Love-at-Arms by Rafael Sabatini

Description

Set in the Italy of the first sixteenth century, when the Borgias were redrafting the map of the peninsula every few weeks, Love-at-Arms follows a gallant young captain caught between lords. His loyalties to a prince, a lady, and a cause are each bought by the day, and Sabatini makes the reader feel how a man kept himself honourable in a world where everyone changed sides at dinner.

The romance concerns Guidobaldo, the gentle Duke of Urbino, the caprices of a beautiful and dangerous noblewoman, and the shadow of Cesare Borgia reaching toward every court in the story. Sabatini, still a decade from Captain Blood, here serves the same formula that would make him famous: a dashing swordsman, an intelligent woman, and treachery wrapped in velvet. The swordplay is written with the precision that became his trademark.

Why readers still come back to it

• Renaissance Italy in full colour — dukes, duellists, and Borgia intrigue.
• Sabatini’s trademark gallantry and swordplay in early, confident form.
• A heroine whose will is a match for any captain’s.

About this DodaBooks edition

Composed for a fast historical read: crisp, clear type, a working table of contents, and brisk chapter rhythm suited to adventure fiction on any device. The swords are drawn the instant your purchase is done and the download opens.