Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 34
April 21, 2018
Review of Female Tars
Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail by Suzanne J. StarkMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
During the Age of Sail, the British Royal Navy was decidedly a man’s world. One might think this meant women were not aboard these wooden vessels that ruled the oceans and protected the world’s largest empire. Female Tars shows the contrary to be true. The Admiralty and officers may have ignored their presence or not even been aware they were aboard, but women did live and work on navy ships during the seventeenth century through the middle of the nineteenth.
Stark’s book, first published in 1996, is a succinctly written and engrossing academic study for scholars as well as lay readers. Four chapters comprise this easy-to-read exploration: Prostitutes and Seamen’s Wives on Board in Port, Women of the Lower Deck at Sea, Women in Disguise in Naval Crews, and The Story of Mary Lacy, Alias William Chandler. The endnotes provide fascinating historical tidbits that don’t readily fit within the main narrative. They also provide the source material documenting the text, although no separate bibliography is included. In addition to the index, black-and-white illustrations depicting women with seamen further enhance the chapters.
The largest category of women found on ships was prostitutes, who spent time on the lower deck where the sailors lived whenever a vessel put in at a port. This was a period when shore leave was rarely granted since most captains believed the crew would desert. To prevent this and to keep the men happy, boatloads of women came out to the ship to entertain and console them. To a lesser degree some of these females were the actual wives of the seamen, but for them to have this opportunity to visit with their husbands was a rarity, as Stark so ably demonstrates. Within this chapter she discusses the reasons for allowing women to board the ships, which also entails what life was like in the navy and pertinent Admiralty regulations. The inclusion of contemporary quotations allows Stark to contrast how men of the lower deck viewed these women with the viewpoints of commissioned officers. Her discourse also covers what life at home was like for all these women and their families, as well as the reforms that eventually led to the cessation of this practice.
Chapter two focuses on warrant officers’ wives, who often accompanied their husbands. For many, the ship was the only home they ever had and they raised their families within these wooden walls. Aside from comparing these wives with those of soldiers, Stark explores the tradition of women going to sea (which dates back to medieval times), the regulations concerning this, and the wives’ daily routine (meals, recreation, sexual harassment, childbirth, and participation in battles). She also touches on women in the French navy during this time period. The final segments of the chapter summarize how this tradition came to an end and why these valiant women who deserved the General Service Medal failed to receive it.
The third chapter focuses on women in disguise. Only a few accounts survive as evidence that prove they existed, but it’s likely others also donned male attire and joined the navy. Either their stories were never recorded, or their true identities were never revealed. In presenting this information, Stark asks and attempts to answer three questions:
How were they able to pass as male on crowded ships where privacy didn’t exist?
Why did they volunteer and go to great efforts to remain on board when many men were pressed into service and deserted whenever the opportunity arose?
How did their fellow seamen, their officers, and society as a whole view these women once their true gender was revealed?
Her first offer of proof of these women seamen come directly from the archives of the Royal Navy. They are Gentlewoman Anne Chamberlyne (1690), a nameless Gentlewoman (1690s), a Marine known as William Prothero (1760-1761), and a black female seaman known as William Brown (1804-1816 [or later]). In addition, Stark discusses Hannah Snell’s “Muddled Biography” and Mary Anne Talbot’s “Spurious Autobiography.”
The final chapter focuses on Mary Lacy and showcases excerpts from her autobiography, first published in 1773. After running away from home in 1759, she eventually assumed the persona of a male and enlisted in the Royal Navy. The chosen selections document various stages in her career, which includes her time as an apprentice and a shipwright, and informs readers of her goals, attitudes, and opinions about what she experiences and witnesses. They also provide insights into why she joined the navy and why she continued to serve in spite of the severe hardships she endured during her twelve years of service.
Stark masterfully disentangles the myths and facts about women of the lower deck of warships. She also enlightens us as to why they chose this harsh life. Finally and perhaps most importantly, she illuminates the social context of these lower-class women and the limited roles open to them. Female Tars is an invaluable addition to any collection dealing with the Royal Navy, women at sea, women’s history, and life during the Age of Sail.
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Review of Paulina and the Pirate's Hat
Paulina and the Pirate's Hat by Eric OdeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Paulina loves to read, especially if her book takes her on an adventure. She gets so caught up in the story, she forgets to look where she’s going. When this happens one day, she finds herself aboard a ship. But not just any old vessel. The Rusty Cuttlefish belongs to pirates, and the captain is decidedly unhappy because she’s sitting on his hat!
Once the squashed hat is retrieved, Paulina announces that it is most certainly the wrong hat for a pirate captain. The crew agrees and, on her recommendation, they set sail for the best places to find the needed wool, feather, and lace for a true pirate captain’s hat.
Children, old and young, who often have their noses in books will definitely identify with Paulina. The story sounds like a grand adventure, but is basically a sedate quest, although some of the bright, colorful artwork suggests more excitement in faraway places like Puddle Jump Island and the Komoromoro Jungle. Paulina watches rather than fully participates until the very end of this tale where a surprising twist occurs. The pictures contain a few familiar pirate tropes, such as a peg leg and tattered clothing, but while the pirates wear old-fashioned attire, she dresses in t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The characters come from a variety of ethnicities. The text is fairly easy to read, but young pirates (ages 3-8) can easily tell the story just from looking at the artwork. At the book’s end, Ode includes directions on how to make your own pirate hat from old newspapers, which makes Paulina and the Pirate’s Hat a fun way to integrate reading with art.
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Review of Spider
Spider by Leah DevlinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book two in The Chesapeake Tugboat Murders returns readers to the quiet town of Glen River in the Upper Chesapeake Bay. This is a sleepy place filled with quirky residents except for once a year when they celebrate one of their founding fathers – Giles Blood-hand, a notorious pirate who settled here in the 1600s with many of his fellow pirates. They brought with them an enormous treasure comprised of emeralds, rubies, pearls, gold, and silver, initially stolen from Spaniards and later taken from another pirate, Bartholomew Dodd, whom they left for dead before sailing north. These buccaneers became fishermen, carpenters, and farmers and their treasure was cached in a secret place and used when needed. Descendants of the original pirates include Alex Allaway, a marine biologist with a phobia of spiders, and Will Wilkins, a detective with a young daughter. They oversee this stash of valuables, doling it out when necessary and protecting it from the many treasure hunters searching for it. Alex and Will also have an on-again off-again affair, because Alex’s unusual upbringing makes her reticent to take the plunge.
Nina Vega, who was Alex’s college roommate, has moved to Glen River to teach at nearby Tolchester College. Not only does she wish to become a full professor of sociology, but she also needs to expand the parameters of her research on fishing communities. Soon her arrival, she and Alex go boating on the bay aboard Alex’s tugboat Vital Spark. Shortly after Alex points out an abandoned cottage on a cliff overlooking the Chesapeake, a woman steering a yacht causes a near accident. The ensuing waves crash ashore and topple the house from its precarious perch; once the waves subside, Nina and Alex discover that several bodies were buried under the house.
Glen River’s chief detective, Jay Braden, arrives with his partner Will, the medical examiner, and a forensics team. The investigation turns up several interesting facts. Only one body shows signs of foul play. No one has seen the owner of the cottage in years, but the property taxes have been paid regularly. Among the detritus found on the surrounding land are rope, tape, and cylinders with holes in the top that might have been used to store creatures. The identities of the dead are unknown, but as Lisa Paco – the police force’s gum-chewing mystery buff who’s a wiz at researching on the computer – delves deeper into these mysteries, she begins to suspect that one of the deceased may be her father, who went missing many years ago. If correct, her mother may be the murderer and there is no way Lisa will ever let “the best mother in the world” be arrested.
The nuisance yachter is Pamela Dodd, whom the residents see as a successful model who comes every summer with her current boy toys to hunt for treasure. (She oversees while the guys do all the work.) While her hunt for this pirate hoard is real, her reasons are known only to herself. She’s actually the multi-great granddaughter of Bartholomew Dodd, the rightful owner of the pirate treasure. Now that he’s long dead, it belongs to her. When Alex plays a trick on her to discourage her hunting, it brings Alex directly into Pamela’s crosshairs and no matter what she must do, Pamela intends to locate and seize the treasure for herself.
Unlike the first title in the series, which was predominantly Alex’s story, Spider centers more on Nina and the college. On her first day of work, she ends up in the hospital after a roof slate slices off her finger, resulting in the loss of her engagement ring. Not only must she adapt to this injury, but she also must adjust to the realities of her new job – out-of-date technology, a crumbling office building badly in need of repairs, and a president and her staff (the Weird Sisters) who seem far more interested in meeting quotas and adhering to rules than they do with learning and research. And just when Nina needs him the most, her fiancé, who hasn’t yet arrived in Glen River, goes strangely silent.
Spider is as much a tale of relationships and interactions as it is about miscommunication and misinterpretation. It also ably demonstrates the extreme lengths some people are willing to go to when trying to locate legendary gold or to protect those they love. Devlin does a fantastic job spinning the disparate threads into an intricately woven mystery that’s a challenge to solve. The many twists and turns mirror a demented mind of keen intelligence. Only the lack of good proofreading, especially in the last third of the book, mars this whodunit where even the weapon is as offbeat as the unique characters populating Glen River.
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Review of Savage Winds
Savage Winds by Michelle C. ReillyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ana Salvatore, a marine biologist, and her uncle return to his boat after scuba diving off the coast of Grand Bahama only to confront two armed strangers. Born into one of the leading mob families, she has tried hard to distance herself from the unsavory ties that eventually killed her parents, but now they are after her beloved Uncle Louis, who raised her. In the ensuing struggle, an explosion flings Ana into the depths of the Caribbean. When she comes to, she finds herself in a captain’s cabin, although not aboard her uncle’s vessel. This is a ship of wood and sails where the captain has a strange English accent and he and his men wear outfits from the past. At first, she assumes they are re-enactors, but soon discovers that she has traveled back in time to the early nineteenth century.
Jacen Stirling has little time to deal with the beautiful woman whose unfamiliar words and skimpy outfit puzzle him. His country is in the midst of a war with Great Britain, and he must determine whether Jean Laffite’s offer of assistance is real – a pursuit that requires him to infiltrate the pirate enclave at Barataria. To gain Laffite’s trust, Jacen pretends to be a fellow buccaneer and must arrive at the pre-arranged rendezvous before time runs out. Rescuing Ana and having her aboard a ship full of men is a complication he doesn’t need, yet he cannot spare the time to see her safely ashore and still make his appointed destination.
A brief stop at Nassau to take on supplies adds to the urgency of his mission. Amassing in the harbor is a fleet of many Royal Navy ships, most certainly the invasion fleet bound for New Orleans. Jacen assigns Ana the duties of a ship’s surgeon, which leads to some comical situations when twenty-first-century medical practices clash with nineteenth-century proprieties.
Wary of being on her own in a time where she doesn’t belong, Ana insists on going with Jacen when they arrive off the coast of New Orleans. To earn Laffite’s trust, he agrees to do the pirate’s bidding, and to ensure that Jacen obeys, Laffite keeps Ana as collateral. Should Jacen fail, she will be delivered back to his ship . . . dead. In his absence, she ministers to the slaves on a nearby plantation. She also befriends both their children and the master’s rebellious daughter, as well as engaging in risky business of her own – teaching slave children to read.
Savage Winds introduces Reilly’s new series, Savage Times – time-travel romances where heroes and heroines forge bonds while confronting dangerous situations in unaccustomed surroundings and historical periods. Her intriguing portrayal of Jean Laffite combines dangerous and deadly with charismatic and courteous, differing from the usual impression of the descriptor “gentleman pirate.” She also adheres to the belief that Dominique You was one of the Laffite brothers, although the Jean Laffite journal and Stanley Arthur Clisby’s biography state that You was the oldest, rather than the youngest, of them. There are several historical inaccuracies. Tricorn hats were not part of American military uniforms of this period; holystones – used to scrub the decks of wooden ships – were blocks of sandstone, rather than bristle brushes; and in 1814, William Claiborne was governor of the state of Louisiana, not the territorial governor.
For the most part, these are minor slips when examined from the perspective of the entire story. Ana’s unfamiliarity with society and history provides both comic relief and grim awakenings between the world she knows and the new one in which she finds herself. Getting back to her own time period never seems a priority, perhaps because there is no simple answer of how one travels through time when disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle and she has no family left to go back to. This makes for a more believable story. For me, the second time-slip is much stronger, fantastically portrayed in a way that makes us look anew at our own world and the technology we take for granted.
This spicy romance successfully intertwines humor and drama to spin a web of intrigue and danger. Aside from the historical aspects of the story, I was drawn to the sketches that Jacen draws. The reason for their inclusion remains unclear until the final pages, which then makes perfect sense but kept me guessing (not an easy feat to achieve). As the historical events of the War of 1812 unfold, disparate forces must work together to protect the fledgling United States, while Ana and Jacen struggle to keep both themselves and their burgeoning love alive.
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Review of Redeeming the Pirate
Redeeming The Pirate: A Women's Action & Adventure Romance by Chloe FlowersMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Several days before someone pounds on the abbey door late at night, a Jamaican white witch warns Sister Eva about a darkly shadowed man carrying a sick child. When the knock comes in November 1814, Eva opens the door to Captain Gamponetti, whose menacing manner and expectations of immediate obedience frighten Eva. But she is a healer and if her assumption is correct, the young girl suffers from contact with the deadly Manchineel tree. Saving her requires Eva to first bring down the fever. This necessitates a journey, with the daunting captain and her patient’s brother, to nearby caves where the cool pools of water will bring down the girl’s temperature.
Once a pirate and now French privateer, Drago Viteri Gamponetti is a condemned man – not by the law, but by his own heinous deeds. Although Jacqueline and Julian are not his children, they are his responsibility until he can return the twins to his friend and their uncle. First, he must rendezvous with the trader who will purchase his cargo of sugarcane and then he must meet with three French agents. He hopes this will be his last mission for King Louis before he will finally be permitted to pursue a more legitimate line of work.
The witch appears on the road to the caves and warns Drago that the time to choose approaches. If he makes the wrong choice, he will die. His only hope is a beacon of light, but salvation will come only after he betrays an ally, breaks a vow, and helps an enemy. She also slips Eva herbs to make tea to help cure Jacqueline and to make Drago do Eva’s bidding. Before she can inquire into the specific herbs, the witch vanishes.
Eva is reticent to give the tea to Drago, but he has a ship and she needs transportation to New Orleans as soon as possible. A dying Frenchman seeking absolution has revealed that the French king has sent agents to steal sacred relics from the cathedral. She is determined to prevent this, even at the risk of her own life. Setting foot in the city could bring her face-to-face with the man who tried to kill her ten years ago for losing a precious map.
After Drago drinks the tea, a compromising comedy of errors ensues and he pledges to take Sister Eva to New Orleans. This doesn’t seem to be a problem until only two of the three French agents meet with him and he must not only transport them to New Orleans but also assist in the theft of the relics. His initial reaction is to refuse, but the king has sent his trusted assassin to either bring him the relics or kill Drago and his agents. Since his soul is already doomed, Drago thinks it may be safer to betray Sister Eva rather than his king.
When he delivers his cargo to the trader, Drago discovers a fleet of British warships in the harbor. He also learns the reason for their gathering and how they intend to use the sugarcane. Since he still has a modicum of conscience, he vows to prevent France’s enemy from utilizing it in their planned invasion of the United States. Nor can he endanger Sister Eva or the twins by taking them with him to New Orleans. In the coming battle 2,000 able-bodied, but untrained, men will defend the city against more than 10,000 battle-hardened, veteran soldiers. What he doesn’t factor into this decision are the twins, who refuse to be left behind. Determined to return to their family and defend their country, Jacqueline and Justin stow away on Drago’s ship; when Sister Eva cannot find them in the abbey, she and an older nun go in search of them. Which puts all four aboard the vessel when Drago sets sail. By the time he discovers their presence, it’s too late to put them ashore. They are in a race against the British invasion force to reach New Orleans first.
Redeeming the Pirate is a captivating retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Part of the Pirates and Petticoats series, this historical romance is a poignant love story, a gut-wrenching depiction of war, and a tale of redemption. From that first knock on the abbey door to the aftermath of the Battle of New Orleans, the characters draw you into the depths and breadths of this story so we experience all their joys and pains. They make us laugh or cry, depending on how they interpret the predicaments in which they find themselves. Most authors focus on the primary battlefield (Chalmette) and final confrontation in this final major conflict of the War of 1812. While Flowers covers all the skirmishes that comprise the Battle of New Orleans, she focuses on two aspects often overlooked in or omitted from other novels. One concerns the fascines (ladders) the British intended to use to scale and overrun American defenses. While Drago’s plan to infiltrate the British encampment and destroy those fascines seems a bit naïve for someone as knowledgeable, astute, and jaded as Drago, Flowers presents an interesting and plausible reason as to why the enemy failed to implement this part of their plan. She also incorporates the British attempt to seize the American position on the West Bank of the Mississippi and turn those guns on Jackson’s forces at Chalmette, which would have led to a far different ending to the war. These portrayals permit her to vividly show us what it might have been like for anyone taken prisoner by the British and how sometimes the intervention of a divine source often makes the difference between success and failure.
Redeeming the Pirate is one of the best romances and historical novels I’ve read this year and I highly recommend it. It is also worth noting that Flowers will donate 15% of her book sales to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
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March 24, 2018
Review of Pirates of New England by Gail Selinger
Pirates of New England: Ruthless Raiders and Rotten Renegades by Gail SelingerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Some pirates, such as Black Sam Bellamy, are well-known while others, such as Thomas Pound, rarely garner mention, but Selinger examines these and many other nefarious rogues associated with New England between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. She opens with a short history of piracy before tackling the questions of why men went on the account and why this way of life enticed so many to violate the law. This helps readers to comprehend the historical context of the period.
This volume’s particular focus is on New England, a region comprised of today’s states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Many who lived in these areas often failed to differentiate between pirates, smugglers, and privateers. All provided goods at reasonable prices without encumbering the products with the heavy taxes imposed by Great Britain. This facet is explored both politically and economically as Selinger discusses the Pirate Round, a trade route between the Western Atlantic and the pirate haven of Madagascar.
The remaining ten chapters explore individual pirates. In addition to the two previously mentioned brigands, readers learn about Dixie Bull, John Rhoades, Jurriaen Aernouts, Peter Roderigo, Thomas Hawkins, Thomas Tew and Governor Benjamin Fletcher, Henry Every, William Kidd, John Quelch, Paulsgrave Williams, George Lowther, John Massey, Charles Harris, Ned Low, Francis Spriggs, and William Fly.
To better understand just how perilous this period is, Selinger provides a list of some of the wars fought between various European nations – many of which spilled into the Caribbean and New England. She also provides information on wages, cost of living, and pirate booty in an attempt to answer the oft-asked question of “How much is pirate treasure worth today?” To best contrast the allure of pirate life with that of the common man, she provides lists of earnings for various legal seamen and costs for particular items of daily life. Aside from a bibliography, a few black-and-white illustrations, and an index, two appendices are included. The first is a complete roster of the men and boys who sailed aboard Captain Kidd’s Adventure Galley. The second gives the names and fates, if known, for pirates who are rarely or never mentioned in other books on this subject.
The only drawback is that no footnotes are provided to identify the source of some information; this may be more bothersome to anyone wishing to delve further into the history rather than just those seeking good background on New England’s connections with piracy.
Aside from three pages in the chapter on William Fly, where the firing of guns and who’s who on gun crew are discussed in detail, Pirates of New England is a worthy introduction to and summary of piracy as it relates to this specific area of the New World. Many other titles only provide known facts about pirates before and during their escapades, but Selinger makes certain to include what happens after they either cease their marauding or are captured. Nautical language is always explained within parentheses, which makes it easy to understand the word(s) in context. Overall, Pirates of New England is a compelling, fast read filled with interesting tidbits for both readers unfamiliar with the subject and those with an insatiable appetite for all things piratical.
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Review of The Captain's Nephew by Philip K. Allan
The Captain's Nephew by Philip K AllanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
During the Royal Navy’s assault on Ostend, First Lieutenant Alexander Clay is tasked with leading a shore mission to prevent the garrison of French troops at Nieuwpoort from reinforcing Ostend. The straightforward plan is to land, blow up a bridge, and wait for HM Frigate Agrius to return to retrieve them, but the plan goes awry almost from the start. Not only must he play nursemaid to his captain’s inexperienced nephew, but getting to their objective is fraught with complications no one expects, their arrival is noticed, and the uncooperative weather and water conditions prevent an easy recovery. Clay’s ingenious idea for getting his men back to their ship saves them from capture and they return to England to await their next assignment.
Captain Percy Follet’s report of the incident, which soon finds its way into the newspaper, gives credit for the incident not to Clay, but to his nephew, Lieutenant Windham. Lacking an influential mentor and not coming from a wealthy family, Clay fumes at the injustice done him. His only hope of advancement and gaining his own command is through his initiative and accomplishments. It grates that the undeserving-of-his-rank second lieutenant should garner the accolades that rightfully belong to him. When he questions Captain Follet about this injustice, a rift develops between the two men.
The Agrius’s next assignment is to escort a convoy of East Indiamen part of the way to India. The commander of the merchant ships invites all the navy officers aboard his vessel for a formal dinner, much to the chagrin of Clay. He much prefers the regimented wooden world in which he lives and he never knows what to say to women. He is pleasantly surprised to find that one of the ladies, Lydia Browning, is a friend of his sister and, by evening’s end, he’s captivated by Lydia. In the days that follow they become closer, but on the night he decides to declare his intentions, Captain Follet orders him to remain on Agrius. A marriage between Clay and Miss Browning would be totally unsuitable, and her uncle has asked the captain to intervene. Thus the rift between Clay and his commanding officer widens, and soon the crew becomes aware of it. The majority support Clay.
Once the Agrius bids farewell to the merchant convoy, she heads west to take up her new station in the West Indies. She is also tasked with finding and destroying a larger, more powerful French frigate bound for the island of St. Lucia and carrying much-needed stores and troops. In spite of his anger, Clay efficiently carries out his duties, but Follet’s resentment of his first officer leads to complications that endanger the ship and their mission.
The Captain’s Nephew opens with a mesmerizing and vivid portrayal of a man drowning and then regresses six months to show the events that culminate in this tragic incident. From first page to last, Allan bewitches and transports readers back to 1796 to walk the decks of a wooden ship and engage the enemy all the while experiencing what the characters endure. Equally compelling is that this is not just a tale of the officers of the Royal Navy. Interludes are woven into the story to personalize and recreate life on the lower decks, as well as to provide glimpses of what it was like for loved ones left behind. This first book in the Alexander Clay series offers a satisfying resolution of who dies, while only hinting at how it happens – an intriguing and perfect enticement for readers who will eagerly await the next chapter in Clay’s pursuit of his naval career and the woman he loves.
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Review of The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo
The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y'BarboMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Like her great-grandmother who journeyed to America aboard the Mayflower, twelve-year-old Maribel Cordoba leaves her Spanish home to travel with her father to Havana. This is the most time she has spent in his company, for he rarely had time for her until he announces that her beloved mother and grandfather are dead. But even at sea he often ignores her. Her only solace is her friend, cabin boy and lookout William Spencer, and her cherished book that recounts the exploits of real pirates like Anne Bonny and Blackbeard.
Maribel loves to climb aloft to read or to join William in searching for other vessels. When sails are sighted, he thinks it might be the Ghost Ship whose captain and crew materialize out of thin air to attack Spanish vessels. They take no prisoners, leave no witnesses. Then they vanish. Still, Maribel hopes to finally meet a pirate. William vows to join the Frenchmen, if they’ll let him. Although she scoffs at the idea that the strange ship is a ghost, she decides to join too.
Captain Jean Beaumont takes pride in the legends surrounding him and his men, even if they’re not all true. At twenty-five he holds a privateering license from King Louis XV and even though they attack France’s enemy, Jean never takes his share from the captured prizes. On this particular voyage, he seeks a particular Spanish vessel – the one that carries Cuba’s new Consul General, Antonio Cordoba. The last time their paths crossed twenty years ago, Jean barely survived after Cordoba ordered the captured ship sunk with all hands and passengers on board.
Falling debris knocks Mirabel unconscious during the battle between the two enemy vessels. When Jean boards, he ignores the colorful lump on the deck. He seeks only one outcome – vengeance for the deaths of his mother and baby brother. But his second in command, Isaac Bennett, attempts to dissuade Jean because revenge belongs to the Lord. With Jean’s attention momentarily averted, Cordoba fires a hidden pistol and the bullet strikes Israel. Enraged, Jean attacks his nemesis and the two men fall overboard. Cordoba sinks into the depths of the ocean.
Only after Jean returns to his ship does he discover that his crew has brought aboard the wounded Mirabel. Children, especially females, are forbidden, but he has never harmed an innocent and doesn’t intend to do so now. He would ransom her, but since she claims her family is dead, he’s left with the question of what to do with her. Mirabel, of course, has the perfect solution. She knows all about pirates, so she should join his crew. Following orders, however, is not her strong suit, which lands her in the brig after kicking Jean. He soon discovers that this brazen girl has wormed her way into the stalwart hearts of ne and his men and, before long, is one of the crew – a temporary inconvenience only.
Contrary to what her father told Mirabel, her mother and grandfather still live. When her grandfather discovers his granddaughter is gone, he vows to find her no matter how long or how much money it requires. On learning that his son is dead and that French privateers have taken Mirabel, he wields the full power of his influence within French circles to have Louis XV declare Jean Beaumont and his men pirates.
Still at sea, Jean remains ignorant that he is now considered an outlaw and that French and Spanish warships hunt the Ghost Ship. They attack another vessel and during this engagement, Mirabel is swept into the sea. Only later is it discovered that she is missing. After an exhausting day of searching for her, Jean retires to his cabin while Israel and his longboat continue the hunt. He eventually finds an unconscious Mirabel, but can’t return to the ship because it’s under attack. The warship is the victor, and they imprison the pirates and take the Ghost Ship with them to New Orleans. With nowhere else to go, Israel sails to an island so the nuns there can nurse and raise Mirabel. In the years that follow, Mother Superior tells her that she only dreams about pirates, but Mirabel knows they are really memories. One day she hopes to reunite with the handsome pirate captain and her pirate friends.
The Pirate Bride is the latest installment in the Daughters of the Mayflower series and takes place in two parts. The first recounts Mirabel’s sea adventures, while the second half takes place eleven years later after she grows up and reunites with her family. Part one, which sets the stage for the romance and underlying mysteries that unfold in part two, interweaves adventure with humor and heartache, and includes several unexpected twists. The characters capture our hearts, much like Mirabel manages to do with the privateers, and transport us back to 1724. The subsequent half of the story provides an intriguing study of how someone raised on an isolated island reenters a world governed by strict rules, proper etiquette, and specific social orders. There are times when the reader feels almost as left out as Maribel did when she left Spain. Her reunion with her family isn’t fully explored. We never get a sense that she’s really in danger and the mysteries are too easily solved. Employing the slave trade and its ties to piracy as a means of bringing Jean and Maribel together again is historically accurate and a refreshing theme from usual romances of this type, but the subplots of the second half are told more than shown, which prevents readers from becoming fully involved. As an inspirational romance, The Pirate Bride is a pleasing tale into which the religious aspect is subtly knitted. The author’s note provides a good summary of the political relations between France and Spain during this time period, which helps explain how a privateer could be deemed a pirate even if he never violates the law.
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February 20, 2018
Review of John M. Danielski's Capital's Punishment
Capital’s Punishment by John DanielskiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The heat of August 1814 is unbearable, especially for soldiers wearing wool uniforms, yet Royal Marine Captain Thomas Pennywhistle explores the road ahead of the invasion force marching on Washington. At thirty years old, years of war have left him with a jaded heart and scarred soul, but chivalry remains as much a part of him as duty and honor. He quickly dispatches armed deserters from the Maryland Militia threatening an elderly woman trying to protect her farm animals from scavengers, before continuing with his mission. Along the way, he also contemplates the American marine who could almost be his twin. The truth tarnishes his idolized father, but he accepts that U. S. Marine Captain John Tracy must be his brother.
Tracy and his marines, as well as numerous other officers, find it difficult to prepare a defense of the capital because contradicting orders from their commanding officer and interfering politicians countermand army operations. Tracy is among the seasoned fighters who realize that they have no chance of winning the upcoming battle outside Bladensburg. The unknown is how badly they will lose it. For him, another question concerns him. If and when he meets his brother – a stranger until a short while ago – will he be capable of killing him?
Wherever Pennywhistle goes, fighting is sure to follow, so if Sammie Jo Matthews wants to shoot any high-ranking enemy officers, she only has to trail him. From her hiding space, she watches and waits for her chance. She’s as much aware of him as he is of her, which is why he spared her life after she tried to bushwhack him. She’s honor bound to not shoot him, but never promised to stop killing British redcoats. The problem comes when she shoots a fellow American to protect Pennywhistle. Not only has she given away her position, she’s betrayed her country. Which leaves her in a pickle. She may be beautiful, but she’s a backwoods sharpshooter and no way will she ever fit into his world. At least, that’s what Pennywhistle, his brother, and his friends believe. She’ll just have to convince them otherwise – a tough thing to accomplish on the eve of battle and when he’s washed his hands of her.
Capital’s Punishment is a fast-paced, galvanizing depiction of the devastating defeat of the Americans at Bladensburg and burning of the White House and other government buildings in Washington. The action, interspersed with lulls before storms, easily transports readers back in time to witness the most demoralizing event in the War of 1812. Rather than present a single perspective of what occurs, Danielski allows readers to experience history from a variety of British and American viewpoints, thus allowing us to gain a better understanding of why this unfolded as it did.
From time to time, there are chinks in the story: misspelled or missing words and disconcerting phrases that occur when the author interrupts to explain some point. Two such examples involve a soldier who decides it’s “time for some French leave, what would be labeled AWOL by future generations”, and the preacher whose “irresistible personal magnetism that enraptured a man almost against his will; later generations would call it ‘charisma.’” (235 and 279 respectively) The problem with these explanations is that they pull readers out of the story. Readers may also find the resolution of the “insidious secessionist conspiracy” unsatisfactory and the lengthy explanation of how Sammie Jo speaks tedious.
These are minor imperfections when weighed against the pivotal way Danielski brings to life three days of a war that spanned three years. He paints a graphic depiction of the realities of war, never glamorizing what transpires and always showing how it affects those who experience it. He vividly recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of the aftermath of battle. His interpretation of the storm that struck Washington and the surrounding area while the city burned unfolds in a way that places readers in the midst of the rain, wind, and terror. The colloquial dialogue some characters speak helps to round out the feel of the time period and provides readers with unique mental images that are easily grasped. One example comes when two former slaves are spying on Americans gathering to launch a counterstrike on the British. “Did you get a look at their faces? Every man jack in that column was as hungry for a fight as a dog spotting a steak bone.” (290)
Perhaps the most striking facet in Capital’s Punishment is the portrayal of war versus civility. Time and again, survival forces men and women to come to grips with realities that require them to do immoral acts, which are counter to the morals on which they’ve been raised. While the final confrontation between Pennywhistle’s veteran soldiers and common Americans led by a fire-and-brimstone preacher who imagines himself to be a modern-day Oliver Cromwell, is fictional, it is also heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat, and breathtaking. The dénouement is poignant, unexpected, revealing, and indelible.
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Review of James Keffer's Brewer's Revenge
Brewer’s Revenge by James KefferMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Surrounded by fog, Katherine Wilkerson can’t see beyond the ship on which she and her family sail. They are bound for St. Eustacius in the Caribbean, where her father is to take up his new position. Before the day ends, though, he and many others are dead, her mother and the three other women are kidnapped by pirates, and she and the other six girls are left on the ship as the pirate captain departs with a final warning: El Diabolito rules the Caribbean and the British are not welcome!
Thus begins Brewer’s Revenge, the second book in the Hornblower’s Legacy series. The prologue serves only to introduce the nefarious scourge plaguing the Caribbean; it also leaves readers wondering what becomes of Katherine because she’s such a compelling character.
Following the prologue, the story focuses on Master & Commander William Brewer, who is now the captain of HMS Revenge, a sloop of war converted from a prize he seized from Jean Lafitte. She is his first true command – a fact that makes him nervous, although he does his best not to convey his feelings to his crew – and she is armed with four 18-pound carronades and sixteen 12-pound guns. The driving goal in his life – almost an obsession, really – is to track down and kill El Diabolito, the man responsible for killing men under a younger Brewer’s charge before they could reach Jamaica.
Many of the men aboard Revenge were with him on his previous ship, HMS Defiant, but Midshipman Noah Simmons is new. Brewer accepts him only because his mentor and commander, Admiral Hornblower, requested that he do so. Not only is Simmons the newest and oldest midshipman at twenty-three years of age, he’s also the governor’s son and on board because of a “youthful indiscretion” that required him to leave Jamaica as soon as possible. From what he knows and sees of Simmons, Brewer surmises that he’s more accustomed to giving orders than taking them. He’s also good at doing only what’s absolutely necessary to get by; to this end, he bullies the youngest midshipman into doing his duties. When he leaves a mark on the midshipman, Senior Midshipman Jonathan Reed intervenes with the help of the boatswain’s mate, which marks Reed as an enemy as far as Simmons is concerned.
Brewer’s first assignment is a two-week cruise to familiarize himself with Revenge and to visit two governors on nearby islands. His first stop is St. Kitts, where he meets Sir Henry Danforth and his daughter, Elizabeth. Smitten with each other, they agree to write to one another. More and more Brewer finds his thoughts on her, more than his command, but what kind of life can he offer her when he spends most of his time at sea and she would have to live alone? (The romance between William and Elizabeth is promising, but readers may have to wait awhile to learn what happens since the next book in the series goes back in time to relate an earlier episode in Brewer’s career.)
His second destination is the French island of Martinique. The governor is less than forthcoming, except when they discuss Napoleon, but Brewer learns much more from the captain of the French frigate anchored in the harbor. Captain Albin Roussin reveals that five warships left his navy when they learned that Louis XVIII ruled France following Napoleon’s abdication. Three were sunk and the fourth hasn’t been seen since it sailed toward Brazil. The fifth vessel, a frigate, is now in the hands of pirates, whose current captain is El Diabolito. Captain Roussin and his men are in the Caribbean to capture and punish the deserters.
After Brewer delivers this information to Hornblower, he hopes to finally go after El Diabolito. Instead, his orders are to cruise off Puerto Rico in search of another Spanish pirate, Roberto Cofresi, whose recent attacks on merchant ships make him a greater threat. Brewer’s frustration at being thwarted from his true goal leads him to learn a painful lesson about the loneliness of command and just what it means to be responsible for the men who serve under him. Although they do engage the pirates, Cofresi escapes. One of his men, Charles Gibbs, is captured and Brewer learns that El Diabolito requested assistance from Cofresi to help him attack a treasure convoy carrying enough silver and gold to finance revolutions for independence throughout Spanish America for many years. They are to rendezvous in Colombian waters. Brewer devises a plan to convince the admiral to send the Revenge in pursuit of the pirates.
Unlike the first book in this series, Brewer’s Revenge progresses at a slow pace after the prologue. The first half of the book focuses on introducing the crew and setting up the parameters of the eventual action. Had I not read the first book in the series, I might have set this one aside, for the first half is basically a portrayal of the mundane life of the Royal Navy in times of peace in the early nineteenth century.
Those readers stalwart enough to keep reading, though, are richly rewarded once the midpoint of the book is reached. An accidental fall from the tops, an attempted murder, a startling meeting with a respected and admired colleague who soon becomes an enemy, and an unexpected appointment with Simon Bolivar elevate the action until it becomes non-stop and heart pounding. Unforeseen twists add icing to the cake, even if the author takes a liberty or two with the historical record to create a satisfying ending.
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