David Donachie è noto per i suoi coinvolgenti romanzi storici, in particolare quelli ambientati durante i conflitti navali del diciottesimo e diciannovesimo secolo. La sua vasta ricerca su questo periodo alimenta narrazioni ricche di dettagli autentici e atmosfera marittima. Attingendo a una carriera diversificata, Donachie porta una prospettiva unica al suo racconto, creando storie avvincenti che risuonano con i lettori. È un autore celebrato i cui ambientazioni storiche sono tanto un personaggio quanto le persone al loro interno.
John Pearce has to fight on many fronts. Sea battles, emotional turmoil and downright chicanery mix in a stew of blood and scheming until Pearce discovers two facts that should change his life. But is what is being proposed fit for a man now accustomed to war, a man for whom gallantry is the stuff of life?
1794: Stuck in the Mediterranean, headstrong lieutenant John Pearce must repair his battle-damaged ship, face a court-martial, and survive a battle against a bloodthirsty and piratical Turk.
1796: John Pearce is stuck with a difficult mission, a raw crew of Quota Men forced to enlist in the Royal Navy, four brand new midshipmen as well as Samuel Oliphant, companion cum spy, whom he finds a constant irritant. In his favour he commands HMS Hazard, a sound and speedy warship, a pair of competent officers and, of course, his trusty old friends the Pelicans.Their primary mission is to head for the Mediterranean Fleet and warn Admiral Sir John Jervis of impending danger he will face, fighting a combined French/Spanish fleet. But there is a serious distraction, the imminent arrival of a Spanish vessel from South America carrying silver, for which they Spaniards are waiting before declaring war. Stop that and they will lack the funds to truly engage as an enemy of Britannia, but it is a distraction from his main task and specific orders. Can John Pearce resist the lure of such a valuable capture and risk his ship in a dangerous battle to gain it, or will his duty come first?
Having evacuated the King and Queen of Naples ahead of Napoleon's advancing army, Nelson must now await developments in Sicily. In the meantime, he and Emma savor their passionate affair, and when Nelson travels back to Britain with the Hamiltons, he finds he is the toast of Europe. Finally he is given the chance he's been waiting for: off a little-known Spanish cape, called Trafalgar, he will show the world what he is made of!
It's 1784 and Nelson is sent to the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While there, he marries Fanny Nisbet. Ordered next to the Mediterranean, he engages in a string of spectacular naval battles: Cape St Vincent, Tenerife, and the Nile. The ravages of war take their physical toll on Nelson, even as he gains the fame and honor he desperately craves.
Pearce and his wife Emily are in living in Bath, when Minister of War Henry Dundas turns up and suggests a second mission to the Vendee. The proposed expedition looks promising and Pearce takes the bait. Once at sea, however, Pearce and his crew encounter a French fleet and an indecisive battle ensues off the Ile de Groix.
John Pearce is going home. But first he must avoid capture by an Algerine warship, having his Pelicans pressed into a British frigate and that's before they are at risk of being hanged for desertion once home. Then there is the problem of Emily Barclay and their son Adam. By cunning and bluff he protects his friends, but not his troubled love life.
1787: Captain Edward Brazier is wounded and in desperate need of medical attention, but those from whom he could seek help have no idea where he is--although neither do his enemies. With his beloved Betsey currently imprisoned by her brother Henry, who is considering committing her to an asylum to take her off his hands, time is running out for Brazier to rescue her and end the tyranny of the local smuggling ring of Deal once and for all.
1794. In the wake of the Glorious 1st of June, an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against Revolutionary France, John Pearce has pressing matters to which he must attend. He has an urgent commission from Lord Hood, he must track down Midshipman Toby Burns and placate Emily who, estranged from her husband, Pearce's enemy Captain Ralph Barclay, is now under his protection. Meanwhile, Pearce finds himself aboard HMS Agamemnon, and in series of actions and shore raids, impresses Horatio Nelson with his bold and brave maneuvers.
John Pearce is hiding in Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known to him as Oliphant. Although they find a crew willing to take them back to England, they learn on the journey that Pearce's old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on the route, and may have been responsible for the murder of Catherine Carruthers.