Dimensions
135 x 203 x 27mm
Gage fought beside Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and was his agent in Italy, America, and Greece. But that uneasy partnership has soured, and now he wants revenge. Napoleon must pay for kidnapping Ethan’s son, Harry, and nearly killing his wife, Astiza. Smuggled into France with a beautiful royalist agent, Gage is determined to thwart Bonaparte’s ambitions to overtake Europe.
Surprises abound as a conspiracy collapses, Astiza reappears at Gage’s side, and agents on all fronts try to recruit Ethan to their cause. Desperate, he devises a mad plan to sabotage Napoleon’s coronation by substituting the power-hungry emperor’s crown of golden laurel leaves with the Crown of Thorns--the religious relic purportedly worn by Christ at his crucifixion. When the scheme--requiring daring theft, perfect timing, and trust among the plotters--goes awry, Gage is soon on the run to England. There Ethan joins a circle of brilliant renegades, including Robert Fulton, designer of the first submarine; rocket artillery pioneer Sir William Congreve; and smuggler Tom Johnstone. As two empires face off at sea, Gage is plunged into the decisive and lethal Battle of Trafalgar, trapped on a French ship as Nelson’s Victory bears down on him.
Moving from the glittering boulevards and squalid back alleys of Napoleonic France to the high seas of Regency England, filled with adventure, romance, danger, and glory, The Barbed Crown is a thrilling romp that sees Ethan Gage once again embroiled in European history . . . and the fate of the modern world.
