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Title details for Sails on the Horizon by Jay Worrall - Available

Sails on the Horizon

#1 in series

by Jay Worrall
John Lee
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
SAILS ON THE HORIZON
Dientes de Diablo, 1797
With his first historical high-seas adventure chronicling the exploits of Naval Commander Charles Edgemont, Jay Worrall sets sail in the rousing tradition of C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian.
The year is 1797. Napoleon Buonaparte is racking up impressive wins in the field against the enemies of revolutionary France. On the seas, England is putting up a staunch resistance.
When a modest fleet of British ships off the coast of Portugal encounters a larger force of Spanish vessels on their way to rendezvous with the French, the English are quick to seize the opportunity for a victory–even at the risk of a calamitous defeat.
Twenty-five-year-old Charles Edgemont is second lieutenant aboard the HMS Argonaut, the smallest ship in the British line of battle. When orders come for the Argonaut to engage in an all-but-suicidal maneuver to cut off the escape of the Spanish ships, he leads his gun crews bravely–until the death of the captain and the first lieutenant elevates him to command of the stricken vessel. In the chaos that follows, his defiant refusal to yield under enemy fire earns him a permanent promotion.
Thanks to the purse awarded him by the Admiralty after the fight, Charles is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. But there are challenges when he returns home after years at sea. His newfound riches will prove no help when it comes to winning the heart of Penelope Brown, the feisty Quaker with whom Charles falls in love. Even more of a hindrance is his profession, for Penelope regards war as sinful and soldiers as little better than murderers.
Changing Penelope’s mind may just be the hardest battle Charles has ever fought–at least until fresh orders send him back to sea, where he faces a more traditional and equally formidable adversary in a series of stirring battles of will and might.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Napoleonic Wars

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 19, 2005

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415953686
      • File size: 320946 KB
      • Duration: 11:08:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      There's nothing like a good tale of the sea set during a great historical era. Both are true of this book, a crackling story of naval warfare and romance during the Napoleonic Wars. Narrator John Lee is magnificent from the moment he sets the book afloat. His voice is crystal clear, and he changes characters with ease and aplomb. Lee can affect a variety of English accents from any social class and gender, and his turn as Admiral Nelson is both surprising and funny. He is equally adept at description, smoothly narrating the nautical details in an excited but controlled tone, and his performance of the battle scenes is vivid and accurate. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 28, 2005
      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
      .

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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