After reading one of H. Bedford-Jones‘s series dealing with a Denis Burke in a volume from Steeger Books titled Invitation to a Crime, I read a series dealing with another Denis Burke: Buccaneer Blood. Unlike the first one, this one is set around 1702 and deals mainly with buccaneers (or pirates) in the Caribbean.
Oh, and there is one other series dealing with a Denis Burke. This series is also known as the “Royal Vagabond” and ran in People’s in 1916, and has yet to be reprinted. I have no idea when it’s set or what it’s about.
In this series, Denis Burke is a lieutenant colonel in the Irish Brigade, a real group of Irish Jacobites who fled Ireland for Catholic France. These stories are set around 1702, during the reign of King Louis XIV, also known as the “Sun King.” The series of five novellas ran in Argosy from 1931–33, and each of the five were cover-featured. The covers are shown on the back cover, while the cover for one of them is used as the book’s cover.
In the first story, Burke makes the mistake of insulting the king, and to avoid being thrown in the Bastille, or worse, he knows there is nothing to do but to somehow flee France, if he can avoid those who will arrest him. He is first accompanied by his soldier-servant, Malachi Halloran.
On the way to St. Malo, he encounters Garf O’Malley, a fellow Irishman and a ship’s master. Burke is able to recruit him, who will bring others along. Their daring plan is to trick the officials there and steal a new frigate. It almost didn’t succeed. This is the first story in the sequence. Malachi and Garf are the only other characters to appear in all stories.
The rest of the series is set around Hispaniola, which is divided between France and Spain. Burke and his men are pirates, preying on either Spanish or French ships. As Denis Burke is a wanted man by the French, he takes on the alias of Captain Mayo. He has to deal with various enemies as well as suspicious people.
In the second-to-last story, Burke encounters a young lady he fancies, and he proposes to her. In the last story, he hopes to both get married by the governor of Santo Domingo, as well as getting a pardon from the Spanish. If he can do so without being betrayed by another.
I guess if Denis Burke is his descendant, someone in the family line had to move to the United States.
Overall, this is another great historical fiction story from Bedford-Jones. In addition to the swashbuckling action, there is the intrigue and Burke using his skills and cunning to get himself out of various traps and situations. I hope we will get the “Royal Vagabond” series at some point.
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