The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer — Volume 6

The sixth volume of Charles James Lever's wildly popular Irish novel finds our roguish hero in a tight spot. Harry Lorrequer, that irrepressible scoundrel with a talent for charm and trouble in equal measure, is plotting his escape from Paris. His companion Trevanion stands ready to help him slip away, but the city walls are closing in. What follows is a wonderfully comic journey aboard a diligence, where Harry's natural gift for getting into scrapes runs up against a parade of unforgettable fellow travelers: a loquacious German who won't stop talking, a stiff-upper-lip Englishman who embodies British reserve, and any number of potential pursuers who might be lurking in the shadows. As the coach rattles across the countryside, Harry's mind oscillates wildly between practical escape plans and romantic reveries about the sacrifices he's made in the name of love and adventure. The man can think about dodging arrest one moment and sighing over a lost sweetheart the next. Lever's genius lies in his sharp eye for human folly and his gift for turning ordinary journeys into comic odysseys. This is a book for readers who enjoy wit, adventure, and a protagonist who always seems to land on his feet, no matter how spectacularly he falls.