Fiery Charles Carey, heir to his uncle, the Earl of Aubigny, and a captain in Cadogan's Regiment of Dragoons during the War of the Spanish Succession, finds himself drawn into a world of secrets and spies in this sixth entry in Ronald Welch's Carey Family Chronicles, which follows the fortunes of members of the same noble family over the course of many periods in English history. Discovering that one of the members of his regiment is a traitor and a spy, Charles finds himself recruited as an agent, while reporting what he has learnt to the Duke of Marlborough's intelligence chief, Colonel Henshall. Dispatched to France, where he infiltrates the exiled Jacobite community, he attempts to discover the battle plans of the French military for the fighting season ahead. After many tumultuous events, ranging from imprisonment in the Bastille to escape and subsequent ambush of one of the agents responsible for his own capture, Charles finds himself a participant in the Battle of Blenheim. The book closes with the discovery of the true identity of the traitor, whose existence precipitated Charles' unexpected adventures...

Every bit as engaging as its predecessors, Captain of Dragoons is a worthy addition to this collection of historical tales. Originally published in 1956, it is only the second of the Carey Family Chronicles that Welch wrote, after the Carnegie Medal-winning 1955 Knight Crusader, although it now stands sixth in the series, which is organized by historical chronology, rather than by publication date. It is a departure from its immediate predecessor, and from the other books in the series that I have read thus far, in that it deals not only with overt military affairs, but with matters of espionage. It also stands out, in that Charles is not the usual Welch hero (as I have come to know him), being more prone to anger than many previous protagonists, and rather hasty and biased in his judgments. Although I was able to identify the traitor almost from the beginning—John Carey was immediately suspicious to my mind, not because of his debts and gambling, but because of the odd looks he is frequently described as directing at his cousin Charles—Welch threw in just enough red herrings that I couldn't be entirely sure until the end that my surmise was correct. When that confirmation did come, I found it terribly poignant. In addition to the story itself, which I found both engrossing and entertaining, I appreciated some of the discussion that Welch included, between Charles and Mr. Pettigrew about the larger historical significance of the conflict, as I feel that this is one of only a few works of fiction set during the War of the Spanish Succession, and many readers (like myself) may not be familiar with all of the details. I also appreciated (as always) William Stobbs' excellent accompanying illustrations.

All in all, a wonderful work of historical fiction, one I would recommend to readers who enjoy that genre, as well as to anyone planning a unit on the War of the Spanish Succession, and wanting additional materials for enrichment. ( )

Captain of Dragoons deals with the War of the Spanish Succession, particularly the events that culminate in the Battle of Blenheim. Despite its title, this installment in the Carey novels deals as much with military espionage as it does with life as a dragoon. Captain of Dragoons contains less technical material than some of the Carey novels, but is equipped with a gripping plot in the swashbuckling tradition of Dumas or Anthony Hope. Recommended. ( )