Shortlisted for the Society of Army Historical Research Fiction Prize 2019
It is 1806.
Captain Hugh Kelly RN returns to the Isle of Mann after fifteen years with a few months leave and a small fortune in prize money to find himself a sensible Manx wife. Roseen Crellin is determined to resist her father’s efforts to find her a husband. Still dreaming of the young English soldier who sailed away and broke her heart, she has no intention of encouraging Captain Kelly’s courtship and certainly no intention of developing feelings for the man.
Major Paul van Daan is newly promoted and just back from Ireland, sailing with his battalion to Copenhagen under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley. Paul’s courage and talent are unquestioned but his diplomatic skills need some work and in a joint operation with the navy there are many ways for a man of Paul’s temperament to get things wrong.
As Britain hovers on the brink of war with neutral Denmark and the diplomats and politicians negotiate to keep the Danish fleet out of Bonaparte’s hands, a more personal drama plays out on the decks of the Royal Navy and in the lines of Lord Cathcart’s army which could change the lives of Hugh, Roseen and Paul forever.
"The pace is excellent, and the theme of moral ambiguity – in the way early 19th century young women were expected to behave; within the command structure of the British army and navy; and behind the strategic decision to bombard a neutral country to prevent a likely invasion of Britain – is clear throughout. Ms Bryant tackles these issues head-on, without moralising, and the result is a fresh, exciting, and thought-provoking read.”
Book 1 in the Manxman series and Book 1.5 of the Peninsular War Saga.
Genre: Historical
It is 1806.
Captain Hugh Kelly RN returns to the Isle of Mann after fifteen years with a few months leave and a small fortune in prize money to find himself a sensible Manx wife. Roseen Crellin is determined to resist her father’s efforts to find her a husband. Still dreaming of the young English soldier who sailed away and broke her heart, she has no intention of encouraging Captain Kelly’s courtship and certainly no intention of developing feelings for the man.
Major Paul van Daan is newly promoted and just back from Ireland, sailing with his battalion to Copenhagen under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley. Paul’s courage and talent are unquestioned but his diplomatic skills need some work and in a joint operation with the navy there are many ways for a man of Paul’s temperament to get things wrong.
As Britain hovers on the brink of war with neutral Denmark and the diplomats and politicians negotiate to keep the Danish fleet out of Bonaparte’s hands, a more personal drama plays out on the decks of the Royal Navy and in the lines of Lord Cathcart’s army which could change the lives of Hugh, Roseen and Paul forever.
"The pace is excellent, and the theme of moral ambiguity – in the way early 19th century young women were expected to behave; within the command structure of the British army and navy; and behind the strategic decision to bombard a neutral country to prevent a likely invasion of Britain – is clear throughout. Ms Bryant tackles these issues head-on, without moralising, and the result is a fresh, exciting, and thought-provoking read.”
Book 1 in the Manxman series and Book 1.5 of the Peninsular War Saga.
Genre: Historical
Used availability for Lynn Bryant's An Unwilling Alliance