Author’s Introduction to The Historical Fiction Character Sketch of Guy Alfonse Guichenot, Comte de Montreuil.
As I developed early drafts of my historical fiction novel Sic Parvis Magna, I designed a character to personify the ruthless, lawless atmosphere of the 16th-century seas—a world where power was measured in cannon and cruelty, and in which the weak were devoured by the strong.
Guichenot was that character.
He was a man of wealth—a nobleman having French peerage. I envisioned him as a man shaped by unresolved childhood wounds—perhaps bullied among royal peers at court, powerless in youth and growing into an adult consumed by dominance, cruelty, and emotional detachment. His psychopathy treated human life as expendable and thrived in a world where ambition was unchecked.
Nobles, per common practice occupied key roles in the field command of armies and garrisons, and Guichenot, as the count of Montreuil, was the garrison commander of Montreuil during the Siege of Boulogne.
In the real history of the siege (Swain, 2009), the English side was led by the Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk who believed that the Abbeville Gate of the castle was weakly defended. Suffolk attacks the castle there (despite having instructions from Henry VIII and Norfolk to the contrary), and was nearly killed during the attack. His squire, Thomas Clere pulled him to safety, at the cost of his own life.
The backstory I gave Guichenot was that he invented this ruse to capture a valuable prisoner and fed it to spies to be carried to Suffolk, knowing the duke will not be able to resist. His plan was nearly perfect… but for the personal heroics of Suffolk’s retainers who was dragged him to safety, first by Clere, and then after Clere dies, the young Gregory Trelawney. (Author’s comment—this story will appear a little later, as a historical fiction short story A Fool’s Errand.
The loss of such a valuable prisoner cost Guichenot politically at the court. For different reasons than Trelawney, he also decides to withdraw from court and pursue his fortune under conditions he controls (do you see a conflict brewing?)
He purchases and outfits his own ship, the Haliætus, and through his court connections, secures letters of marque to cloak piracy with a sheer, a gossamer veil of legality.
I imagined the Haliætus as a formidable vessel—a large and powerful square-rigged caravel, heavily armed with imported, 16th-century state-of-the-art cetbangs (lantakas, or canister anti-personnel cannon), raining down deadly fire from her after deck and forecastle. Her firepower and sail power gave Guichenot the perfect stage for settling his scores by taking what he wanted.
Yet despite his dramatic presence, Guichenot ultimately did not serve the story as I hoped. One of my insightful beta readers noted that his arrival felt abrupt, as if staged.
She was right.
His role lacked organic integration into the evolving narrative. As Sic Parvis Magna matured through its third draft, I removed Guichenot, consolidating his function into other characters who more naturally drive Drake’s personal journey and historical collision with destiny.
Although Guichenot no longer appears in the novel, I share this character sketch as a window into my creative process — where historical research, psychology, and narrative tension converge to shape a world both grounded in fact and richly imagined.
However, I promise that you won’t be disappointed with Guichenot’s understudy.
If you enjoy these behind-the-scenes glimpses into my world-building, you may also be interested in the character sketch of James Reynard, another villain who remains central to Sic Parvis Magna, as well as the profile of Francis Drake himself.
About the Image of Captain Guichenot
The portrait of Guichenot began as an AI-generated image, inspired by the portrait of the real-life Vlad the Impaler (who was the prototype for Count Dracula). I heavily modified the image and combined it with a period sketch by Willem Van der Velde (the Younger) to create the final composite that captures the ominous aura I had envisioned for Guichenot.
Read More about the Siege of Boulogne
Swain, B. (10/2009). King Henry VIII of England and the Siege of Boulogne: His Last War. Retrieved from Warfare History Network: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/king-henry-viii-england-siege-of-boulogne-his-last-war/
