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1660: Charles
II is restored to his throne and former soldier Sir Christopher
Morgan is home from Holland at last. But it is without his
beloved wife who died birthing his baby son, Abel, and both
his house and fortune are all gone. Life seems not worth living
at first, but he has the inn he bought to run and Abel to
look after. They form a close bond and all seems well until
Abel is kidnapped…
There are adventures galore in this book for both father and
son, from Constantinople to the Caribbean. If you enjoy reading
about smugglers and pirates, this seafaring yarn ought to
appeal -- not a short novel but packed with exciting escapades.
It will also appeal to anybody who does not like too much
violence or sex in their reading.
The
author normally writes for children and this is her first
adult novel. It could certainly go into a YA section as nothing
particularly unpleasant happens to anybody, and when it might,
it is either described in a bloodless way or circumvented.
This makes for a relaxing, rather cozy read and can be recommended
if this is what you are after. Anybody wanting more robust
fare ought perhaps to look elsewhere, although a side effect
of this is that some of the more expected clichés are
neatly avoided. Somewhat puzzlingly, one character appears
to serve no obvious purpose. In order to avoid plot spoilers
I cannot really say more on the subject, but anybody reading
the novel will be equally mystified. Again, the expected clichés
are avoided and maybe the outcome is more akin to real life,
but it is still strange.
Ms
Jefferies is adept at sketching in a scene, and the novel
wears its research lightly; if there were any historical howlers
I didn’t spot them. There are really only two characters
in the book, the rest appear as plot devices and fail to come
to life. But I was so swept along with the author’s
easy to read storytelling style from the first page, it did
not matter greatly while I was happily reading. An exciting
book that can be described rather aptly as “good clean
fun.”
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