Bøger udgivet af HEPHAESTUS PUB

With the wretched Síol Faolcháin destroyed, with war between England and Spain drawing to a close, Mary resumes smuggling contraband between the Old World and the new one and life is better than fair - until grim misfortune finds her. A freakish wave during a monstrous storm off the coast of Florida sweeps her overboard and she is lost. Mary's plucky protégé Elizabeth - headstrong, full of Spanish fire and raw ambition, but also very young - takes command. With prospects dwindling in the Americas, Elizabeth pledges Mary's ships to the newly formed Dutch East India Company and sails to the Spice Islands for nutmeg, mace, cloves and pepper - cargo more valuable than gold. Then, on a childish whim, Elizabeth ventures even farther east to Portuguese-held Macau where she is introduced to a powerful Chinese merchant named Féng Wú - and to the plentiful opium served liberally at the House of a Thousand Pleasures. She strikes a good bargain with Wú purchasing exotic Oriental goods - foolishly using a portion of the Company's spices as payment - but as she leads her little fleet west for home pirates sent by Wú attack. A ship is lost, a crew is slaughtered. Elizabeth withdraws in shame to her cabin and turns to opium for comfort. Upon reaching Amsterdam, the Dutch promptly arrest Elizabeth for her betrayal. They confiscate her ships. Elizabeth plummets into a dark and bottomless pit of despair. As Elizabeth falters Mary, having survived her misfortune a world away, is slowly making her way back to Ireland. She travels on to Amsterdam where she is joyfully reunited with her men, though her rebuke of Elizabeth is harsh, and she makes amends with the Company. The cost is steep. Mary and her lads must sail into war alongside the Dutch against the Portuguese in the Far East. Still, such a voyage offers an opportunity. After fulfilling her obligations to the Dutch, Mary will introduce herself to the Chinaman named Féng Wú... Based on true historical events, this is a tale about war and adventure, about love, betrayal and revenge.

You've probably never heard of Luke Ryan. You probably didn't know that Benjamin Franklin had his own private navy during American War of Independence and yet Ryan - Franklin's most dangerous privateer - did more damage to British shipping than any other commander, including the great John Paul Jones.This is an extraordinary, little-known story of selfless heroism, love, intrigue and betrayal. It is a bold story about bold men, about rough Irish mariners who in the beginning of their adventure sail for money but later find themselves fighting for a new nation's struggle for liberty, becoming true American patriots along the way.- 1781 -With the help of French duplicity, the British finally capture Ryan, bringing his two-year reign of terror abruptly to an end. Ryan is taken in chains to Newgate Prison in London to stand trial for treason and felony piracy on the high seas in the same court where the infamous Captain William Kidd was convicted 80 years earlier. When Ryan is found guilty and sentenced to death an admirer, Queen Marie Antoinette of France, implores King George III to spare Ryan's life and with a royal nod the king commutes Ryan's sentence to life imprisonment. But later, as the war comes to a close and a more tolerant Parliament takes power, the English release their American prisoners of war, including Ryan.The young Irishman returns to France but he has no ships, no men and no money. Ryan's prospects seem grim until he meets a man named Joseph Bonaparte, a promising entrepreneur who likes to dabble in smuggling, and his younger brother, a brilliant major in the French Army, a man on the rise who is hungry for fame and glory - his name: Napoleon Bonaparte...

You've probably never heard of Luke Ryan. You probably didn't know that Benjamin Franklin had his own private navy during American War of Independence and yet Ryan - Franklin's most dangerous privateer - did more damage to British shipping than any other commander, including the great John Paul Jones.This is an extraordinary, little-known story of selfless heroism, love, intrigue and betrayal. It is a bold story about bold men, about rough Irish mariners who in the beginning of their adventure sail for money but later find themselves fighting for a new nation's struggle for liberty, becoming true American patriots along the way.- 1778 -Ryan, a 25 year old smuggler and thief, is the master of the Black Prince, one of the fastest ships on the water. He runs a very lucrative business between Dunkirk and Dublin and is indifferent to the brutal war raging back and forth between the Colonies and Great Britain until the British seize his ship one day and toss his men into Dublin's notorious Black Dog. Ryan escapes capture, breaks his men out of jail and together they retake their ship by force. But now the Irishmen have committed piracy and they will all hang if caught. They cannot return to smuggling so Ryan sails to France to offer his services to Franklin, the American ambassador to the French Court who, Ryan has heard, is quietly assembling a private navy to fight the British in their own home waters. Franklin's reluctant decision to unleash Ryan and his Irishmen will bring unforeseen consequences and have a significant impact on the outcome of the war...

You've probably never heard of Luke Ryan. You probably didn't know that Benjamin Franklin had his own private navy during American War of Independence and yet Ryan - Franklin's most dangerous privateer - did more damage to British shipping than any other commander, including the great John Paul Jones.This is an extraordinary, little-known story of selfless heroism, love, intrigue and betrayal. It is a bold story about bold men, about rough Irish mariners who in the beginning of their adventure sail for money but later find themselves fighting for a new nation's struggle for liberty, becoming true American patriots along the way.- 1779 -Despite French aid, and one impressive victory at Saratoga in New York, the American rebels are losing their life and death struggle for independence against Great Britain and they are losing badly. From north to south and in the west, their ragtag armies are in retreat. The British have swept the Continental Navy from the seas and have blockaded American ports. The fate of a fragile nation - the fate of the Revolution - hangs by a thin thread. In walks Ryan with his fast ships and iron men, eager to fight for the Americans for their own reasons. Before the Irishmen are finished, they'll sink, burn or capture over 100 British ships, take hundreds of prisoners of war for Franklin and raid many English and Scottish towns along the coast - tying down precious military resources while causing a financial panic in London. For two years the Irishmen sail the oceans with impunity, until treachery finds them...

In an age ruled by iron men, in a world of new discovery and Spanish gold, a young Irishwoman named Mary rises from the horrors of a broken childhood with ships and men-at-arms under her command. She and her loyal crew prowl the Caribbean and prosper in the New World as smugglers for a time, until the ugly past Mary has fled from in the old one finds her. Our story begins where The Butcher's Daughter ends. A ruthless Irish clan, the powerful Síol Faolcháin, has trapped Mary inside a burning mill. Wounded and with child, Mary slips into the freezing waters of the Carrowbeg unseen and barely escapes the flames. But the clan has killed Hunter, her heart's true joy. They've seized her ships, taken her gold and scattered all her men. Mary has lost everything. She hides in the shadows. She bides her time. Vengeance is in her heart. The Queen of England also has debts to settle. Spain's attempt to invade her kingdom and burn her at the stake for heresy ends in a bloody, costly disaster. But Spain is rich and powerful and King Phillip will try to conquer England again, this time with a larger fleet and with the help of Irish allies. Queen Elizabeth strikes first. And when she sends Mary south as her eyes and ears with the English "Counter Armada" to destroy the Spanish fleet, Mary reluctantly must put aside her secret plans for revenge against the Síol Faolcháin. Two mighty titans clash. The stakes are high. The prize is the New World. Based on true historical events, this is an epic story about war, adventure, love and betrayal.

In an age ruled by iron men, in a world of new discovery and Spanish gold, a young Irishwoman named Mary rises from the ashes of her broken childhood with ships and men-at-arms under her command. She and her loyal crew prowl the Caribbean and prosper in the New World for a time until the ugly past Mary has fled from in the old one finds her. Across the great ocean to the east, war is coming. The King of Spain is assembling the most powerful armada the world has ever seen - an enormous beast - to invade England and depose the Protestant "heretic queen." To have any chance against the wealth and might of Spain, England will need every warship, she will need every able captain. To this purpose, Queen Elizabeth spares Mary from the headman's axe for past sins in exchange for her loyalty, her ships and men. Based on true historical events, this is a tale about war, adventure, love and betrayal. This is a story about vengeance, this is a tale of heartbreak... "... a pleasurable and action-packed read ... a delicious spin to the otherwise tired clichés of male captains ... the joy of the open seas - as well as the danger churning below - pulses throughout this rip-roaring, hearty tale of the high seas." - Kirkus Reviews