Considering how much appeal I find in historical adventure stories, whether THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, BEAU GESTE, or others of that sort, and how deeply I enjoy the films made from the works of Rafael Sabatini (THE SEA HAWK, CAPTAIN BLOOD, etc.), somehow I'd never gotten around to reading one of his novels. I picked as my first one BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT, a story I'd enjoyed immensely in its silent-film version starring John Gilbert. Having just finished another historical novel set in France, one I found often tedious, I was unprepared for the compelling adventure and superb phrasing of Sabatini. I approached the book somewhat warily, but within minutes of beginning began to look forward with excitement to the fact that there are a lot more unread Sabatini novels in my future. Sabatini is no Fitzgerald or Chandler or Wolfe, but for sheer pleasurable reading, I have to mark him excellent. BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT is a first-person adventure told by a wealthy French nobleman of rakish, but honorable, character. Mistaken identity, romance with a beautiful woman, and delicious revenge serve, as they so often do in stories of this sort, to propel the reader happily through episodes of intrigue and derring-do. Implausible? Improbable? Of course. Engaging? Thrilling? Absolutely. If the rest of Sabatini is as much fun to read as this book, I've got a lot of great reading ahead. ( )

3.5*

While I did take pleasure in this book, I found myself troubled by the arrogance of the main character. Bardelys' attitudes were completely within reason for a wealthy nobleman of the French court of Louis XIII around 1632, but something in the manner of it made it difficult for me to "root" for him wholeheartedly. ( )

I'm not going to pretend that this is a perfect book in the abstract, or even a very good one, but it is perfect of its kind – a dumb swashbuckling romance, with duels and Honor and an obvious villain, and it brought me joy. I don't like to defend or explain my ratings, but five stars for a book that is objectively only okay probably does need some explanation. ( )

While I did take pleasure in this book, I found myself troubled by the arrogance of the main character. Bardelys' attitudes were completely within reason for a wealthy nobleman of the French court of Louis XIII around 1632, but something in the manner of it made it difficult for me to "root" for him wholeheartedly. ( )

This is Sabatini's third novel, set in XVIIth France, and features a spoiled young aristocrat who wagers with one of his drinking mates that he can win a cold provincial lady. Of course things turn out differently, and there's even some political intrigue, as we are in the times of the Fronde. Surprisingly, it's not Richelieu as the historical figure who makes an appearance, but Louis XIII who is shown much more sympathetically than I am used to. The hero, however, is rather annoying, much too full of himself, and given to serious blunders. ( )