Tells of the rise in the 1780s of Nathanial Drinkwater to the rank of Lieutenant in the Navy. Prior to promotion he saves a young seaman from the brutal attentions of a depraved midshipman and in the process, wins the love of a parson's daughter.

A gritty look at life on board a British frigate. The story centers around Nathaniel Drinkwater, the self-effacing hero, who matures into a lieutenant under trying conditions. ( )

What this novel may lack in full, detailed narrative it makes up in authenticity and honest moral conflict. This 185 page book in the hands of an author who was a writer first and a sailor second, or not at all, would have been 400 pages long, but I'm not sure we would have been the better for it.

This novel introduces Nathaniel Drinkwater, the responsible son of a widow holding on to her gentile status by her fingernails due to the profligacy of her late husband. He enters the King's service as an adolescent midshipman during the latter part of the American Revolution, a refreshingly different time to begin a fictional naval career. Over the two year period of the story Nathaniel proves himself repeatedly, struggles with a major moral dilemma, meets the woman he hopes to marry, and grows up.

This is the finest nautical historical fiction I have read in a long time. I have ordered the next three books in the series and look forward to their arrival. ( )