The Guernseyman (The Richard Delancey Novels Book 1)

A well written book that covers a lot of background on the Revolutionary War and England's views of the Colonists. The Guernseyman starts out on his native island. He soon is forced to join the British Navy and lands in New York where he spends time as a clerk and assistant to ranking military personnel. He also, meets possible long lost relatives. To his advantage sharing the last name with these aristocrats improves his standing with his superiors. Our Guernseyman, Richard takes on some special assignments that helps his stature and is sorely needed when he runs afoul of proper behavior while in His Majesty's service. He is cut some slack and transferred to sea duty ends up on Gibraltar where he rises to a commissioned rank following a very brave scouting detail. Throughout his Navy service, his military education improves at an accelerated rate. He soon excels not only as a sailor, but as a brave and knowledgeable tactician. For the most part, this book is pretty believable. Richard must overcome his educational background, his lack of having been born into a less than well off family and the normal hard-nosed and unfriendly superior. You are left with the yearning to see what happens in the next episode..

This book is a good start to this series that I look forward reading with pleasure. We start with the set up. The background on our hero and the setting, the time and place in which this series will occur all provide the foundation on which the author builds narrative with which to carry this series forward. Notable here is the author’s knowledge of nautical history during the era of sailing ships at war. At times the author is a little overwhelming. With my very basic understanding of the points of sail, I had several instances where I struggled with some of the naval terminology in the story. None of this takes away from the central point.The Guernseyman is a great read, a sailing adventure that you can you enjoy right from your armchair.

Good book for following along with what one might reasonably expect as to an individual pursuing a naval career during that period of time, and I did like the authentic manner in which the history was presented. Did get a bit tedious as to maritime terminology and detailed battle descriptions, but if this is your cup of tea I'd imagine you would really enjoy this book. Was a quick read given the low page count, my suggestion would be to download a free sample before setting sail to be sure you'll like this authors' writing style.

The author is probably best known for "Parkinson's Law," but he did write a series of novels featuring Royal Navy officer Richard Delancey. This novel, first published in the U.S. in 1973, is not the best of the series, but it introduces the main character and chronicles his rise from volunteer to lieutenant.Delancey is a young man from the Channel Islands, sailing to England to join an older relative in the merchantile business. The outbreak of war has cut off trade with the American colonies and left many merchant seaman unemployed. This is compounded by unscrupulous merchants taking advantage of the situation to cut wages. Delancey is caught up in a demonstration/riot, ends up under arrest, and is impressed into the Royal Navy. His education finds him a promotion to clerk, and eventually he becomes a midshipman. His naval service takes him across the Atlantic to New York with the British fleet, where he meets up with some related American loyalists.Delancey finds himself on an assignment ashore, and is caught up in the corruption involving military suppliers and kickbacks. This leads to his reassignment back to a ship, with a black mark against his name. Much of the action takes place on land during the American Revolution. The plot follows Delancey's career from Liverpool to New York, to Charleston, back to Guernsey and Jersey, and on to Gibraltar. It provides interesting details of naval service including corruption in the dockyards. It also covers the Spanish siege of Gibraltar in 1782, where the novel ends.

Well written, a perspective of the period not often thought about on this side of the Atlantic. I can see that the series could be an good treatment of the young man's development from novice sailor to mature seaman. The story doesn't get lost in the minutiae of sailing terminology but give you enough to get the feel for what is going on. Sometimes the "Master and Commander" series just got to be too technical I felt I needed a chart of ship rigging to make sense of it. You won't run that risk here but the characters are just as engaging.

This is a good start to what I hope will be a new series of naval novels. Now when I started this book it was with a bit of a twist in that the protagonist is a young man, who is not sure of his future by the end of the story he has found his future in the navy. There was a small patch that was a bit slow toward the middle of the book, but that quickly changed for the better. I have to say this was a good start to a new series for me. For others you have to like the works of O'Brian, Lambdin, and Pope to give this one a try.

The most intriguing element of The Guernseyman, to me, was the British perspective on the American Revolution, particularly the commanders in America. That said, the book is an entertaining chronicle of the first six years of a young man's naval career as he rises through the ranks and finds himself a minor participant in several notable events in North America and Europe. It lacked the immediacy necessary to make it a "can't put down" book, but the story is interesting and could be made into a vibrant movie.

This was a little slow and dry, but it was also a very interesting historical fiction. I'd never thought about the British point of view during our Revolutionary War and don't remember much about Benedict Arnold from school, so this story made it more real. I recommend it for those who enjoy historical fiction.