The Corvette

In 1805 after a two year hiatus the Napoleonic War has restarted. Commander Nathaniel Drinkwater is hastily dispatched to Hull to take command of HMS Melusine whose captain has been shot in a duel. Soon after his arrival in the city the ship sets sail as an escort to a whaling fleet on its annual expedition to the Greenland Sea in pursuit of right whales.

During the whale hunt one of the whalers is captured by a marauding French corsair setting off a chain of misfortunes for the Melusine. To repair his ship, Drinkwater seeks shelter off the Greenland coast but finds treachery instead.

Although this is my third Woodman novel,( I'm a sucker for historical and especially nautical fiction), this is my first Nathaniel Drinkwater book despite show more it being the fifth in the series. I felt that the author wonderfully captured the beauty and peril of sailing in the Arctic in a wooden ship along with the excitement and cruelty of the primitive whale hunt giving a good insight into the industry far better than say Melville's more illustrious 'Moby Dick'. On the whole I found the story absorbing and the final climax exhilarating making it on a par with say the 'Master and Commander' series. I don't doubt that knowledge of the wider series might have helped but I also believe that it can certainly be enjoyed as a stand alone as I have done. show less

Good entry in this quite good series. Drinkwater is given command of a sloop and the duty of safeguarding England's Arctic whalers. Good insights into the techniques and economics of this aspect of a seagoing industry. Much about working and surviving in wooden ships in the weather and other challenges of this difficult seascape. A rousing good sea battle makes a satisfying conclusion to this well told story.

Commander Drinkwater's experience of battle was what mattered when Earl St Vincent entrusted Drinkwater with his new command - as escort to the Arctic whaling fleet on its annual expedition to the Greenland seas. With the French established as masters of the war upon trade, violent action ensued.