By The Mast Divided

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally pressganged from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In the first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men - fly Charlie Taverner; quiet Ben Walker; tired old Abel Scrivens; the bairn of the group, Rufus Dommet; the droll, tough Irish laborer, Michael O'Hagan; and the bumptious Gherson - pressed men like him, who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel, this disparate group of men form friendships that will last a lifetime. David Donachie cleverly weaves these fictional characters into true historical situations to produce a compelling and utterly absorbing introductory novel.

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally press-ganged and dragged off to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. He meets a disparate group of men, all victims of the Press and obliged to crew a ship's cannon. They quickly form an exclusive band, and Pearce, a natural leader, becomes their gun captain. Shipboard life under the hard-nosed Captain Barclay carries the daily threat of bullying and flogging, but as HMS Brilliant, chases French privateer across the English Channel, his young curvaceous wife Emily provides a light on the horizon.