
A brisk, sea‑sprayed tale opens aboard a French man‑o‑war, where the ghost of a storm‑tossed battle still haunts the deck. In the bustling streets of London, junior solicitor Richards ponders the fate of the Mackenzie family, whose proud patriarch’s debts loom like a gathering fog. Through witty banter with his partner Keane, we glimpse the tangled mix of aristocratic pride, youthful recklessness, and the looming foreclosure that threatens to swallow the family’s estate.
Meanwhile, the spirited Jack Mackenzie, fresh from his voyage on the Ocean Pride, is celebrated by his sister Gerty and the harp‑playing Flora, whose melodies echo the restless sea. Their close‑knit world teeters between hope and hardship, hinting at daring adventures and the hard choices awaiting a young man caught between love, loyalty, and the demands of a world still reeling from war.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (216K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Tamise Totterdell, Anne Storer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2008-07-07
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1840–1910
A naval surgeon turned prolific adventure writer, he poured his love of travel, animals, and the outdoors into lively books for young readers. He is also remembered for commissioning an early leisure caravan, reflecting the restless, practical spirit that ran through both his life and his fiction.
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