By the Mast Divided

By the Mast Divided

487 pages
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Published: 1 Jan 2005
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Editions
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Details

This edition

Format: Ebook

Language: English

Publisher: Allison & Bus

Publication date: 6 September 2012

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Description

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally pressganged from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In the first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men - fly Charlie Taverner; quiet Ben Walker; tired old Abel Scrivens; the bairn of the group, Rufus Dommet; the droll, tough Irish laborer, Michael O'Hagan; and the bumptious Gherson - pressed men like him, who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel, this disparate group of men form friendships that will last a lifetime. David Donachie cleverly weaves these fictional characters into true historical situations to produce a compelling and utterly absorbing introductory novel.