By the Mast Divided (John Pearce, 1)

London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce on the run from the authorities is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant a frigate on its way to war. In the first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men who eventually form an exclusive gun crew the Pelicans with Pearce their elected leader. Shipboard life is hard brutal and dangerous. That anyone chooses it suggest that life ashore is worse. The Pelicans find solidarity in facing together the cruelty of their hard-nosed captain Barclay and the daily threat of bullying flogging - even murder. The one light on the horizon is the captains young curvaceous wife Emily. During an action-packed two weeks as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel this disparate group of men form friendships that will last a lifetime.