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The Last Roundhead
- Sir Blandford Candy Adventure Series
- Narrated by: Bill Allender
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
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The Last Roundhead
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Summary
“The research is impeccable and the writing full of verve.” (Antonia Senior, The Times)
1642.
England has been plunged into a Civil War.
Blandford Candy is sent to London, after an illicit affair, and joins the Roundhead army to fight against the King, taking part in the Battle of Edgehill.
A reluctant hero if ever there was one, he becomes a spy for the cause - and, through luck or judgement, uncovers more than one Royalist plot. His love of wine and the fairer sex prove both a curse and a blessing for the agent. Blandford soon earns the enmity of the King’s spy mistress Jane Whorwood, and patronage of the great parliamentarian leader John Hampden.
As well as navigating the politics and perils of the Civil War Blandford must also deal with members of his family, who turn out to be to be far more duplicitous and ruthless than any rival agent.
To survive, Blandford must choose a side.
The Last Roundhead is the first book in the acclaimed series of novels, charting the adventures of Sir Blandford Candy during the English Civil War.
Recommended listening for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Michael Jecks, and George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books.
Praise for Jemahl Evans and the Blandford Candy series:
“Blandford Candy is as endearing a rogue as you are likely to find in any work of literature.” (Matthew Harffy author of the Bernicia Chronicles)
“It's great fun and a rollicking good book.” (Historical Novel Society)
What listeners say about The Last Roundhead
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kate Vane
- 21-01-20
Exuberant
The Last Roundhead is the story of Sir Blandford Candy and his adventures as Roundhead soldier and intelligencer (spy). In 1642 he is sent to London by his family, having disgraced himself at home with an affair, and is asked to deliver letters to his uncle, a member of parliament. His uncle gives him choices — return home, go to the New World, or accept a commission to fight with his uncle, and that is what he decides to do.
Candy is a strong character and circumstances mean he has a life full of adventure and incident. He is at turns brave and shrewd, lazy and selfish. Evans very effectively captures both the extraordinary nature of the times and the way the life of Candy and his fellow soldiers becomes oddly normal. The narration was good, giving Candy’s voice a heightened quality that suits his flamboyant character.
The writing is rich in the texture of daily life — from food to weapons to soldiers’ slang. The humour of Candy and his comrades is quite adolescent at times but it does serve as a reminder that many of the soldiers were very young.
The frame of the novel is that Candy as an old man in 1720 is looking back on his life. The storytelling has an episodic feel, a procession of set pieces rather than a story with a strong narrative. I prefer a strong forward drive in a story, particularly if I’m going to continue reading through the series.
the last roundhead paperbackI was initially confused by all the digressions in the narrative – extracts from (real) contemporary accounts, poetry, letters purportedly from Candy’s family and so on, until I read in a review that the text is full of footnotes.
Although the narrator did highlight them by voicing them differently, they felt quite jarring in an audiobook. (I think footnotes in fiction generally should be avoided, unless you’re Flann O’Brien or Alan Partridge.)
If you like military history and well-researched historical fiction, with lashings of scatalogical humour, then The Last Roundhead may be the book for you.
*
I received a copy of The Last Roundhead audiobook from the narrator.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 30-04-21
Ripping yarn
Greetings Loved it did take me a time to get involved but very a enjoyable rogue he is
Now ... for some sack
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alan Bardos
- 19-04-21
A classic picaresque romp
The Last Roundhead is the first instalment of the Sir Blandford Candy Adventures, an ancestor of Clive Candy the legendary Colonel Blimp of World War II fame. Blandford Candy is not the usual run of the mill Puritan Roundhead. He is something of a dandy, whose philandering constantly gets him in trouble and also results in his enlistment in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil war.
The story is a classic picaresque romp that follows Blandford through the early bloody battles of the English Civil Wars and his enrolment as a scout. He operates in the shadows, acting as the eyes and ears of his superiors. He comes up against a classic array of baddies including members of his own family and the darstadly John Hurry, who incredibly was a real life character.
The Last Roundhead, pulls together a kaleidoscope of characters to chronicle the incompetence and fury of the Civil War and brings to life an area of English history that I knew very little about. The novel is meticulously reasearched, but Evans doesn’t allow the history to stall the narrative which is dramatic, brutal and very funny in equal measures.
Bill Allender’s soulful narration is the perfect depiction of an old man on his deathbed looking back on his life.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben W.
- 30-10-21
Great romp through the civil war
Great story and writing, fantastic characters as you are guided “flashman” style through the civil war. Narrator fits perfectly. Can’t wait for the next one!!!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ian
- 18-10-22
History Come to Life
This book was just fun to listen I really enjoy a good historic novel and this is one best I have listened to
it was so easy to just relax to and I felt like I was there with are hero as he made his way thought the english
civil war
I'm already started book 2
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