The story in one page
Guy Chester, a twenty-five-year-old skipper of the Dover Lass, sails into the Schelde under the cover of a gale to play a dangerous double game. Posing as the Italian Major Guido Amati, he wins the favor of the Duke of Alva, the iron-fisted Spanish Viceroy. While the Dutch rebels endure the horrific, cat-eating famine of the Siege of Haarlem, Guy learns the secret of a subterranean treasure chamber hidden beneath the Duke’s own vanity statue in Antwerp. Between battles on skates and avoiding the Duke's executioners, Guy must secure the gold and the heart of the Countess Hermoine de Alva before his English identity is unmasked by jealous rivals.
Who's who
- Guy Stanhope Chester
English captain who poses as a Spanish officer to infiltrate Antwerp.
- Duke of Alva
The Spanish Viceroy whose tax treasure is hidden in a secret vault.
- Countess Hermoine de Alva
The Duke's daughter who falls for Guy's 'blonde ferocity.'
- Paciotto
An Italian engineer who reveals the secret of the statue before his execution.
- Kenau Hasselaer
A fierce widow leading women in the defense of Haarlem.
What it's really about
- Espionage
- Identity theft as a tool for both war and romance.
- Desperation
- The extreme measures taken during the starvation of Haarlem.
Why it's memorable
- Spanish soldiers and Dutch rebels clashing in a bizarre battle on ice skates.
- The Duke of Alva's vanity statue serving as the literal lid on a stolen fortune.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Guy successfully loots the Duke's secret vault, escapes to England with Hermoine, and uses his stolen fortune to become a merchant prince and naval hero under Queen Elizabeth.
For your book club
- The ethics of a hero stealing a country's tax wealth for personal gain.
- The portrayal of 16th-century 'advanced womanhood' during the brutal Dutch sieges.