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The Corsican Sisters
(2020)(The fourth book in the Midshipman Wormwood series)
A Novella by David Donachie
Flushed with an unwarranted feeling of success, having captured a French Corvette, Charles Wormwood is treating what is no more than a scratch as a proper wound. But he must consider how to carry on the mission given his now dead superior, he now being the man in command of HMS Petra.
Can he find an anchorage for the British Fleet blockading Toulon? At the same time he must discern the state of matters on the island of Corsica: is there support for Britannia or will the islanders’ actively back Revolutionary France, which will make the aims of the Royal Navy near impossible.
With his capture secure and sailing in his wake, Wormwood heads for Ajaccio, one of the three important towns on the island, there to assess local feeling. On landing, with due care to his own safety, in the company of Kissock and a pair of marines, he makes for the citadel which overlooks the town, Almost convinced it’s abandoned, he is presented with the fabulous sight of a creature by the name of Pozzo di Borgo.
Silk clad and gleaming with jewels, di Borgo, a nonstop talker and fluent in English, invites Wormwood to dine, feeding him a meal very rich in sauces and garlic. He is also able to inform Charles that while Paolo Pasquale, the hero of Corsican Independence, is against France, the most important local family in Ajaccio is of doubtful allegiance.
Dinner over Charles emerges into pitch darkness with him, Kissock and the marines becoming separated. Lost, he is coshed and rendered unconscious. Waking indoors, Charles is being treated by a striking young beauty, any feelings of lust quickly dispelled by the grating voice of her older brother, who introduces himself as Captain Napoleone Buonaparte of the French artillery. Concussed and full of di Borgo’s dinner, Wormwood empties the entire contents of his stomach, much to the chagrin of the owner, over the soldier’s uniform coat.
Thus he has come into the orbit of the numerous family members. Mother Letizia, Napoleone, plump brother Luigi as well as the two sister. The rather severe, educated Maria Anna, but most importantly, the younger and stunning to look at Maria Paola, who becomes an instant object of his lustful intentions.
These, as usual, will lead Charles Wormwood into deep and dangerous waters, in which he finds himself romantically entangled with both the Maria’s, one happily, the other unfortunately.This, in turn, draws him into saving the lives of Napoleone and yet another brother, Giuseppe, seen as traitors to France and about to be guillotined.
More concerned with insulting Kissock than good sense, he exposes them to danger. The pair, with the aid of Luigi, manage to prise the two brothers from their fate and get them aboard Petra. Now the problem is what to do with first the family, more importantly the sisters, to both of whom he seems to have become entangled.
The solution is to take the family to France, even if one is an enemy soldier. What difference can one artillery captain make?
Genre: Thriller
Can he find an anchorage for the British Fleet blockading Toulon? At the same time he must discern the state of matters on the island of Corsica: is there support for Britannia or will the islanders’ actively back Revolutionary France, which will make the aims of the Royal Navy near impossible.
With his capture secure and sailing in his wake, Wormwood heads for Ajaccio, one of the three important towns on the island, there to assess local feeling. On landing, with due care to his own safety, in the company of Kissock and a pair of marines, he makes for the citadel which overlooks the town, Almost convinced it’s abandoned, he is presented with the fabulous sight of a creature by the name of Pozzo di Borgo.
Silk clad and gleaming with jewels, di Borgo, a nonstop talker and fluent in English, invites Wormwood to dine, feeding him a meal very rich in sauces and garlic. He is also able to inform Charles that while Paolo Pasquale, the hero of Corsican Independence, is against France, the most important local family in Ajaccio is of doubtful allegiance.
Dinner over Charles emerges into pitch darkness with him, Kissock and the marines becoming separated. Lost, he is coshed and rendered unconscious. Waking indoors, Charles is being treated by a striking young beauty, any feelings of lust quickly dispelled by the grating voice of her older brother, who introduces himself as Captain Napoleone Buonaparte of the French artillery. Concussed and full of di Borgo’s dinner, Wormwood empties the entire contents of his stomach, much to the chagrin of the owner, over the soldier’s uniform coat.
Thus he has come into the orbit of the numerous family members. Mother Letizia, Napoleone, plump brother Luigi as well as the two sister. The rather severe, educated Maria Anna, but most importantly, the younger and stunning to look at Maria Paola, who becomes an instant object of his lustful intentions.
These, as usual, will lead Charles Wormwood into deep and dangerous waters, in which he finds himself romantically entangled with both the Maria’s, one happily, the other unfortunately.This, in turn, draws him into saving the lives of Napoleone and yet another brother, Giuseppe, seen as traitors to France and about to be guillotined.
More concerned with insulting Kissock than good sense, he exposes them to danger. The pair, with the aid of Luigi, manage to prise the two brothers from their fate and get them aboard Petra. Now the problem is what to do with first the family, more importantly the sisters, to both of whom he seems to have become entangled.
The solution is to take the family to France, even if one is an enemy soldier. What difference can one artillery captain make?
Genre: Thriller
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