Product Description
"Ay, 'twas a cruel, cruel thing to fire on so young a lad," Ratsey said, as he stepped back a pace to study the effect of a Bag that he was chiselling on the Revenue schooner, "and trouble is likely to come to the other poor fellows taken, for Lawyer Empson says three of them will surely hang at next Assize. I recollect", he went on, "thirty years ago, when there was a bit of a scuffle between the Royal Sophy and the Marnhull, they hanged four of the contrabandiers, and my old father caught his death of cold what with going to see the poor chaps turned off at Dorchester, and standing up to his knees in the river Frome to get a sight of them, for all the countryside was there,and such a press there was no place on land. There, that's enough," he said, turning again to the gravestone. ... Read more

Product Description
Work from the English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 swashbuckler, Moonfleet, a tale of smuggling which was extremely popular among children mostly for its themes of adventure and its gripping storyline. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A matured Tom Sawyer-type in 18th-Century England (details)
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.
... Read more

Product Description
Everyone in the tiny village of Moonfleet lives by the sea one way or another, so it's no surprise when young John Trenchard gets involved in the smuggling trade. Forced to flee England with a price on his head, John little guesses the adventures and trials he will have before he sees Moonfleet again or the change in his fortunes when he does. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A fine adventure tale for overgrown boys like me (details)
My copy of this work is a first 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.

One of the best books I've read!
I opened this book to expecting another hard-to-read but still classic book. I made a HUGE mistake! The story line was very interesting, never boring, and suspenseful. It had an amazing moral. Definately worth reading.

A Blast from the Past
Number me among the many who read this book in grade school back in the late 60's or 70's and the name stuck with me through the years.

Later as an adult, I returned to this book to read it anew and experience the magic again.

Yes, this is book designed for the younger reader.But as is the case with most well written books, all ages will find something to take away.Treasure Island, Kidnapped etc. are all of the same genre, but what makes Moonfleet unique is the tight identification of the young protagonist John Trenchard and the first person telling which brings the reader into seeing and experiencing it though his eyes.

For a book published in 1898 and set in 1757 and following, that youth in the 60's would find it so fascinating and real is a testament to the talent of Falkner.

Timeless.Engaging.Intriguing.Fantastic!

Did I mention that I like it and recommend it heartily?

On par with "Treasure Island"or"Count of Monte Cristo"
It's 1757.Fifteen-year old John Trenchard is bored living with his Aunt Jane in the shoreline village of Moonfleet in England - unitl his discovery of a secret thrusts him into a fugitive existence.The relatively dullish opening sets you up for a rivetting adventure, complete with "ghosts," an underground tunnel, smugglers, and the quest for a pirate's jewel treasure.Very atmospheric.Very intriguing.

A great adventure
I read this in high school and saw it for 50 cents in a used book store. Best money i have ever spent. This story is about a young boy that "finds" a large diamond and consequently spends 10 years in prison with his elder friend and companion. He has a "Y" branded on his face and struggles to return home where his love is keeping a candle in the window for him to guide his return.(This is where Credence Clearwater Revival got the idea for the song "Long as I Can see the Light") There are some really awesome twists regarding the ownership of the diamond as it changes hands time and again...True, this is a "kids book" but the story and writing are fantastic... The ending is pure brilliance!

I suggest you grab a copy of this book next time you are at the book store - It contains a lot more treasure than just the diamond.

Relic113 ... Read more

Product Description
Moonfleet. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

Product Description
Both a mystery and an adventure story, the classic Moonfleet (1898) is a tale of smuggling set among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. It is at once a well-paced account of dramatic action and a celebration of the unregainable freedoms of childhood.Falkner's feeling for history and for the topography of his Dorset setting combine with his gift for storytelling to turn Moonfleet into an historical romance of moving intensity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

A boy's own story
One of the most beloved of boys' books in the UK in the early 20th century, MOONFLEET remains the best known of the three short novels by John meade Falkner, and certainly has his most engaging characters, particularly in the young hero, John Trenchard, and his substitute father-figure, the kindly smuggler Elzevir Block. The novel has all of Falkner's characteristics: his gorgeous mellifluous prose, his predilection for Gothic settings, his obsession with aristocratic ancestry and heraldry, a healthy dose of homoeroticism, and above all his ability to evoke striking visual scenes. The plot moves slowly at first and then becomes quite exciting, as John and his mentor search for a lost fabulous diamond and attempt to avoid the price put on their head by revenuers who accuse them of murder; things get a bit awkward at the end, as ten years of forced hard labor are glossed over in a few paragraphs, but then they pick up once again. The influences of Wilkie Collins and, particularly, Robert Louis Stevenson, weigh heavily on the text, but Falkner's gift for evoking a haunting visual picture is something all his own.

Pretty Average Boys Adventure Story (Without any Pirates!)
Like many, I loved old adventures such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped when I first read them as a child. Several years ago, Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda named this as being of the same caliber, so I finally sought out a copy to fall into. Written at the turn of the 20th century, the story is set in a small village on the Dorset coast (allegedly based on East Fleet), circa the 1750s. There lives John Trenchard, a classic adventure hero: age 15, orphaned and living with a nasty (though not cruel) aunt, and pining for the beautiful daughter of the local lord. The village of Moonfleet has two intriguing aspects to it. One is a legend relating to a massive -- and possibly cursed -- diamond purportedly owned by the former lord of the manor and possibly hidden somewhere in the vicinity. The other is the village's long history of illicit trade with smugglers bringing in untaxed spirits from France and other contraband. Their main contact in town is the tavern-owner, Elsevir, who is the true hero of the story.

As in Treasure Island, things really start rolling when John gets entangled with Elsevir and the smugglers and more or less joins their gang. When the local lord tries to ambush them one dawn, blood is drawn and Elsevir and John are forced to flee and take to ground for some months. The fugitives then embark on a quest to locate the missing diamond and so make their fortune. John is especially keen on being able to return to Moonfleet a wealthy man, so that he may secure the hand of his fair lady. Of course, events don't transpire so easily, and further adventures take them to Holland, where events take a turn for the worse before a semi-triumphal homecoming.

All of this is fine -- but not that great. The story and characters definitely feel somewhat derivative, and some of the elements feel quite clumsy. For example, the lord of the manor is a nasty, mean character, but there's no indication as to why this is so. Similarly, the prim stern aunt is a stereotype of the type, and a jewel dealer who plays a key role is instinctively venal without reason. Near the end, the heroes face calamity due to circumstances of their own exceedingly unlikely making. The cagey smuggler Elsevir exhibits naivitee that beggars belief. Which is not to suggest that the book is terrible, merely that it's not that amazing. Finally, I should point out that despite the words of many reviewers the story does not involve pirates at all. (Inexplicably, the cover of one edition even goes so far as to reproduce a painting of a boarding scene, complete with cutlasses, pistols, and scurvy seadogs.) The book was made into a rather forgettable 1955 film directed by the great Fritz Lang.

Exciting and Somewhat Original
When I began reading this book, a friend of mine took one look at the cover and started naming off what he thought the aspects of the plot were. He named all of the traditional pirate story cliches (sometimes platitudes): orphaned boy, evil pirate, hidden treasure, etc. By looking at the cover, I thought that was what it would be too, and I looked forward to the classic adventure story (I've always loved swashbucklers). As it was, Moonfleet is a very original novel that doesn't follow of the conventions. Surely, some of those elements are there--the orphaned boy and treasure--but they are twisted in different ways. Moonfleet is somewhat darker than other swashbucklers such as Treasure Island, and there are actually no pirates at all. There is also a little bit more depth of characterization as John Trenchard and Elziver Block have a long and meaningful friendship. Moonfleet is certainly a superior adventure novel, complete with exciting escapes (a lot of them), lost treasure, and some actual characterization. It's well worth reading.

Very Moonfleety
MOONFLEET IS A FAIRLY INTERESTING BOOK IT IS A UNIQUE BOOK WITH ORIGINAL STYLE AND A ONE-OF -A- KIND -STORY.the story is about a 15 year old boy called john trenchardwho goes on extraordinary adventures on his quest to find blackbeards treasure he soon becomes trapped in avault and finds out a bit more than he bargained for a little bit startled he soon gets locked in and becomes hungry and thirsty he drinks the smuggled alchole he finaly gets rescued but his life changes forever an exeptionally fantastic story with laughter,sadness,romance,pain,rejection and a family classic........

A Review of Moonfleet by Lucy Crabtree
Moonfleet is a good book once you get into it, but it takes quite a long time to do that.The first 3 or 4 chapters are a little boring but once the story unfolds things start to get interesting.The book is set in the 1700s and is about an orphaned boy called John Trenchard who lives in the village of Moonfleet, which is full of smugglers, with his aunt.One day he finds a locket that once belonged to the legendary pirate Blackbeard, and his life becomes very different.If you want to find out what happens after that, you will have to read the book!
It has got some quite hard words in it, but I think that this book is quite suitable for children aged 10 and over and adults might enjoy it, too. ... Read more

Product Description
Compared in tone to “Bleak House” or “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” Falkner’s “The Nebuly Coat” is part social comedy, part Hardyesque tragedy, and part murder mystery.

The “nebuly coat” refers to the coat of arms of a wealthy English family ... a family whose story is inextricably bound to a village cathedral, a boarding house owner, and a visiting London architect whose job is to repair said cathedral. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Amazing
Originally published in 1903, The Nubuly Coat is a rare book--yet it influenced the novels of so many other writers of Gothic fiction. The story opens when a young architect named Westray comes to the village of Cullerne to oversee the restoration of the old Norman church. The town itself is populated by an interesting array of characters: Mr. Sharnall the organist, who believes that a hidden specter with a hammer is out to kill him; the Rector and his wife, who seem as though they stepped out of an episode of Keeping Up Appearances.

There are also Miss Joliffe, the landlady; and her teenage niece, Anastasia, who seems surprisingly mature for her age. We're also introduced to, although not at firsthand, Martin Joliffe, who for many years before his death believed that he was the rightful heir of the Blandamer family fortune. There's also Lord Blandamer, the mysteries local squire, who keeps his distance from the rest of the town, though his family insignia, the "nebuly coat" of the title, covers everything in Cullerne. The townspeople are both in awe and contemptuous of him.

It's hard to characterize this novel. Mystery? Thriller? There's a murder here, but the mystery never gets solved. But there's definitely a suggestion of a solution. I was a little disappointed in that, but the atmosphere of the tale was sufficiently chilling enough that I really got into it. It's not an "easy" read, and it took about 20 pages for the story to get going, but Gothic fiction is really my thing. It's easy to see why this novel influenced writers such as Dorothy Sayers and her The Nine Tailors.

There's a lot here about church music and church politics, but it doesn't burden the story. Falkner's strength was characterization; he's a master of using even the finest of brushstrokes to depict his characters, and he's at his best when describing people at their best... and worst. He's also very, very funny in places. This novel's been on my TBR list for a long time, and it puzzles me as to why this book isn't more widely available; it's a classic.

"The arch never sleeps, never sleeps"
John Meade Falkner's 1903 cult classic THE NEBULY COAT has been the clear inspiration for many later Gothic British novels, most saliently Charles Palliser's THE QUINCUNX and (particularly) THE UNBURIED. It stands in a direct line of the Gothic and sensation traditions established by Hogg, Godwin, Collins, Le Fanu, and in particular Dickens: it will remind a reader most of EDWIN DROOD, but it also seems at the same time like no other other novel before it. Falkner explored his love of antiquarianism here to show the connections between an ancient abbey minster in a Dorset town and the aristocratic local peer, Lord Blandamer, whose heraldic symbol is the nebuly coat of arms of the title; a visiting London architect paid to restore the minster discovers that the baron's claim to the title may be in as much danger of collapse as the church itself. Falkner's portraiture of the rural Dorset folk has been compared to Hardy, although it often seems more aptly comparable to Gaskell, and does tend to go on (particularly after a major character dies midway through the narrative and Falkner seems to lose his narrative momentum). But the opening and closing thirds of the novel are absorbing, and his delineation of the three main characters--the stubborn architect Westray, the alcoholic church organist Sharnall, and the mysterious Lord Blandamer--is memorably accomplished. Best of all, he does a fine job of evoking that which a devotee of the Gothic most wants in his fiction, atmosphere, and the groaning slender arches of the Cullerne minster's tower greatly linger in the memory.

The Nubuly Coat
I read this book during my college years although it wasn't a class assignment.This wonderful book has human redemption as its major theme. I think this book should be standard reading for all English majors. Beautifully written, it shows men at their weakest and greatest.

An Overlooked Classic
J. Meade Faulkner is best known for Moonfleet, which is often considered a children's classic (though it can be read with enjoyment by adults, too.) However, The Nebuly Coat is a classic of its own, truly meriting thatoverused epithet, sui generis.

If The Nebuly Coat fits into any categoryit is in that small class of perfect books. Faulkner was a beautiful,understated stylist with a gift for apt, humorous, and poignantcharacterization. He combined these gifts with a rare skill in plotting. Inshort, he was good at everything.

You might say this is a murder mystery,because it involves murder, and the book is certainly mysterious. In fact,you will never know just who did it, or if anyone did it. In one sense thenthe book is teasing. However, in another sense the book also concludesdefinitively; the reader feels that story has run its course even thoughthe mystery remains.

I urge you to read this book. Look for a used copyor search for it at your library. It really is a special book. ... Read more

Product Description
Set in Oxford and Naples during the 1840s, The Lost Stradivarius is a tale of demonic possession and of the terrible price paid by "those who would exalt art at the expense of everything else."Though long recognized as a classic and gripping story of the occult, it is also a work which touches the "decadent" years of the nineteenth century at sensitive points--the psychical, the moral, and the aesthetic.This is the only annotated edition available and it contains extensive notes about the Aesthetic Movement, neoplatonism, and musical instruments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

For Meade Falkner Fans
Not the greatest story ever, but for fans of Moonfleet who wish to see another facet of John Meade Falkner mind, it is well worth reading.
It is a strange, sometimes eerie story, which will keep your attention until the very end.

In excelsis, de profundis
John Meade Falkner did not seem to consider novel-writing the most important thing in his life; he wrote three novels in a matter of less than ten years, and spend the rest of his life as an antiquarian, a librarian, and the top executive of a major munitions manufacturing firm. But the three Gothic novels he wrote are all one of a kind and were written with an incredible sense of surety and deftness. THE LOST STRADIVARIUS is a beautifully constructed ghost story, concerning a Victorian Oxford student and music aficionado who discovers an eighteenth-century Italian musical suite; when he plays a certain section of it with his friend in his rooms in Magdalen Hall, a presence seems to stir around them. This only starts the tale, which manages to synthesize a fantastic array of fin-de-siecle concerns, including homoeroticism (as Tom Paulin suggests in his brief foreword to this nice little Hesperus edition, the figure of Oscar Wilde surely haunts this work as much as the fictional ghost of Adrian Temple), decadence, anti-Catholicism, and Paterian aestheticism. The great pleasures of Falkner's fiction are his striking ability to convey atmosphere and his precocious gift for showing and not telling when it comes to character and suspense.

Timeless ghost story
The ghost story is by & large ideally realized as a short story or atmost novella -- the greatest masters, such as M. R. James, never evenattempted the novel form; & those who did both short stories andnovels, such as E. F. Benson, only the short stories are of outstandingmerit. At novel length they tend to bog down considerably or else descendinto tedious gothicisms & inessential asides. But Falkner's THE LOSTSTRADIVARIUS is a perfect gem of a novel, a timeless tale of weird &awe inspiring ghostliness, easily in the top ten of Victorian ghost novels,in an unfailingly elegant style.

-Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Violet Books ... Read more

Product Description
Says the Cap'n to the Crew, We have slipped the Revenue, I can see the cliffs of Dover on the lee: Tip the signal to the _Swan_, And anchor broadside on, And out with the kegs of Eau-de-Vie, Says the Cap'n: Out with the kegs of Eau-de-Vie. Says the Lander to his men, Get your grummets on the pin, There's a blue light burning out at sea. The windward anchors creep, And the Gauger's fast asleep, And the kegs are bobbing one, two, three, Says the Lander: The kegs are bobbing one, two, three.
... Read more

Product Description
"Ay, 'twas a cruel, cruel thing to fire on so young a lad," Ratsey said, as he stepped back a pace to study the effect of a Bag that he was chiselling on the Revenue schooner, "and trouble is likely to come to the other poor fellows taken, for Lawyer Empson says three of them will surely hang at next Assize. I recollect", he went on, "thirty years ago, when there was a bit of a scuffle between the Royal Sophy and the Marnhull, they hanged four of the contrabandiers, and my old father caught his death of cold what with going to see the poor chaps turned off at Dorchester, and standing up to his knees in the river Frome to get a sight of them, for all the countryside was there,and such a press there was no place on land. There, that's enough," he said, turning again to the gravestone. ... Read more