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The Master Mariner: Running Proud (Master Mariner, Bk 1)
The Master Mariner Running Proud - Master Mariner, Bk 1 Author:Nicholas Monsarrat For twenty-five years Nicholas Monsarrat has lived with a magnificent dream, a dream to stretch a novelist's imagination to the limit -- of one man living the hazardous life of a British seaman through four centuries of maritime history. — Living with that fantasy, he has followed the seaways of the great adventurers and naval captains of the... more » past, from the inland seas of the Arctic to the gentle islands of the South Pacific. And now he has transmuted all he has seen and all he has learned into the enthralling story of Matthew Lawe, master mariner... Matthew Lawe, whose spectacular act of cowardice in the midst of Drake's Defeat of the Spanish Armada brought upon him a wild witch's curse that he stay on earth until his guilt was purged.
In unending pursuit of salvation, Matthew sailed with Hudson on his last doomed voyage in search of a Northwest Passage through the frozen wilderness of the North American continent; fought as a buccaneer under Henry Morgan in the Caribbean; served Samuel Pepys as he transformed rotting hulks, pressed men and professional time-servers into the King's Navy; stood at Captain Cook's right hand as he navigated the narrows of the St. Lawrence to carry General Wolfe to the storming of Quebec, followed him as he charted unknown seas, watched his violent death on a Hawaiian beach.
In due course, Matthew became an intimate of Nelson's household as the sea captain farmed his Norfolk acres in premature retirement, served under him when war with the French took him back to sea, to victory on the Nile, to Naples and Emma, and to Trafalgar.
Each episode is self-contained. Each is distinguished by masterly storytelling. The writer's justifiable enthusiasm for his project is instantly transmitted to the reader. Never for a moment does he over-reach himself. Yet he is constantly stretching his considerable talents to produce a novel of compelling vigor and vitality.
The full story of The Master Mariner cannot be told within the compass of one volume. Running Proud is, therefore, the First independent half of this epic novel. The second volume, some two years hence, will be called The Master Mariner, Darken Ship.« less