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Death to the French

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Death to the French

By: C. S. Forester
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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About this listen

This is the story of a rifleman's resourcefulness in a single-handed war against the forces of Napoleon. Separated from his regiment, he uses a band of undisciplined Portuguese guerrillas to battle his way back to his own lines.

©1968 C. S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Genre Fiction Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military Fiction Military War

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All stars
Most relevant  

Would you consider the audio edition of Death to the French to be better than the print version?

About the same

What was one of the most memorable moments of Death to the French?

The chilling end

What does Christian Rodska bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Wonderfulreading voice

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad but it was greAT

Any additional comments?

any chance of doing 'the gun' by c s forester

Guerrilla warfare at its worst

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the forerunner of sharpe by bernard Cornwall. excellent a must read. Best I've read

never knew this existed

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An excellent book which avoids any temptation to glamourise the Peninsula War. It's vivid and compelling but don't expect a rounded hero or significant roles for women etc.

The book was written in the 1930's and has the attitudes of that era. But it's worth pointing out in light of other reviewers' comments that the title refers to a phrase in common use among the Portuguese victims of French occupation who, like many others in Europe at this time, saw the French as tyrannous colonisers bringing only death, poverty and destruction. It is not a reflection of the attitude of the British protagonist who tries to stop the execution of captured French soldiers by his Portuguese comrades although with negligible success.

The performance is impeccable as one expects from Christian Rodska.

Anecdotally one of Churchill's favourite novels...

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This must be the progenitor of Richard Sharpe. A lone Green uniformed Rifleman in the Peninsular War behind enemy lines.
A rollicking good yarn, but be warned the language is mid twentieth century with an attitude to foreigners (non-English) that harks back to an earlier times. The description of a young Portuguese with learning difficulties is jarring to the modern ear.

Sharpe before there was Sharpe

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Somewhat far-fetched, but graphic and of its day excellently, read by the narrator a good example of the genre

A good 19th-century Yarn

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If you liked CS Forester’s Hornblower you might like this.. or perhaps not. It’s a very well written book, and excellently read. However, it is dark and gritty. The protagonist has none of the charm of Hornblower and I found him less likeable/relatable. It’s also less of a sweeping adventure and more a tragic tale of war’s horrors. I found that Foresters references to WWI which he does a few times, breaks the napoleonic immersion but overall it is worth a listen. You can tell where Cornwall got his idea for Sharpe!

Forester does gritty and dark

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Another exciting story although a little disturbing at times. Christian Rodska is an accomplished narrator.

A good listen

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Dodd is an interesting character, but less developed than Hornblower, Forester's more iconic hero. This is a short story about endurance, determination and how one man can make a significant difference when he puts his mind to it. It didn't entertain me as much as Forester's other works, but it's definitely worth a read if you enjoy his other books. The audiobook narration, by Christian Rodska, is excellent as ever.

No Hornblower

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Well read, given it is a tedious book which doesn’t get going. No empathetic character development and certainly no Hornblower. Happily ditched.

A grind

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One the positive side, the book seems to be based on some reasonable research, and it does not shrink from presenting starvation and atrocities worse than leaders and politicians would have allowed the public, in whose name the war was fought, to know about. If I had been smart I would have realised that a book with a name like "Death to the French" would be in a Boys' Own style, pitched at 12-year olds. The descriptions of the character and thought processes of the hero were frankly risible, if not infantile.

The clue is in the title

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