''The Devil to Pay'' is one of a series of nautical novels by

C. Northcote Parkinson Cyril Northcote Parkinson (30 July 1909 – 9 March 1993) was a British naval historian and author of some 60 books, the most famous of which was his best-seller ''Parkinson's Law'' (1957), in which Parkinson advanced Parkinson's law, stating t ...

. It is set in the late 18th Century, when

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

was at war with

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

France. Parkinson's hero is a junior naval officer. Unlike many fictional officers, Parkinson's hero, Richard Delancey, does not have any powerful patrons to ease his way to promotion. The novel starts with Delancey accepting the temporary command of a small cutter. Delancey is from the Island of

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, and is fluent in French. His knowledge of French will make it easier for him to land Royalist agents who are part of a plan to prepare for an invasion to restore the French

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

. This secret mission appears to have been a failure. And it leaves Delancey on the beach, living on his

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

. So he leaps at a chance to accept the temporary command of a small customs vessel. He is unexpectedly successful at intercepting smuggled goods so one of the owners of some of the smuggling vessels offers him the much better position of command of a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. He is a successful privateer commander. He has several successful cruises. But, eventually his ship is wrecked on the enemy shore. Delancey and some of his remaining crew decide to try to escape back to England. During their escape Delancey acquires some valuable intelligence. With the aid of a smuggler who works for his boss he is able to make contact with an RN

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

cruising offshore. The Captain of that vessel mounts an expedition to rescue Delancey and recover the secret papers. One of his lieutenants is lost. And Delancey is offered to take his place. The novel ends with Delancey again serving in the Royal Navy. It is believed that the phrase ''The Devil to Pay'' refers to the task of caulking, or ''paying'', the deck seams with hot pitch. The outermost seam—between the deck and the hull—is the hardest to caulk. It is called ''the devil''. The full phrase is ''The devil to pay, and no pitch hot''—more generally the phrase is used to refer to any urgent, desperate situation. However this has been disputed in numerous sources and WorldWideWords.com references the phrase as: This novel was the first Parkinson wrote. The next novel in the series is '' The Fireship''. Parkinson later went back and wrote a prequel, '' The Guernseyman'', set during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Critical reaction

'all those C.S. Forester fans are going to pick it up tenderly' ''Sunday Telegraph''¹ 'Mr Parkinson is an expert on naval history and on sailing, and this bracing, well-plotted and exiting story reveals his knowledge' ''Books and Bookmen''¹ 'The action is good, the historical detail impeccable' ''Spectator''¹

References

1 Devil to Pay () back cover {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil To Pay, The 1973 British novels Historical novels Novels by C. Northcote Parkinson John Murray (publishing house) books