Troubled Waters
This is the 14th in the Alan Lewrie series, Lewrie now being a captain in His Majesty’s Navy of the late 18th century.
Rollicking is the only appropriate adjective to describe this book – zesty, hearty, and uninhibited in the way of Georgian life before the Regency. The story is a meaty adventure with lots of swordplay and thoughts of sex, a truly hilarious yet horrifying look at the justice (more like injustice) system, and some fascinating insights into a naval gentleman’s life. Captain Lewrie is no saint, but the novel contains a clever explanation of condoms and 18th century wives’ fears of pregnancy and childbirth, so the reader is able to bring greater understanding to Lewrie and his mistresses.
Author Lambdin writes of the sea and the navy with comfortable ease, allowing the reader to believe in his created world. He clearly enjoys the mischief his character gets into and obviously has a large readership eagerly awaiting the next novel. Anyone who likes naval historical novels should enjoy this, and anyone wanting a good introduction to the 18th century couldn’t do better than to read this book. It’s a ripping good read.
