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    Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars
    Unavailable
    Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars
    Unavailable
    Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars

    Written by Jay Worrall

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    SAILS ON THE HORIZON
    Dientes de Diablo, 1797

    With his first historical high-seas adventure chronicling the exploits of Naval Commander Charles Edgemont, Jay Worrall sets sail in the rousing tradition of C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian.
    The year is 1797. Napoleon Buonaparte is racking up impressive wins in the field against the enemies of revolutionary France. On the seas, England is putting up a staunch resistance.

    When a modest fleet of British ships off the coast of Portugal encounters a larger force of Spanish vessels on their way to rendezvous with the French, the English are quick to seize the opportunity for a victory-even at the risk of a calamitous defeat.

    Twenty-five-year-old Charles Edgemont is second lieutenant aboard the HMS Argonaut, the smallest ship in the British line of battle. When orders come for the Argonaut to engage in an all-but-suicidal maneuver to cut off the escape of the Spanish ships, he leads his gun crews bravely-until the death of the captain and the first lieutenant elevates him to command of the stricken vessel. In the chaos that follows, his defiant refusal to yield under enemy fire earns him a permanent promotion.

    Thanks to the purse awarded him by the Admiralty after the fight, Charles is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. But there are challenges when he returns home after years at sea. His newfound riches will prove no help when it comes to winning the heart of Penelope Brown, the feisty Quaker with whom Charles falls in love. Even more of a hindrance is his profession, for Penelope regards war as sinful and soldiers as little better than murderers.

    Changing Penelope's mind may just be the hardest battle Charles has ever fought-at least until fresh orders send him back to sea, where he faces a more traditional and equally formidable adversary in a series of stirring battles of will and might.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 19, 2005
    ISBN9780739317600
    Unavailable
    Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars
    Author

    Jay Worrall

    Jay Worrall is the author of the Napoleonic Wars trilogy. Born into a military family and raised as a Quaker, Worrall grew up in a number of countries around the world. During the Vietnam War he worked with refugees in the Central Highlands of that country, and afterwards taught English in Japan. Worrall has also worked to develop innovative and humane prison programs, policies, and administration. He is married and the proud father of five sons, and he now lives and works in Pennsylvania.

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    Reviews for Sails on the Horizon

    4/5

    28 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Good entry into, hopefully, a continuing series about the Napoleonic Wars. Good main characters, a thoughtful Quaker counterpoint which foretends an unconventional marriage. Lively action which aptly demonstrates that good luck is a very useful battle attribute. Putting his ship often in harm's way does require frequent visits to repair yards. An enlightened, probably unlikely, sequestering preserves his crew in an era where impressed men, convicts and rejects were far more likely sources. Solid nautical nomenclature and rational navigational orientation are demonstrated suitably by the naval persons
    • 3/5
      With plenty of battle action on the high seas, this novel is set during the Napoleonic wars. The main character is a young ship's commander who tests his courage to reassure himself that he is no coward. He falls in love with a Quaker woman who does not believe in war. The characters do not seem complex, and the reader loses credibility when, within three days of meeting each other, they have fallen in love.
    • 4/5
      Sails on the Horizon begins with the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1797, during the Napoleonic War. The main character Charles Edgemont is both promoted from lieutenant to commander of the small frigate HMS Louisa and made a wealthy man by his actions during this battle. When he returns home while waiting for his ship to be readied, he meets a young Quaker woman Penelope Brown and falls in love with her. Edgemont must return to his ship and face the task of training new recruits (mostly landlubbers) into fighting sailors.Overall, the story was well-paced with nicely developed characters. The inclusion of Quaker views and Penelope's difficulty with Charles' profession was an interesting twist. Unlike some Napoleonic naval novels, this book kept the naval jargon minimal so those not familiar with vanges or jib-booms could enjoy the story. Likewise, with the exception of Penelope's use of "thee" or "thy", the dialog was simple, without much attempt to reproduce various English dialects.On the downside, the author switches from points-of-view in several passages and leaves the reader wondering who this pertains to. Also, some of the characters and their relationships could easily have been expanded, such as between Edgemont and his First Lieutenant Bevan.On a personal pet-peeve note: I wish Worrall had left out the tiny section when Horatio Hornblower makes an appearance. It was cute to include, but it served no real purpose in the story and actually detracted from the story.
    • 3/5
      There are three novels on a list of recommended historical fiction I've been working through that deal with the exploits of British Naval captains during the Napoleonic Wars. Two are rather celebrated. CS Forester's Mr Midshipman Hornblower is the first of the classic Horatio Hornblower series. I've loved those books since my teens, and all of those novels are on my bookshelf. Horatio Hornblower, as a lieutenant, even has a brief cameo in Sails on the Horizon. Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander is the first of the Aubrey/Maturin series on which the Russel Crowe film of that title was based upon, and I did enjoy it and intend to read further in that series. Placed beside those two, Worrall's book seems a rather weak sibling. The Hornblower tales are remarkable in pace, plot, and a character that is the Sherlock Holmes of nautical fiction: clever, brilliant, honorable and the inspiration for many incarnations, from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, a soldier in the British Army in the Napoleonic era, to David Weber's space opera heroine Honor Harrington. Unlike those other examples, I don't feel Worrall does enough to distinguish his work from Forster and O'Brian. Worrall's prose is at best pedestrian, and he certainly doesn't attempt a period style or tone such as O'Brian's novels. The captain and protagonist, Charles Edgemont, is fairly likeable but next to Hornblower and Aubrey seems to me bland. Worrall, unlike Forster or O'Brian, isn't British but an American, which makes me rather feel Worrall missed an opportunity to distinguish his series by say, setting it in the American Navy instead. Worrall's background does figure in the novel in another way. The biographical note states he was "[b]orn a Quaker into a military family." Charles' love interest, Penny Brown, is a Quaker, and the famous pacifistic beliefs of that sect do play into his courtship--romance certainly figures a lot more into this book than it does in all but one of the Hornblower books or the O'Brian book I read. But I don't feel that aspect rose above routine. I do love nautical tales and found this one entertaining, but this first book certainly doesn't leave me in a hurry to look up the rest--especially with over a dozen of O'Brian's to try on my long to-read list.
    • 4/5
      This is naval adventure in the mode of C.F. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels. If you like that sort of thing, you'll like it, if not, you may not. With that said, Worrall writes well and fluidly. His naval battles are intelligible, his characters drawn well, and his style is easy.Charles Edgemont, a young naval officer, finds himself thrust into the role of hero after his Captain and first lieutenant are killed in battle. Edgemont receives a battlefield promotion for surviving the carnage and his given his own command. When home he meets a lovely young neighbor, a Quaker, and falls immediately in love. She returns his affection but objects to his career. Will Charlie be able to prove himself an effective Captain? Will he win the hand of his one true love? Lively naval adventure, sympathetic characters, a strong woman, and some unusual themes for this type of novel strengthen this strong debut.