The Chains of Albion
The Chains of Albion continues the escapades of Martin Jerrold, a likable, disinterested, easy-going lieutenant in His Majesty’s Royal Navy. He commands a prison ship, Prometheus, anchored in The Medway during the Napoleonic Wars. As duties go, it’s pretty cushy. That is until, Dumont, a French prisoner of war escapes. Dumont speaks English well enough for the trusting and often naïve Jerrold to use him as an interpreter, which carries certain privileges, such as having his own cabin and a monthly shilling. But then Dumont disguises himself in a dress he’s stolen from Jerrold’s cabin that belonged to a lady friend Jerrold is “entertaining” at the time. Thus begins a confusing, sometimes merry chase across England to capture Dumont and retrieve some mysterious papers he’s carrying.
Everyone is looking for this Frenchman, from the army and the navy to the secret service and various members of the Royal household. It soon becomes a matter of life and death for Jerrold as well as for Dumont.
In this second novel of a trilogy, The Reluctant Adventures of Lieutenant Martin Jerrold, Edwin Thomas continues to regale us with tongue-in-cheek descriptions of Jerrold’s sometimes hilarious, sometimes dangerous adventures. This tidy mystery with its reluctant hero is a fun read.
