The Salem Frigate Author:John Jennings The story of Tim Tisdall, a young naval doctor, is the central theme of this novel of the heroic years which ended with the War of 1812. Here, too, is the story of the 32-gun frigate Essex through her brief and glorious career, and running parallel is the tale of ship's carpenter Ben Price, who, for all his villainy, nailed his heart to the keel... more » of the Essex when he helped build her in Salem. Interwoven are the stories of Patience Nowell and Selina Hackett, who loved these men, and whose lives, too, were inescapably bound to the destiny of the warship.
Then there are such characters as Captains Porter, Preble, and Bainbridge, who commanded the Essex from the Mediterranean to the coast of Chile; Hamet the dragoman, who helped Tom and Ben escape from the bashaw of Tripoli; and Jorah, the little Arab beauty who saved their lives in the desert--all lending color to the fabulous pattern of adventure.
Against the background of the War of 1812, JJ has written a great sea story and a great love story.« less