The Carolinian [Hardcover]

Rafael Sabatini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1930

Excitement and anticipation are rife in the New World - it is a land offering new beginnings and new opportunities. Yet it is also a land of intrigue, deception and deadly opposition. Centred on the rich and fertile soils of Carolina at the time of the American War of Independence, The Carolinian charts the interwoven stories of a host of characters.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rafael Sabatini was born to an English mother and Italian father, both well-known opera singers. At seventeen Sabatini moved to England, where, after a brief stint in the business world, he started to write. His major breakthrough came with Scaramouche, which became an international bestseller and was followed by the equally successful Captain Blood. All his earlier books were then rushed into reprint. Many of his novels were subsequently adapted into classic films which appealed to both a male and female market with their drama, romance and action, set against a variety of historical settings. 'One wonders if there is another storyteller so adroit at filling his pages with intrigue and counter-intrigue, with danger threaded with romance, with a background of lavish colour, of silks and velvets, of swords and jewels' - Daily Telegraph --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 414 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (1930)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00086IVD4
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,713,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sabatini meets the American Revolution., February 24, 2008

By 

volodyovsky "volodyovsky" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Carolinian (Hardcover)

Although written in the 1920s, Sabatini's most prolific and successful decade during which he wrote many of his greatest novels, The Carolinian (1924) does not quite rise to the same level. A brilliant student of the Italian Renaissance and British history, the author shines in his other novels set in those earlier centuries. But here the author enters the world of American history and (at least from an American perspective) seems just a bit awkward and out of his element. On the whole, the book fails to sparkle or convince, drags and even falls a bit flat at points, lacking the clever dialogue, suspense and unending plot twists throughout that made Sabatini a household name. He does not seem to get the American dialect right (in fact, one wonders if he had even been there at all!). Much of the suspense is thwarted since the author reveals more to the reader than perhaps he should. The ending, however, is true Sabatini.

A romance of Old Charles Town during the American Revolution, The Carolinian is not short of magnolias and palmettos, but the issue of slavery is almost conspicuous by its absence. (This is odd, since Charleston was the main slave-trading port for the Colonies.) House slaves are merely referred to as "servants." Understandably, perhaps the author found slave-holding as inconsistent with swashbuckling heroism, and mentioning that his hero was a slave-owner might have reduced the readers sympathy.

Although a bit disappointed in this novel, as a voracious Sabatini reader, I still found The Carolinian worthwhile, despite the problems mentioned. It does delight at several points and, while I would not recommend it to first-time Sabatini readers, it should be on the reading list for fans of the author.