Bøger af David Donachie

1795: When his crew is illegally pressed into the Royal Navy by the vicious Captain Toner, Harry sets off in pursuit of Toner's ship. Toner reaches the West Indies with Harry close behind and they sail into a maelstrom of piracy, corruption, and murder.

Returning to England, Harry and James become embroiled in a vicious struggle between rival smugglers played out in the English Channel. Witnesses to a bloody confrontation, they flee to Deal-only to find that, behind its picturesque facade, the town is a haven for traders in contraband, seething with corruption and violence.

Arriving in the squalid, seething port of Genoa, Harry Ludlow and his partner and younger brother, James, find it a tinderbox of tension, fed by the discovery of a hanged British sea captain and packs of English and French sailors at each other''s throats.

1793: Privateer Harry Ludlow finds himself aboard the navy's 74-gun Magnanime, with his younger brother James. In command is Oliver Carter, a captain with whom Harry has an unfortunate history. When James is found standing over the body of a dead officer, Harry's feud shifts into the background. But dark secrets start to surface on all sides.

In April 1784, Captain Horatio Nelson, commanding His Majesty's frigate Boreas, sets sail from Spithead, bound for the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While stationed in the Leeward Islands, a dream of domestic happiness leads him to marry a young widow, Fanny Nesbit. Meanwhile, Emma Lyon, mistress of Charles Grenville, sits as an artist's model, her pictures selling briskly. When Grenville's uncle, Sir William Hamilton, joins them in Naples, Emma finds herself the object of Hamilton's desire. Her eventual marriage to Hamilton seems the epitome of good fortune, opening all the doors of Europe to her.Three years later, Nelson is ordered to carry a letter to King Ferdinand in Naples. There he meets the Hamiltons, and Emma finds herself inexplicably drawn to the brash sea captain.David Donachie's compelling dialogue and re-creation of vivid naval battles-Cape St Vincent, Tenerife, and the Nile-are meticulously based on detailed historical research. The toll of war, both physical and emotional, becomes a poignant part of Nelson's journey as he battles not only his enemies but also his own inner demons. Despite the hardships, he gains the fame and honor he desperately craves-and the woman he loves.