St. Brendan Books
Sailing Master Able Six, Royal Navy, is a man like no other. To call him a mere polymath is to sell him short. Someone with his extraordinary gifts should rise to the top, unless it is the 1800s, where pedigree and money govern Regency society, as sure as Napoleon seeks world domination. A bastard raised in a Scottish workhouse with nothing in his favor except his amazing mind, Able must navigate life ashore on half-pay during the uneasy Truce of Amiens, and find a way to provide for his charming bride Meridee Bonfort, a gentlewoman to be sure, but lacking a dowry. Assisted by two sea captains acquainted with his startling abilities, Able finds himself teaching mathematics and seamanship at St. Brendan the Navigator School, which is itself an experiment, taking boys like Able from workhouses and training them to serve the fleet in wartime. Meridee has agreed to invite four lads who need extra attention into their home in raffish, unsavory Portsmouth. Calling themselves the Gunwharf Rats, these St. Brendan lads show promise in an unpromising world. Can a sailing master-turned-teacher uncover their potential? Can Meridee find a way to nurture young hearts bruised too soon by life? What will happen when war breaks out again? And what is it about Able Six, the unlikely master genius? Volume One: The St. Brendan Series.
The Unlikely Spy Catchers is a novel about friendship and love, an unusual school for workhouse boys training for the Royal Navy, and the ever-present danger of life in a seafaring town at a time of grave national emergency, as Napoleon considers taking his war to England itself.
The year is 1805. Napoleon is determined to invade England. Angus Ogilvie, spy catcher, has learned more of Napoleon’s plans. He relays them to Master Able Six, instructor at St. Brendan the Navigator School, where workhouse boys of promise are training in naval service to an England that considers them castoffs. Ogilvie has other startling news about a mysterious Spanish count who bears a striking resemblance to the unlikely master genius.To counteract the growing threat from across the English Channel, Able Six has been recalled to the fleet. Thanks to a legacy from the legendary Sir B, Able and his Gunwharf Rats – workhouse boys like him – will serve as ship-to-shore messengers in Sir B’s own yacht.Able is torn. His loyalty to England and the Royal Navy is strong and he knows his duty, but there is loving wife Meridee to consider, and their small son Ben. Is the cost of war finally too high, even to a man so committed? What awaits Able Six is more than war – someone from his past he could love or hate. Able Six knows his puny concerns mean nothing, as a battle that will change England forever edges closer. Trafalgar.
The year is 1808. Davey Ten, a promising Gunwharf Rat, has finished a year of medical school at the renowned University of Edinburgh. It's been a tough year for Davey. Students and faculty alike have been informed of Davey's early workhouse years, his questionable parentage, and his lowly status. These bigots have condemned him by silence, which is killing his spirit. All Davey wants is to return to St. Brendan's. Master Able Six finds a solution. Why not send along another Gunwharf Rat to keep him company? Able's grandmama, a Scot of wealth and influence, arranges for the two Rats to stay at her Edinburgh house, maintained by Esther Teague, a spinster. Fellow Rat Avon March returns to Edinburgh with Davey. Adept at skulking, Avon will provide needed conversation, but also try to learn about the mysterious disappearance of a Royal Marine sergeant and Royal Navy warranted officer, from the hospital's famed Royal Infirmary.