''Governor Ramage R.N.'' is an

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

Dudley Pope Dudley Bernard Egerton Pope (29 December 1925 – 25 April 1997) was a British writer of both nautical fiction and history, most notable for his Lord Ramage series of historical novels. Greatly inspired by C.S. Forester, Pope was one of the mos ...

, set during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. It is the fourth of the Ramage novels, following on from ''

Ramage and the Freebooters ''Ramage and the Freebooters'', is an historical novel by Dudley Pope, set during the French Revolutionary Wars. It is the third of the Ramage novels, following on from '' Ramage and the Drumbeat''. Plot Ramage, recovering from medical leave a ...

''.

Plot

Ramage's ship, HMS ''Triton'', is performing guard duty to a merchant convoy travelling from Britain to Jamaica. An otherwise routine assignment is complicated by his being under the orders of Rear Admiral Goddard, his family's sworn enemy. The convoy is menaced by French and Spanish attackers, and hit by a hurricane. Ramage pulls through, only to be

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed under Goddard's trumped-up charges. A side-plot occurs when ''Triton'' is wrecked on a remote island, Isla Culebra. Ramage discovers that the Spanish garrison is searching for lost pirate treasure, having failed to puzzle out a clue left by the pirate in the form of a short poem. Successfully taking the Spanish forces prisoner, Ramage turns his wits to solving the puzzle and eventually triumphs through a combination of clear thinking and good fortune, recovering a large quantity of gold and precious stones which he delivers to the British authorities on leaving the island. It is his short spell as the senior ranking officer of either side on the island that gives the book its title, though in fact Ramage never attempts to exercise any civil authority over the island.

Characters

Nicholas Ramage Nicholas, Lord Ramage is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of sea novels written by Dudley Pope. Ramage was an officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. He is a contemporary of Horatio Hornblower, but unlike the la ...

- lieutenant and commander of the brig HMS ''Triton'' * Thomas Jackson - Ramage's American coxswain * Henry Southwick – Ramage's sailing master on ''Triton'' * Bowen – Ramage's medical officer * Maxton – one of Ramage's crewmen, a native of Grenada (inconsistently named "Maxwell" elsewhere in the series) * Rear Admiral Goddard – second in command at Jamaica * Captain Croucher – captain of the flagship HMS ''Lion'' * M. de St. Brieuc - a pseudonymous, but clearly important, French passenger * M. de St. Cast - another such French passenger * Sidney Yorke – merchant, master and owner of ''Topaz''

Ships

* HMS ''Triton'' * * ''Topaz'' * ''Peacock''

Critical reception

Notes

External links

Book Review at Navy Fiction
1973 British novels Novels set during the French Revolutionary War Novels by Dudley Pope Fiction set in 1797 Secker & Warburg books Novels set on ships Novels set on islands {{1970s-hist-novel-stub