THE GUINEAMAN AND THE PRIVATEERSMAN Author:Richard Woodman The Guineaman — In the middle of the eighteenth century, young and feckless Englishman William Kite has to flee a false murder charge. The quickest route to safety lies in becoming "surgeon" aboard a slave ship. William takes it and thereafter endures the perils of the slave trade and his repugnance for it; yellow fever and the rapid promotion it... more »s toll among his shipmates brings him; and falling in love with a slave girl he names Puella. Landing in the West Indies at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, he and Puella are befriended by Mr. Mulgrave, a wealthy, civilized, rather Dickensian merchant, but still must face racism and a vividly described hurricane. In the end, William and Puella are moderately safe at home. If anything, the novel is too compact. Still, it will definitely win readers and whet appetites for the sequels British master-mariner-turned-prolific-author Woodman plans. Roland Green
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The Privateersman
The Seven Years War is over. William Kite is now a successful ship-owner in Liverpool, but when tragedy strikes he goes back to sea, in search of solace. He becomes embroiled in the American Revolution but, far from recovering his fortune, he is forced to fight for his honour, his life and his future . . .« less