Book Reviews:

Saint Faust in the North 1803-1804

Orkney and Shetland in Danger

Reviewed by Cliff Cardoza


By R P Fereday.
Published by Tempvs Reparatvm (1995)
ISBN 1-8713-1405-4, 98 pages, plus biblio and index, 9 illus.
Price 15.99 pounds

In 1805 at Trafalgar, Lord Nelson was to finally decimate Napoleon's plans to invade the British Isles forever. The threat was a very real one and was taken seriously by the population, particularly those living close to the sea. This book tells of an attempted invasion of the Northern Isles, just a year before Nelson's great victory.

In 1803 self-styled adventurer, spy and naval captain, Jean Jacques de Saint Faust, a Frenchman operating under the Batavian (Dutch) flag, marshalled his forces in Norway for commerce raiding and a daring diversionary invasion. This would compel Britain to divert some of its forces away from the English Channel, damage commerce, affect moral and provide a major propaganda success for Bonaparte.

Mr Fereday has gone to great lengths to piece together the events surrounding this little known threat to Britain's security. His book contains all the elements that are found in a good story of war at sea. Intrigue and covert surveillance. Preparation for war. Running sea battles. The spoils for the victor and recriminations for the defeated. The effect on the local population and of course, the fight against the greatest enemy of all, the sea itself. It left me wanting to know more about Saint Faust and some of the other main characters.

This book is a thoroughly good read and I can recommend it both to naval historians and to anyone who is interested in detailed events of the Napoleonic War.

Cliff Cardoza

(Other titles by R.P.Fereday that are of interest are The Longhope Battery and Towers (no price), and The Orkney Balfours, 1747-99, 24.95 pounds.)

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