Very interesting read from a very complex point in French history. However, if you’re not familiar with nautical terms, you’ll get confused and or sidetracked by looking these words up, since the edition I read has no glossary. That’s why I gave three stars: because I don’t know what a pinnace is. Apparently it’s a boat with fourteen oars. This confusion takes away from the real story, of the infamous raft and the incompetent captain who saves himself while leaving women and children behind.
I look forward to reading something written after the discovery of the wreck in 1980.