A Divided Command

1. The Mediterranean is proving dangerous waters for John Pearce and his Pelicans. Having left his lover Emily, who is also the wife of his mortal enemy Ralph Barclay, in the Tuscan port of Leghorn, Pearce is detained in Naples. When he unknowingly delivers a letter promoting the shady and incompetent Admiral Hotham, Pearce finds himself entangled in a political plot that soon puts those closest to him at peril. When reunited with Emily, John Pearce faces a losing battle to keep her reputation intact. Although his Pelicans aid in the endeavour, Emily sees no future for her with Pearce and leaves while he is conveying private letters for Horatio Nelson to the British Ambassador, Sir William Hamilton. Learning of Emily's departure, Pearce sets off in pursuit and has to take on the superior force of Barbary Corsairs who have targeted the merchant ship Emily is travelling on, the Sandown Castle. Outgunned by a barbaric opponent, John Pearce's chances of survival - as well as those of Emily and Pearce's crew - are dubious. And even if they can win this fierce battle, another threat looms on the horizon as Pearce is not the only one chasing Emily; Ralph Barclay has learned of his wife's desertion and is on his way to recapture her.

'A salty blend of seafaring adventure ... cunningly spliced battle scenes which reek of blood and brine' Literary Review 'A rollicking, highly charged read, full of eighteenth century atmosphere' Good Book Guide 'Very well-written by an author who knows his history, and with some exciting sea-battles ... this is a good read' Historical Novels Review 'A must for armchair mariners ... superb stuff ' Manchester Evening News 'Vivid and accurate shipboard action ... compulsively readable' Cambridge Evening News

DAVID DONACHIE was born in Edinburgh in 1944 and has had a variety of jobs, including selling everything from business machines to soap. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The author of a number of bestselling books, he know lives in Deal with his wife, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook and their two children.