Readers will be more familiar with other works by Dumas, such as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, so this little novella is often overlooked. Translated for the first time in 2023, it's worth a few hours of anyone's time.

Opening the book with a brief biography of Dumas to give the reader context, we then dive into the fairytale within a tale.

The story comes as a tale told by a traveller chatting with a fellow passenger on a steamer down the Rhine, telling him a story about a castle they are passing. Count Osmond and his wife Countess Berthe rebuild Wittsgaw Castle after it had fallen into ruin. The most notable traits of the Countess were her kindness and compassion. Always with a kind word and alms for the needy, the Count and Countess were beloved. And not just by the people living under their rule. For the castle was home to a colony of dwarves - the Cobolts. They loved and protected the castle, and rewarded good owners with their protection and support. As a thank you for their help in restoring the castle, and their ongoing protection, the countess decreed that every year, everyone was invited to partake of a meal, including a honey porridge.

The tale follows the story of the castle, as it is passed down through generations and conquered by opposing forces. Many of these did not follow the decree and did not see why they should be providing food to those that should be providing for their lords. Successive owners were incompetent or mean or cruel, and paid the price for their misdeeds, until a new owner is found that could restore kindness.

In a world that feels so mean sometimes, it's takes a novella from 1847 to see kindness be rewarded.

The translation is excellent, keeping the conversational tone of the writing, and the book is beautifully narrated by Jason Don. Listening to the audiobook took me back to being read to as a child again - we're never too old for a truly delightful fairy tale.

A book, that without the ex cellent translation, would have passed me by......which would have been unfortunate indeed. I totally enjoyed the read.....a fascinating insight.
I have now passed the book to a friend who is also devouring it.

This is a book that I found hard to put down but didn't want it to end as we encounter the best and worst of humanity.
Enforced restrictions are the culprit of the worst whilst family love, friendships, kindness and survival are the best.

A powerful and moving account of the man behind the poetry. Despite being a Shelley fan, this delved deeper and created an intriguing world around him.

I am grateful to the translation to make this text accessible to me, and the illustrations brought this further to life.

Surprising, honest, raw and illuminating.

Silent Riders is one of those rare books that when you finish it you want to read it all over again. Bleak, heartbreaking, poetic prose that encapsulates the emotions of a poor miner who has lost everything but didn't realise he had more to lose. I read it in one sitting and can't recommend this enough.

Review of Silent Riders of the Sea
This historical novel is set in 1930, and takes place on board a fishing vessel.
The author, John Gerard Fagan, has an impressive way with words and imagery, his use of language and striking metaphors being standout features of the novel.
It is told in an interesting and rarely-encountered way, as a work of free verse, like a long prose poem. For some, I suppose, this may take some getting used to. But the majority of readers of literary fiction will quickly adapt.
In terms of form it is not a million miles away from Solar Bones by Mike McCormack, a novel which takes a similarly radical approach to narrative form, and which won the Goldsmiths Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award.
While it is too soon to know whether Silent Riders of the Sea will win any awards, what I can tell you is that it is definitely worth your time. It will very quickly transport you to a world of hardship that is (thank God) for the most part forgotten in the U.K. Fagan’s writing is so vivid you will come close to enduring the hardships that Jack, the protagonist, endures. You will certainly feel for Jack and you will be taken on a highly-charged emotional journey.
So read this book, by all means.
A word of caution, though. If you are looking for an uplifting novel, this isn’t it. Silent Riders of the Sea, for all its poetic inclinations, is a gritty read, and is utterly unsparing in its attention to uncomfortable detail. Your emotions while reading it are likely to encompass pity and fear, and perhaps even horror.
You will not leave this book feeling uplifted. You will leave it feeling the same way you might after watching, say, a performance of King Lear. You will have the impression you have witnessed an unfolding of terrible events, and the experience will probably bring home to you how blessed you are to be living the life you have.
Which is the point of tragedy, isn’t it?

Written in a style reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road', this book is hard to put down. As tough and dark as the subject matter and it's topics may be, you're genuinely immersed in the journey and it's narrative.
Not necessarily for the faint hearted, but amazing literature rarely is!
Looking forward to future works from this author!!!!

Silent Riders of the Sea is a book that breaks your heart and leaves you staring into space. The most beautifully written book I have read this year.

The writing is sparse but so well crafted; I felt I was there frozen with grief. Fagan is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. The village in Scotland Jack was from reminded me of my mother's in Sweden. And we lost many of our men to the sea.

I knew what I was in for from reading Fish Town. Exceptional storytelling and beautiful writing. The darkest book I’ve read this year. I’ll prepare myself for reading his next book if it’s going to be as bleak!

Poetic and powerful. I like this author's style of writing.

Kelly Noll did a fantastic job creating characters and situations that drew you in and made you care. It’s a thriller and a war story about the worst case scenario in the US, but still she manages to keep politics out of the story, and that’s appreciated.

The brothers of Jerrett and Dean are relatable and have the right amount of flaws to make you feel they are real, and enough empathy to make you care about them and their families (both real and extended).

I’ll definitely be watching for future novels by her.

Amazing book, and big kudos to the Publisher!

‘The Porridge of the Countess Berthe’ is a fairy tale by Alexandre Dumas, père, which goes to further reveal the enormous breadth of the writer’s range, with gems continually being unearthed for the world to enjoy. It does make one wonder, what else of Dumas remains to be discovered?

Alix Daniel has here produced a delightful translation, one which remains faithful to the original and yet speaks to a modern anglophone audience.

You can but enjoy this little novella, so do not think twice about purchasing it!

Really cool read. I’ve read it 2 or 3 times now and it still manages to be creepy and keep me at the edge of my seat. The detail in each short story is gory and well written, with each being connected through some seriously gruesome (and graphic) undertones. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to experiment with horror and stories written in varied form.