London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into 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 who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader.
Shipboard life is hard, brutal and dangerous. That anyone chooses it suggest that life ashore is worse. The Pelicans find solidarity in facing together the cruelty of their hard-nosed captain, Barclay, and the daily threat of bullying, flogging - even murder. The one light on the horizon is the captain's young, curvaceous wife, Emily.
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.
- ISBN10 0749082607
- ISBN13 9780749082604
- Publish Date 26 September 2005 (first published 8 January 2004)
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 11 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Allison & Busby
- Format Paperback
- Pages 512
- Language English