On holiday in Italy in 1853, the eponymous Nicholas Carey—nephew of Christopher Carey, the hero of the previous entry in the Carey Family series, Captain of Foot—was devoting himself to his artwork, when he suddenly found himself caught up in an adventure involving Italian nationalists on the run from the Austrians, and his charming scapegrace cousin, Andrew. Returning home to his military duties as a captain in the army, he was next dispatched to Paris by his family, there to extricate Andrew from his continuing involvement with the same group of dangerous Italian revolutionaries, now plotting assassination and terror. After helping to foil an attempt on the life of Napoleon III, Nicholas next found himself shipping out to the Crimea, where he participated in the Battle of the Alma, and the brutal first two years of the Crimean War...

First published in 1963, Nicholas Carey is the tenth entry in Ronald Welch's Carey Family series, a set of loosely-connected historical novels for children—now arranged by historical chronology, rather than by publication date—that chronicles the adventures of various members of a noble family during important periods of English and British history. I found it quite enjoyable, as I have all of Welch's books, and I appreciated the fact that it depicted historical events and periods about which I have read little. That being said, I did feel that the three different parts of the book—Italy, Paris, Crimea—didn't quite come together into an entirely harmonious whole. I think that perhaps each could have been expanded, into their own book-length adventure. Failing this, perhaps the author could have focused on one setting, or perhaps two, creating a story that would feel a little less divided.

Despite this critique, I did enjoy the story here, and would recommend it to young readers who enjoy historical fiction, or who are looking for stories featuring the Crimean War and/or the aftermath of the 1848 Revolutions in Italy. ( )

An unusual volume in the Carey Family chronicles. The first half of the book focuses on actions of Italian partisans against the Austrians and French, and includes a well-drawn episode in the Paris of Napoleon III. The second half is set during the Crimean War, and manages not to include the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Thin Red Line or any mention of Florence Nightingale. Despite its slight unevenness, the book is written with Welch's accostomed panache and features the same balance of historical authenticity and entertainment value. ( )