The Lion"s Skin

"The man that once did sell the lion"s skin while the beast lived, was killed with hunting him. Remember that!" These are the words of "The Lion"s Skin" protagonist, Mr. Caryll. He is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Ostermore and his guardians have brought him up with the view to wreaking revenge on the father who had never known him. What follows is a story full of intrigue and counter-intrigue as well as revenge, jealousy and greed but also of love. The author, Rafael Sabatini (1875 - 1950) was a prolific Italian/English writer of novels of romance and adventure and wrote bestselling titles such as "The Sea Hawk", "Captain Blood" and, most notably, "Scaramouche" which was made into a film, the remake of which starred no less than Stewart Granger.