Bardelys the Magnificent is a fairly good novel, one of Sabatini's earliest. His writing isn't quite as polished as it would be later on and the story isn't told quite as smoothly as in other, later books. Still, it's a good and entertaining read.The Marquis de Bardelys is a court favorite of Louis XIII who is goaded into a wager that he can woo and wed the country noblewoman Roxalanne de Lavédan, the wager being with his court rival who recently failed to win said fair maiden. Upon his arrival at the Lavédans' château, Bardelys is mistaken for someone else and initially unable to correct the mistake. As Roxalanne and he get along, he finds himself afraid of the consequences should he reveal himself to be the notorious libertine Bardelys (whose reputation is exaggerated, anyway). Others jealous of Bardelys for various reasons complicate matters further, and before all is finally resolved, he stands for a while in real danger of losing his head.