The French Admiral

I’m so embarrassed that this gift to my dad wasn’t large print he requires. I tried to get him three books from this series but only one of the three was large print as requested in the search sort filter.

Dewey Lambdin is unique in the Napoleonic naval genre; an American writing about the Royal Navy at its high water mark. Considering that The French Admiral was set during the American Revolution, Lambdin must have felt some interesting conflicts in writing the story. Lambdin's protagonist Alan Lewrie sees the American Revolution through the darkest moments (from the British perspective) in 1781. In The French Admiral Lambdin does a great job of not gilding the lily either way.In The King's Coat Lambdin introduced young Alan Lewrie as a classic wastrel and the reader follows his progression to a competent midshipman. The book is an eclectic mix of ribald adventures and gory battle scenes. The French Admiral follows in the same vein with the same sense of anarchy until the Battle of Chesapeake Bay when the story becomes darker. Lewrie et al end up at Yorktown before Washington begins his assault. At Yorktown we get the sense of a bloody guerilla war that is filled with atrocities from both sides and the sense of hopelessness of the British cause.In Lambdin's notes he mentions that the atrocities committed by Banastre Tarleton were well known and documented and he has assumed that atrocities committed by revolutionaries were prevalent. Actually he didn't need to assume that as such atrocities were documented and led to Loyalists immigrating to Canada. Combine examples of man's inhumanity to man with the futility of a lost cause and the darkness of The French Admiral is understandable. There is also a Kafkaesque element to it, as Admiral DeGrasse of the title never enters the action.The fall of Yorktown should surely strike parallels for contemporary American readers who would remember the fall of Bataan or Saigon or British readers who would remember Singapore. Unlike Dunkirk very few escaped. Fortunately for the reader Lewrie's adventures don't end there. We know his escapades will continue through several more books. Perhaps this will be the darkest entry of the series.

The second book of Lamdin's entertaining naval series. The availibilty of King's Coat, and for that matter the fours books, makes one wonder why book two has not be reprinted. Wait no longer. Strong (and reliable) word has the re-release date sometime in June or July of 1999. Lamdin's books are detailed, action packed, and intriguing. If one enjoys reading Lamdin I highly suggest Patick O'Brian's 18+ series of naval books, and of course Forrestors Hornblower series.

Lambdin's flawed hero is always exciting and matures quite a deal in this novel. Great excitement and true to the rough nature of the American Revolution. While this book is now only available in libraries and used book stores, the back cover of one of his more recent novels stated that it will be rereleased in fall 1999. Don't miss it.

I recently purchased another of Lambdin's series and blurb in back from publisher says French Admiral is "forthcoming."

I am an old salt and a devoted reader of O'brian, Nelson, Marryat, Forester, etc. I have read Lambdin's first Alan Lewrie novel, The King's Coat and thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought the rest of the series - all but the second, The French Admiral, in which a major adversary is introduced. For some unexplained reason, the publisher has failed to republish this single book in the series. I am now attempting to locate a copy because I wish to read the series in order.It is a major absence in the highly engaging narrative and in the development of the fascinating characters!