The Blighted Cliffs: Book One of the Reluctant Adventures of Lieutenant Martin Jerrold, Vol. 1 FROM THE PUBLISHER
Not many men emerge from Trafalgar with not an ounce of credit to their names, but through an overreliance on rum and his habitual bad luck, Lieutenant Martin Jerrold manages it. In February 1806, he comes to Dover with one final chance to redeem his reputation. Before he has been there a day, however, he finds himself standing over a body that is too far from the cliffs to have fallen accidentally. To his horror, Jerrold is suspected of murder. His captain despises him, and the magistrate, Sir Lawrence Cunningham, wants to hang him. Only the fact that no one can identify the corpse prolongs his freedom. When word reaches Jerrold's long-suffering uncle at the Admiralty, the choice is stark: he must clear his name or be cut off without a guinea.
Somewhere in Dover's twisted streets, someone must know something. But Jerrold soon discovers that nothing is as it seems in a town where smuggling is a way of life, and everyone from the fishermen to the colonel of dragoons drinks only the finest French brandy. And all the while, Jerrold is under suspicion, gaining sympathy only in the less-than-respectable arms of Isobel, the girl who seems--without any great effort on his part--to be becoming his mistress.
Distrusted by his superiors, set upon by intriguingly well-informed smugglers, and attacked by the French at sea, Jerrold has two weeks to save his skin--or perish in the attempt.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Recounting the misadventures of a hapless, besotted lubber in Dover, England, during the winter of 1806, this well-researched, charmingly outrageous debut is the first volume of a projected seagoing trilogy by an Oxford history scholar. Following his humiliation at missing the battle of Trafalgar trapped below deck while sleeping off a hangover, boozy, carousing Lt. Martin Jerrold is banished to Dover by his embarrassed uncle at the Admiralty to serve aboard the cutter Orestes, chasing smugglers of French contraband. Even before he can report for duty, he witnesses a fight on the beach and comes under suspicion for the murder of an unidentified man. When word reaches his uncle at the Admiralty, Jerrold is given a fortnight to clear his name, lest he be exiled to a station in the Indies to rot in ignominy. Sometimes accompanied by the ship's quartermaster, Ducker, and befriended by a sprightly girl called Isobel, Jerrold sets about the almost impossible task of solving the murder and clearing his name. His quest leads across the heights of the storied cliffs, where he meets Lady Cunningham, the wily wife of the judge hoping to hang him. Back on the foggy Dover waterfront, an ill-assorted crew of suspects await, including swashbuckling Captain Davenant, evil banker Mazard and mysterious postman Nevell. Enchanted readers loath to say bon voyage will impatiently await the sequel. Agent, Jane Conway-Gordon. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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