Bertrand de la Croix; or, the Siege of Rhodes

by G. P. R. James

First published 1841

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2.5(5)

Set on Rhodes in 1522, Bertrand de la Croix places a fictional chivalric adventure inside the great Ottoman siege of the Knights Hospitaller. The island fortress is under sustained pressure from Suleiman the Magnificent’s army and fleet, and James uses the confinement of a siege to intensify questions of courage, honour and divided loyalty. Characters move through walls, batteries, councils and threatened positions knowing that the survival of the whole Christian stronghold is in doubt.

The historical siege lasted for months and ended with the Hospitallers negotiating their departure from Rhodes. James draws on the contrast between an entrenched military order and the expanding Ottoman state, presenting warfare as both a test of individuals and a contest between organised powers. The setting gives the novel a particularly strong sense of place: sea, fortification and bombardment continually narrow the choices available to its characters.