14 h 25 minAudiobook16 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does courage mean when love pulls one way and duty another?
In The Battle of the Strong, Gilbert Parker sets private loves against the upheaval of the French Revolution. The story moves through the Channel Islands and France, where danger tests strong people. Their loyalties matter deeply in a world where personal feeling cannot stay apart from the great events of the day.
The Channel Islands stand between rival powers: close to the French coast, yet bound to the British Crown. That position gives this historical romance its charged setting. Parker brings open sea, clear passions and a sense of destiny to a contest in which courage means more than strength in battle.
What you’ll discover
- Islands between rival powers Enter a place where the pull of France and Britain shapes the story.
- Love against duty Follow a romance where deep feeling meets the demands of loyalty.
- Courage beyond the battlefield Explore strength tested not only by danger, but also by love and obligation.
- A world in upheaval Feel the pressure of great events on private lives during the French Revolution.
- Bold scenes and passions Enjoy Parker's colourful storytelling, with strong characters, open sea and high feeling.
Who will love it
Readers who love sweeping romances, sea coasts, and old island customs will find plenty here. It also suits anyone drawn to tales of love, honor, ambition, and loyalty set against revolutions and wars.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy with a secret on Jersey
- The night of the landing and a shot that ends it
- Eleven years on, an eclipse, and a mob
- Guida's world, Detricand's secret, and a letter from France
- The Ecrehos and a hasty love
- A secret wedding and a broken promise
- The duchy of Bercy and a lie before the States
- Guida alone, a scandal, and a death
- Five years on, a proposal, and a secret told
- Philip's return and Guida's refusal
- What the book is really about
- How the book is told
Who’s who
- Guida LandresseA truthful, clear-eyed girl raised by her exile grandfather, she marries in secret and then lives by her conscience for the sake of her child.
- Philip d'AvrancheA charming naval officer who wants fame and rank above all, and who wins hearts with words and a boldness he cannot always control.
- Ranulph DelagardeA tall, loyal shipbuilder who saves the island as a boy and spends years hiding his father's crime while he loves Guida in silence.
- DetricandA drunken French exile on Jersey who hides a noble name and, spurred by one kindness, becomes a leader of the royalist cause.
- Carterette MattingleyThe lively daughter of a smuggler, quick-tongued and brave, she sells hot doughnuts in the market and quietly hopes Ranulph will turn to her.
- The Chevalier du ChampsavoysA frail, courtly French exile with a gold-headed cane who lives for honor, snuff, and the friends who have taken him in.
- Maitresse AimableThe huge, silent wife of the boatman Jean Touzel, she says almost nothing but loves Guida like a daughter and guards her fiercely.
- Dormy JamaisA harmless, sleepless wanderer in wooden clogs who sees more than people think and does his part in each crisis.
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- Large-print eBook
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- Audiobook
- 14 h 25 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 16 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear La bataille des forts in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
La bataille des forts
by Gilbert Parker · 1898
On Jersey in 1781, a boy runs through the night to warn a sleeping island, and his shame follows him for years.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Battle of the Strong is a historical romance by Gilbert Parker, set on the Isle of Jersey and in France at the end of the 1700s. It follows a few people through the years of the French Revolution and the wars that came after it.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy with a secret on Jersey
The story opens in January 1781. A young midshipman named Philip d'Avranche stands on a hill above the town of St. Heliers with a telescope. He watches a small girl snatch the hat of the island's Bailly and throw it into a stream. He meets the child, Guida Landresse, and her mother. The girl calls him Sir Philip, and he tells himself he will be more than that someday.
That same night a grieving boy named Ranulph Delagarde sits outside a baker's shop. His mother has just been buried, and his father has locked him out. He overhears the baker and a Frenchman planning to let a French force land on the island. He learns that his own father is part of the plot.
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What is The Battle of the Strong about?
It is a historical romance set on Jersey and in France in the 1780s and 1790s. A secret marriage, a betrayal, and a fight over a duchy bind together a sailor, a shipbuilder, a French exile, and a girl of unshakable honesty.
Where does The Battle of the Strong take place?
Mostly on the Isle of Jersey, with scenes in France, Vienna, and the Gaspe coast of Canada. Jersey's tides, cliffs, markets, and patois are described in detail throughout the story.
Who is Guida in The Battle of the Strong?
Guida Landresse is the heroine, the granddaughter of a French exile who lives in St. Heliers. She is known for her honesty, her love of the sea, and her loyalty to the child she raises.
The author
Gilbert Parker
1862–1932 · Canadian novelist
Gilbert Parker (1862–1932) was a Canadian novelist and British politician. He was born in Ontario and later lived in England. He wrote The Battle of the Strong, published in 1898, and Northern Lights, published in 1909. He represented Gravesend in the British Parliament from 1900 to 1918.
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