An historical novel about Halifax, Nova Scotia at the time of war between Britain and Napoleon.
A prosperous merchant buys an island near to the colonial area of Halifax and builds a nice home for his family. The place passes to his son, Peter McNab II, and things go along smoothly, with Peter and his wife Joanna raising their two sons on the island along with an orphan from the British Isles, Ellen. But then European affairs intrude when Britain has to fight off Napoleon's lust for territory. Much to Peter's disgust, the British Navy chooses his island to set up their gibbets to hang sailors who run afoul of the Navy's harsh rule. So even though Peter owns the island, British law gives the Navy control of the shores to do with as they please.
Halifax area becomes one of the locations where the British stash French prisoners of war. At first the prisoners are housed in hulks, ships that are no longer seaworthy. Later a proper prison is built and Captain Rory MacDougal is put in charge of it.
Time passes and Ellen is now in her twenties and is uninterested in any of the young men that Peter brings to the island to meet her. So sensing she may be wearing out her welcome and wanting to no longer be the dependent of the McNabs, she talks MacDougal into proposing to her, even though he is about thirty years older than she is.
Peter wants to send his two sons back to England to finish their education, mainly so they learn to speak French, something he views as a necessary accomplishment for an English gentleman. But his wife is very much against it, not wanting her two boys to be so far away from home. It then turns out that one of the French prisoners speaks English fluently and he is hired to teach the boys his language. Letting prisoners go out into the community to earn money was permitted to those men who were deemed unlikely to take advantage of the freedom and run away. The French prisoner, Michael Cascamond, becomes the French instructor, which satisfies both Peter and Joanna.
But when Ellen meets Michael, she wants him and turns up at his hut one day and they have a romantic encounter. After that, she sneaks away from the main house to visit him when he is free from his teaching work. This goes on for weeks until MacDougal surprises them together in Michael's hut. Michael and MacDougal fight and Michael leaves the older man on the ground, presumed dead from hitting his head on a rock when he fell. Now Michael decides he must escape, rather than face the consequences of MacDougal's death. With Ellen's help, he steals a small sail boat and sets sail for Acadia, where many French emigrants to Canada are said to live. He figures he will be safe from the British there and can eventually rejoin the French Navy. But he doesn't even come close to reaching his goal when he loses control of the boat in a fierce Bay of Fundy current.
This was an interesting read, mainly because it is a part of American history that I knew nothing about. The romance story was pretty good but is not the main thrust of the book. Michael's story is definitely the highlight of the novel. Very much worth a read if you enjoy historical fiction.
Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.
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