From Publishers Weekly
Intrepid hero Charles Edgemont does battle with the French and their allies during the Napoleonic Wars in Worrell's competent debut. A lowly lieutenant for a few pages, Charles is quickly elevated to master of the outdated
Argonaut as she's ordered to sacrifice herself in an attempt to stall the Spanish fleet. Stall them he does, and the prize money he gets makes him wealthy just in time to help his destitute brother. Charles is promoted, buys land and is given his own ship, but not before he takes over temporary command of a brig, whips her slovenly crew into shape and captures more prizes while patrolling the Irish Sea. Meanwhile, a pretty Quaker neighbor is succumbing to Charles's charms as readily as enemy ships succumb to his strategies. Aboard his new frigate,
Louisa, Charles has several bloody encounters with the larger Spanish vessel,
Santa Brigida, each more harrowing than the last. Although well executed and demonstrating Worrall's expertise in ship and sea warfare history, the plot runs too smoothly to be satisfying. Charles never stumbles, never runs afoul of anyone or anything. Handsome, charming, self-confident beyond the telling of it, he handily defeats veteran seamen, takes enormous chances and is always rewarded for his audacity and impetuousness. Readers will root for him, but he's no Horatio Hornblower.
Agent, Al Hart.
(Apr.)
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Debut novelist Worrall sails into the well-traveled waters of the Napoleonic Wars. Obviously inspired by the salty tales of seasoned maritime novelists C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian, he delicately balances action and adventure with introspection. Worrall's hero is Second Lieutenant Charles Edgemont, an untested officer in His Britannic Majesty's formidable fleet. Acquitting himself admirably in his first battle after taking over for his mortally wounded captain, he is rewarded with both a promotion and a share of the Spanish booty. Armed with his new commission and his prize money, he returns home and becomes enamored with pacifist Quaker Penelope Brown. Their unlikely courtship is put on hold when Charles is called back to duty to face an old enemy. Fans of seafaring military sagas will welcome this latest addition to the genre.
Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.