
"It is a book of a dexterity that is
surprizing even to those readers well acquainted with the
sound craftsmanship of the fiction of the author's later
and riper method. A broad canvas, with every one of a
hundred or more minor characters sharply defined."
The New York Times, August 29, 1926
Bellarion the Fortunate
The romance of Italy in the fifteenth century. Bellarion was,
when we first meet him, en route for the priesthood and the
cloistered life, but being diverted to the service of the
Princess Valeria, he served her faithfully for five years,
developing in that time from an artless convent-bred youth to
a soldier of great strength and cunning, adoptive son of Lord
Facino and the feared and hated object of all his enemies.
Now all this time Bellarion served his lady's cause and
served it well, tho she gave him only suspicion and contempt
for the seeming deviousness of his ways. With all won, all
seemed lost. Then the princess looked into her heart and
found there more than gratitude.
published by The Riverside Press
Cambridge, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1926
- Bellarion the Fortunate is still in copyright,
- Reprints are widely available, and reading copies can be found
on most used book and auction sites.
- More information on Bellarion the Fortunate can be found on
- Wikipedia.
- The text of Bellarion the Fortunate
- is not available online.
- Bellarion the Fortunate elsewhere on this site:
- Gordon Dickson and Rafael Sabatini
Bellarion the Fortunate was published after the phenominal
success of Scaramouche and Captain Blood and
Sabatini uses the lessons he learned from writing those books
to his advantage.
Once again, Sabatini crafted a story which follows his
protagonist from humble beginnings to to the heights of
society. Once again, the hero, Bellarion in this case, is
inspired to great deeds by seemingly unrequited love of an
independently minded woman of the nobility.
Set against a backdrop of pre-Renaissance Italy, a setting
Sabatini was to return to in Chivalry, convent-bred
orphan Bellarion is sidetracked almost immediately upon
setting out on a journey from the monastery at Cigliano to
study at Pavia. The adventure and practical lessons he finds
along the way is more than sufficient to replace the further
education he craves.
Like Andre-Louis Moreau of Scaramouche, Bellarion
removes himself from one area of conflict only to embroil
himself still deeper in another.
Characters and intrigues swirl about the protagonist as he
snatches victory from the face of defeat primarily by using
his native wit and early education, all the while remaining
humble and honorable.
Bellarion the Fortunate is the perfect mix of
political intrigue, action and romance written by Rafael
Sabatini at the top of his game.
A. G.
Lindsay (rimfire)
A review by
Simon McLeish at his home page.
If you have a review to submit, please send it to
the webmaster, rimfire
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