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Book Review of The Yarn of Old Harbour Town (Classics of Naval Fiction)

The Yarn of Old Harbour Town (Classics of Naval Fiction)
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Helpful Score: 2


Preposterous sea story involving a disgraced naval officer who is appointed captain of a merchant vessel. If you can get around all of the technical sea-going lingo of the tall ship days, the yarn goes like this. A naval officer commits a tort against a seaman and is dismissed from the service in disgrace. He becomes a bum and gambler. His father (a retired admiral) convinces his friend to appoint his son as captain of his friends merchant vessel. Said merchant has a beautiful daughter (naturally). Sailor falls in love, kidnaps the daughter, sets sail in the merchant vessel intending to sell it and its wares and pocket the proceeds. Admiral and merchant pursue him and catch him. Everyone forgives his misdeeds, he ends up with the girl, and they live happily ever after: presumedly to inherit her father's fortune.