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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
You will love this book if you enjoy sea-washed island settings, divided loyalty, love tested by ambition, and warm, odd characters who speak in the tongue of their own small place.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two boys face different futures
- Courage leaves a secret behind
- Kindness offers another way forward
- Love and silence meet again
- A hidden marriage weakens trust
- Ambition feeds on postponed truth
- Guida chooses life without protection
- Loyalty can become a burden
- Small choices shape intertwined lives
Who’s who
- Ranulph DelagardeA tall, steady shipbuilder who loves Guida and guards the shameful secret of his traitor father for many years.
- Guida LandresseA clear-minded, warm-hearted girl of Huguenot descent who wants to understand the world and gives her trust wholly.
- Philip d'AvrancheA charming naval officer of old family who speaks beautifully and wants rank, fame and glory above all else.
- DetricandA drunken French exile in Jersey who hides his true name and, through a promise to Guida, tries to become a better man.
- Carterette MattingleyThe quick-tongued daughter of a smuggler, who loves Ranulph and watches over her friends without telling them.
- The Chevalier du ChampsavoysA frail, courteous French exile who carries a cane from his king and keeps old France alive in manners.
- Dormy JamaisA half-witted, sleepless wanderer who delivers warnings, guards friends and speaks in proverbs.
- Sieur de MaupratGuida's grandfather, a retired exiled watchmaker of noble family, who wishes for her a grand marriage.
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The Battle of the Strong in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Battle of the Strong
by Gilbert Parker · 1898
A boy trapped in a bakehouse oven cuts through his strap to warn Jersey that the French are landing.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“I’ll be more than that someday.”
In short
What would you do if you overheard that your own father was helping an army invade your island? That is the choice a fourteen-year-old boy faces in The Battle of the Strong, a romance of the Channel Island of Jersey by Gilbert Parker.
The Battle of the Strong at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 25 min6 h 40 min fast, 10 h slow
- Length
- 119,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1898by Gilbert Parker
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two boys on Jersey face different futures
The story opens on a January day in 1781. On the cliff above St. Heliers, a sixteen-year-old midshipman named Philip d'Avranche watches through a telescope as a girl of about five snatches the cap from the Bailly's head and throws it into a stream.
He meets the child, Guida Landresse, and asks her to call him Philip. She answers, Goodbye, sir, Philip, and the odd order of her words sounds like Sir Philip. He mutters that he will be more than that someday.
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Details
- First published
- 1898
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Parker, Gilbert. The Battle of the Strong. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-battle-of-the-strong.
Parker, G. (2026). The battle of the strong. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-battle-of-the-strong (Original work published 1898)
Parker, Gilbert. The Battle of the Strong. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-battle-of-the-strong.
@book{parker2026battle,
author = {Parker, Gilbert},
title = {The Battle of the Strong},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-battle-of-the-strong},
note = {First published 1898}
}
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What is The Battle of the Strong about?
It is a romance set on the Channel Island of Jersey from 1781, following Ranulph Delagarde, Philip d'Avranche and Guida Landresse through an invasion, a secret marriage, and years of loyalty and ambition.
Is The Battle of the Strong a true story?
It is a romance, not a history. Parker based the Battle of Jersey on a real French landing in 1781, and he drew on island letters and diaries, but his characters and plot are invented.
When was The Battle of the Strong written?
Gilbert Parker wrote it after he moved to Jersey in 1897. The book first appeared in the years that followed, and later gained wide readership, including a cheap English edition.
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.
“I’ll be more than that someday.”
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