It is the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Peter Raven is a bright young midshipman in the Royal Navy of Great Britain. Raven, along with the swashbuckling secret agent Commodore Beaumont, uncovers a reckless scheme devised by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. Eager to add America to his empire, Napoleon has made a wicked pact with a murderous pirate known as Count Vallon: In exchange for the pirate’s gold, Napoleon will name Vallon “King of America”! Raven, Beaumont, and a beautiful young American heiress, Lucy, must do whatever it takes to put a stop to one of history’s most audacious plots!

Lynn O’Connell – Children’s Literature

A new midshipman in the Royal Navy of Great Britain, 13-year-old Peter Molloy is on board the HMS Torren. The year is 1800 and the British are in the seventh year of a war with the French. Raven soon meets Commodore Beaumont, a British secret agent. From the English Channel to Paris and across the Caribbean, the reader follows the adventures of Raven. Finally, Raven and Beaumont work together to thwart the plan of the French leader, Napoleon, to seize the United States. This book would best be described as an epic with 55 chapters and more than 500 pages. It will hold the interest of both boys and girls as it includes pirates, spies, sea battles and romance. It has a similar style to some of the classics, such as Robinson Crusoe or books in the series by Patrick O’Brian. This historical novel is well researched. A reader will go away with a better knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars while also being entertained. There is some graphic brutality, in all cases involving the actions of Count Vallon and his sister. 2005, Scholastic, Ages 8 to 12.

Publish Date : 2007-07-01T00:00:01Z