Moonfleet [Hardcover]

My copy of this work is a first [American] edition, published by Little, Brown and Company in hardcover (1951) and illustrated by Fritz Kredel (differing from artists of some subsequent editions by other publishers); however, this book, J. Meade Falkner's Magnum opus, was first published in 1898.

I wish to note up front that if you're a big fan of 18th- or 19-Century British adventure tales then go ahead and consider this review to be a five-star rating. Those who have been fortunate to enjoy either V.A. Stuart's terrific Hazard in Circassia (The Phillip Hazard Novels) or perhaps Joseph Conrad's The Rescue will surely enjoy Falkner's adventure novel equally well, a work which is set in the 1750s, chiefly in England.

This fictional first-person account is conveyed from the viewpoint of the protagonist, the youthful John Trenchard. The book lays out Trenchard's boyhood where he lives with a noxious shrew of an aunt who overshadows and dominates any youthful amusement in which he attempts to engage. His coastal dwelling, located in the diminutive hamlet of Moonfleet, is also home to a wide variety of untaxed liquor and luxury item smugglers, many of whom are the male residents of the town.

Soon after a dust-up with his aunt, Trenchard finds himself in residence with local innkeeper Elzevir Block, a kindly man who had already lost his only son resultant of a pistol blast to the face from the hand of the local magistrate and much-despised lawyer, Mr. Maskew. Maskew was a man who egotistically viewed himself as the hallmark of the King's justice in Moonfleet and was thus a fêted enemy of all indigenous smugglers.

Trenchard soon fosters a dual agenda which includes his courtship of Mr. Maskew's striking daughter coupled with the hopeful discovery of Colonel John Mohune's (aka, "Blackbeard") pirated treasure which was said to be actively guarded by dreadful ghosts and cursed to all who might successfully retrieve it.

But as Trenchard falls in with the local band of smugglers he soon discovers that a Royal bounty has been placed on his head, as well as Block's -- a dreadful period of being hunted like an animal, punctuated with the hazards of fugitive life lies despondently before the pair.

Unlike Treasure Island and Kidnapped, this book clearly targets a more adult readership. Yes, adults do often read those two renowned Stevenson works but those titles are markedly more palatable for youth and young adults than the book under review which, I should also add, is much more cerebral and less straight-forward in the telling.

The attractive dust jacket and the occasional line illustrations by Fritz Kredel add much to the quality of this edition of the book. The tale runs for 246 pages, fairly easy to finish over the course of two evenings. This is a worthy example of British literature, scribed by a gifted author.

If the book harbors a shortcoming, I felt that the author got just a little tangled in a redundant loop towards the middle of the story. But other than that I found this fictional account to likely appeal to a broad spectrum of novel readers.

J. Meade Falkner (1958-1932) was born in Manningford Bruce, Wiltshire and his other fictional works include The Lost Stradivarius (1895) and The Nebuly Coat (1903.) Falkner also wrote poetry and succeeded as a well-known businessman.

Recommended.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  4.0 out of 5 stars