A Bargain in Old Masters

IN THE SHADOW OF THE GUILLOTINE (1,077 pp.)--Rafael Sabatini--Houghton Mifilin ($6).

He was born in Italy, the son of an English soprano and an Italian tenor, picked up an education in Switzerland and Portugal, became a British subject and a proper young businessman. But not for long. As soon as he could read, he had begun to devour history, and one day he left his proper job for the happier one of cranking out historical novels. Quote the opening line of one of his most famous ones--"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad"--and thousands of readers now living will know that it is from Scaramouche, by Rafael Sabatini.

A virile six-footer who, in costume, might have stood in for one of his own heroes, Sabatini was a tireless worker, and when he died in 1950 at 75, he left a shelf of 36 novels that make most current historicals seem like the work of low-energy convalescents. Sabatini had no use or time for what is sometimes called literary life, never read the novels of others, and probably did not think of himself as a novelist. But he knew all the tricks of the trade, and in his hands the historical was surefire. His plots are as tight and well woven as good wicker. The costumes fit, love and virtue always triumph, and the swordplay is the most expert, the flashiest since The Three Musketeers.

This week the nation's bookshops are stocking a Sabatini bargain. In the Shadow of the Guillotine contains three novels with a French Revolution setting: Scaramouche, The Marquis of Carabas, The Lost King. Even people with literary pretensions can admire the expert workmanship. Others will simply enjoy the storytelling, the color, the sweep and energy that were Sabatini's trademarks. Picking up this neat, compact volume, many an old fan will be glad to see him back.

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