The Battle of the Strong

Jersey during the wars with revolutionary France: an island of its own laws and its own tongue, a woman married in secret, and a cousin who will use it. Gilbert Parker was Canadian-born, sat in Parliament for eighteen years and was knighted; he learned Jersey's dialect and history for this book, and it shows in every page of the trial. Fifty-five portraits from 1750 to 1908, including works by Munch and Boilly, give a face to the private loyalties and public betrayals that drive this story of divided kingdoms.