Bonaparte is preparing to invade Britain. Ramage must discover when — before the guillotine discovers him.

Thousands of French troops are gathering around Boulogne, while hundreds of invasion barges and gunboats wait along the Channel coast. The Admiralty needs to know whether Napoleon’s great invasion fleet is truly ready to sail.

Lieutenant Lord Nicholas Ramage is chosen for a mission far more dangerous than any sea battle: cross into enemy France and find out for himself.

Disguised as an Italian master shipwright, Ramage infiltrates Boulogne, where French batteries guard the coast and the invasion flotilla crowds the anchorage. His task is to discover the fleet’s true strength and readiness — and somehow get the intelligence back to Britain.

But in a country ruled by suspicion, one mistake could expose him as a British spy. As Ramage pushes deeper into Bonaparte’s preparations, the net begins to close — and capture means only one destination.

The guillotine.

Packed with espionage, deception, naval intrigue and high-stakes adventure, Ramage and the Guillotine is the sixth thrilling instalment in Dudley Pope’s classic Lord Ramage series, perfect for readers of C. S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian and Alexander Kent.