, he is unable to command a ship. To a man raised in a navy family, this is a tragedy.But Hoare's quick brain and extraordinary perspicacity has so impressed his superiors that he has been entrusted not only with the smallest ship and the oddest crew in the royal navy, but with state and military duties of great secrecy. As this book opens, Hoare's wedding to the impressive young widow, Mrs. Eleanor Graves, is taking place.The Royal Duke, Hoare's little ship, has been spruced up for the occasion, the brass polished and the carrier pigeons that share Hoare's cabin hidden behind a curtain. But after the bride, attended by her friend Miss Jane Austen, ends the festivities by giving the order, "splice the main brace," Hoare's commanding officer, Sir George Hardcastle, informs the new groom that he is to report to London and the head of the fleet as soon as possible for a special assignment. Initially, Hoare learns, his job is to find a missing man who has information about a conspiracy against the Crown, but the discovery of the fellow's body is only the beginning of a long task.Eleanor, not a woman easily daunted, surprises Hoare by appearing in London with the waif they are planning to adopt, and setting up house in the outskirts. As Hoare pursues a variety of odd characters who might lead to the conspirators, peril closes in. There is an assassination, and a growing danger not only to Hoare himself but to his associates, his servants, even his new wife and their child.Readers who have grown fond of the quirky, determined and unusual naval officer and the picture of the seagoing military in King George's day will be saddened to learn that this is the last of the series.The author, Wilder Perkins, died last year just after finishing Hoare and the Matter of Treason. He is missed.AUTHORBIO: Wilder Perkins finished this third and final book in the Bartholomew Hoare series shortly before his death in 1999. He made his home in Easton, Maryland.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:031227291X
ISBN13:9780312272913
Release Date:January 2001
Publisher:Thomas Dunne Books
Length:215 Pages
Weight:0.80 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Not Patrick O'Brien but Not Bad...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
If you like naval historical fiction, you will probably like this book. I tend to prefer the best writers, like Patrick O'Brien and David Donachie, (Dudley Pope's works are not consistently as good, but they are also "good reads.") The Hoare series (3) is "good"--not great, but good enough that after this book, I bought the other two. It's true there are a couple of questionable references to Horatio Hornblower and a clerk named "Crachit," but overall, the book does hold one's interest and does contain good plot, setting and characterization. I liked the protagonist, Hoare, and found him to be intelligent, astute and sympathetic. If you are starved for naval historical fiction of this genre, and assuming you have read all of O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series, I would recommend the Hoare series, plus all of the David Donachie and Jan Needle novels. In fact, once the Hoare series is read, I have only the hope that Needle and Donachie will continue to publish more in their respective series. I have read just about every single historical novel in the 17th-19th century naval genre, and I would place the "Hoare" series as a "7" on a scale of 1 to 10, with O'Brien being a 10, and Needle and Donachie "9's." If you like Dudley Pope and Dewey Lambdin, you should definitely try the Hoare books.
Final installment the strongest
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
This book ties up most of the loose ends of the first twobooks of this series. I disagree with the author injectingHoratio Hornblower and a rather mousy Admiraltyclerk named Cratchit in where they really weren't needed.It just seemed to cheapen a reasonably good read.
His last and best work
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Commander Bartholomew Hoare enjoys being a naval officer who predominately uses his skills and that of his crew on land, which allows him time with his wife and child. His idyllic time ends when his superior Admiral Abercrombie orders Hoare to find missing sensitive documents taken from London's Admiralty House. Hoare knows that an inside traitor had to have stolen the documents. He makes inquiries, but soon finds his work endangers his beloved family as an unknown assailant kidnaps them to blackmail Hoare into failing on his mission. Treason threatens to topple the government, but Hoare now must choose between saving his family or saving his country unless the unconventional "sailor" can figure out some other path that rescues both. The third and final Hoare historical mystery is a great homage to the late Wilder Perkins. The story line is filed with action as Hoare struggles between his conflicting dilemmas. Hoare remains heroic and the appearances of real people add to the Regency era background of the novel. This novel and the previous two books are some of the best early nineteenth century stories of the past decade and worth searching for and then reading.Harriet Klausner
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