When I look back on all the books I have read, hoping for the fun I had with Tizzo of Melrose, and Horatio Hornblower, I see a monstrous heap!
This is the archetypical "bastard child from Nowhere rubs swords with the famous and unprincipled" book. Tizzo was the inspiration for so many Science fiction and fantasy heroes, that I know I have touched the wellspring. set in renaissance Italy, it's THE non-stop action romp.
I am sorry that we have had to make do with a great many pale imitations of George Challis's books. This book was written in 1935, and been reprinted since, but the once. It needs to be reprinted and made into an HBO mini-series. ( )

The Firebrand is an exciting swashbuckling adventure. It is filled with breathtaking sword fights and daring rescues. It has loyalty, friendship and love. Challis makes all his characters big and bold, they swear loyalty to men they hardly know, they feel everything strongly, they love a good fight and a good fighter. The boldest, of course, is our hero, Tizzo, the Firebrand from the title. He is young and brash and people love him without really knowing why. He makes outrageous gambits and somehow always pulls them off. He is different from other men with his flaming hair and his choice of weapon, the woodman’s ax. Others find him so extraordinary that they say things like ‘not a cat, but a Tizzo could,’ not a giant, but a Tizzo could,’ like he is not just a remarkable man but a different breed altogether. He has a lady love who will fight beside him, friends who will risk life and limb to follow him and an enemy that will risk anything to destroy him. The story of power and betrayal and true love is fun and exciting. It is a story that is larger than life. The fights that are ‘aflash and aglitter with the swordplay’ are plentiful. Most of the book someone is fighting but it doesn’t become tedious and there is still plenty of plot in between the fights. It reads fast and moves quickly. Challis has written a wonderful adventure story with a hissable bad guy, a courageous hero, love that conquers all, improbably escapes, and lots of daring do. What more could you ask for? It’s easy to get swept up in it. ( )