Stanley J. Weyman - Shrewsbury (1897)
Shrewsbury is another superb book by Weyman, though unlike the majority of his books this is not exactly a tale of swashbuckling romance. No, the main character who makes up our tale is hardly swashbuckling, albeit there is romance but romance of the desperate kind.
Instead, in Shrewsbury, we follow the tale of a man who has the most unfortunate luck. At times the book is almost torturous to read, not that the tale isn't wholly addictive but it's hard to read about this cowardly man who again and again is dealt a bad hand.
Eventually, our character, who is a nice fellow but a coward nonetheless comes out on top with the help of the aptly named Shrewsbury. Its a nail biting 400 pages, but again one that is wholly edible thanks to the wonderful words of Stanley J. Weyman.
