Dona St. Columb flees the stifling artifice of the Restoration court in London to seek solitude at Navron, her husband’s estate on the Cornish coast. There, she discovers a hidden French pirate ship moored in a secluded creek. Instead of feeling fear, Dona enters into a clandestine partnership with its captain, a cultivated Frenchman who values freedom over societal convention. Together, they orchestrate daring raids and escape the pursuit of local authorities. Dona must eventually choose between her domestic obligations to her children and the dangerous, lawless autonomy she finds at sea.
Readers who enjoy historical suspense and atmospheric settings gravitate toward this story for its vivid depiction of the conflict between duty and personal desire. It appeals to those interested in the 17th-century landscape and the psychological tension of a secret life. The reader finishes the book with a clear understanding of the sacrifices required to maintain a double identity and the high physical cost of escaping a rigid social class.
- Published
- 1940
- Language
- EN
