Most fictional heroes of the Napoleonic Wars at sea are as wooden as their ships, a generalisation from which Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Professor Parkinson's Richard Delancey can be exempted.
Description
Richard Delancey, inadvertently embroiled in Liverpool labor riots, sidesteps punishment by "volunteering" for the Navy. Ranked as a midshipman, he is no sooner aboard than his ship sails for the port of New York. But when the events of the American Revolution and the ongoing hostilities between England and France send him back across the sea, Delancey finds himself instrumental in defending the Isle of Jersey and, later, the Rock of Gibraltar.
Pages208
Released2001
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGlobe Pequot Publishing
ISBN9781590136065
SellerSimon & Schuster
Reviews
[Parkinson's] knowledge of the naval world of the Napoleonic era was encyclopaedic; his understanding of ships and seamen, of politics, strategy and trade almost unrivalled.
David Powell, Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers
All the competence, courage, and ingenuity of a Hornblower along with a bit more polish.... C.S. Forester would have approved of Delancey.
A historical novelist in the best traditions of C.S. Forester and Alexander Kent.
Authentic naval adventure... full of action.
If you enjoy salty tales told by the man who knows the sea, British history, as well as words, winches and wimbrels, Devil to Pay will see you through a fine evening handily.
Portland (Maine) Sunday Telegram
The sharp tang of powder and tar and salty sea along with the boom of the cannon and shouts of men in battle.
