The Lion's Skin

by Rafael Sabatini
Category: "Fiction - Adventure"
Pages:350
Year of Publication:1911
Date Added:09/30/2022
Date Read:07/26/2026
Notes:Justin Caryll was raised by Mr. Everard, his step-father, with one purpose in mind — to destroy the life of Lord Ostermore. Ostermore had taken the woman, Justin's mother, that Mr. Everard loved, left her with a child he did not know about, and gone to England to marry another woman. The way Everard plotted to destroy Ostermore was to have Justin bring him a letter from James Stuart, the pretender, and embroil him in treason. In England, Justin meets Charles, the son and heir of Ostermore, who is his half brother. He is about to "marry" Hortensia (with a fake preacher), when Justin figures out what's going on and stops the ceremony. Hortensia is thankful, and soon she and Justin are in love. But he can't marry her because he's illegitimate. Charles hates Justin and seeks to destroy him, first in a duel, and then by exposing his part in the Jacobite rebellion. But Justin finds proof that Ostermore really had married his mother in secret, which makes him heir to Ostermore's estate and leaves Charles and his mother out in the cold. But instead of ruining them, he rejects the estate (having already inherited Everard's), agrees to keep the matter a secret, and returns to France with Hortensia .
My Rating: 5

Reviews for The Lion's Skin

Review - Lion's Skin, The

Less swashbuckling and more lengthy speeches. Justin came across like a snotty brat at times and so wasn't a sympathetic hero. And the device by which he escaped Charles' plot was rather weak — with plenty of proof that he had in fact delivered a letter to Ostermore from the Pretender, he was let go simply because Charles' case against him would seem weak and motivated by revenge since Justin was the real heir to Ostermore's estate.

Reviewed by Roger on 2026-07-26 15:55:34

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