The Free Fishers

John Buchan

Publisher: Birlinn

Summary

In this classic thriller by the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, an English professor is drawn into a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister. When Anthony Lammas, minister of the Kirk and Professor of Logic at St. Andrews University, leaves his hometown for London on business, he little imagines that within two days he will be deeply entangled in a web of mystery and intrigue. But he’s no ordinary professor. His boyhood allegiance to a brotherhood of deep-sea fishermen is about to involve him and handsome ex-pupil, Lord Belses, with a beautiful but dangerous woman. Set in the bleak Yorkshire hamlet of Hungrygrain during the Napoleonic Wars, this is a stirring tale of treason and romance.

Available since: 09/12/2012.

Print length: 288 pages.

Other books that might interest you

The Wheel of Fortune

Susan Howatch

An “emotion-packed” New York Times–bestselling saga by the author of Cashelmara, set on a Welsh family estate in the early twentieth century (San Francisco Chronicle). Tucked in the hills of South Wales is Oxmoon, the ancestral estate of the Godwin family. In the summers before 1914, music streams through the family home as the Godwins, at the height of their prosperity, dance in the ballroom with their guests. But despite the remarkable talents of heir-apparent Robert Godwin, the fates have a rough, tough ride planned for him and those he loves. Fortunes shift during two world wars, disastrous love affairs leave the family battered, and finally jealousy threatens to destroy Oxmoon and all it symbolizes. Based on a true story that has been updated to modern times, The Wheel of Fortune is a timeless tale of love, hatred, revenge, redemption, and forgiveness. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Susan Howatch including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Show book

The World War II Novels - Voyage...

Sloan Wilson

Three novels of life at sea during World War II from the bestselling author of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and A Summer Place. Drawing on his own experiences as a US Coast Guard officer, Sloan Wilson sheds a unique light on World War II in these three unforgettable novels. Voyage to Somewhere: Hoping to draw a nice, lengthy shore duty after two years at sea, Lieutenant Barton is instead told that he’s being sent right back out, this time as captain of a supply ship sailing from California to New Guinea and stopping at every small island in between. Despite being homesick for his wife, he has no choice but to accept the assignment and a cargo of pineapples destined for Hawaii. When Barton isn’t battling gale-force winds and monstrous waves, he’s coping with seasick sailors and budding rivalries that threaten to turn mutinous. Hanging over the ship like a storm cloud is the knowledge that the world is at war and the enemy is never far away. “One of the few honest and straightforward sea books that have come out of the war” (New York Herald Tribune).Pacific Interlude: Twenty-five-year-old Coast Guard lieutenant Sylvester Grant, a veteran of the Greenland Patrol, has just been given command of a small gas tanker carrying extremely flammable cargo across dangerous stretches of the Pacific Ocean. As the Allies prepare to retake the Philippines, Grant and his crew must bring two hundred thousand gallons of high-octane aviation fuel to shore. From below-deck personality clashes to the terrifying possibility of an enemy attack, from combating illness and boredom to the constant stress of preventing a deadly explosion, the crew of Y-18 must learn to work together and trust their captain—otherwise, they might never make it home. “Powerful, passionate and authentic . . . Unforgettable” (James Dickey, author of Deliverance). Ice Brothers: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Paul Schuman, a college senior and summer sailor, enlists in the Coast Guard and is assigned to be the executive officer aboard the Arluk, a converted fishing trawler patrolling the coast of Greenland for secret German weather bases. Led by Lt. Cdr. “Mad” Mowry, the finest ice pilot and meanest drunk in the Coast Guard, Schuman and communications officer Nathan Greenberg battle deadly icebergs, dangerous blizzards, and menacing Nazi gunboats. Surviving the war will require every ounce of courage and intelligence they possess—and that’s before Mowry breaks, forcing the young officers to take command at the worst possible moment. “The best since The Caine Mutiny” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Show book

The Good Wife - A historical...

Eleanor Porter

'Eleanor Porter is a major new voice in historical fiction.' Tim ClaytonWhere will her loyalty lead her? 
Once accused of witchcraft Martha Spicer is now free from the shadow of the gallows and lives a safe and happy life with her husband, Jacob. But when Jacob heads north to accompany his master, he warns Martha to keep her healing gifts a secret, to keep herself safe, to be a good wife.Martha loves Jacob but without him there to protect her, she soon comes under the suspicious eye of the wicked Steward Boult, who’s heard of her talent and forces her to attend to him. If she refuses, he promises to destroy the good life she has built for herself with Jacob.Desperate and alone, Martha faces a terrible decision: stay and be beholden to Boult or journey north to find Jacob who is reported to have been killed.. The road ahead is filled with danger, but also the promise of a brighter future. And where her gifts once threatened to be her downfall, might they now be the very thing that sets Martha free...?The brilliant follow-up to Eleanor Porter's first novel of love, betrayal, superstition and fear in Elizabethan England. A story of female courage, ingenuity and determination, this is perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier.'Eleanor Porter is a major new voice in historical fiction. With her beautiful use of language and compelling storytelling she conjures the past with a vividness that lingers in the mind long after the final page.' Tim ClaytonPraise for The Wheelwright's Daughter: 
'It's a gripping story and such accomplished writing. I really enjoyed every moment of working on it.' Yvonne Holland, editor of Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier'A brilliant debut novel''An interesting read and an impressive debut novel''A wonderfully written story''A skilfully crafted story of love, betrayal, superstition and fear in 16th century England.''This is a story of courage, trust, betrayal and love.''A great historical novel I loved.'

Show book

Chita - A Memory of Last Island

Lafcadio Hearn

A woman’s life is forever changed by a hurricane on a Gulf Coast island in this “evocative parable of people living the good life on the edge of the abyss” (The Washington Post).   In the mid–nineteenth century, the wealthy find relief from the New Orleans heat on the barrier island of L’Ile Dernière. But when a cataclysmic storm arrives and leaves devastation in its wake, young Chita barely escapes with her life. Presuming that her father, a Creole businessman, has been swept away, she takes refuge on a nearby island where she is adopted by a Spanish family, changing the course of her future.   Written during a ten-year stay in New Orleans and inspired by true historical events, Chita was Lafcadio Hearn’s first novel. It is filled with rich description, beautiful language, and emotion, and evokes a true sense of the location and the era.

Show book

The Unwitting

Ellen Feldman

Betrayal comes in many forms ...At the height of the Cold War, words are weapons and secrecy reigns. These are challenging times to be a writer and a wife, as Nell Benjamin knows only too well. One bright November day in 1963, the dazzling young president arrives in Texas and Nell receives a phonecall that overturns the world as she knows it. In the shocking aftermath, whilst America mourns, Nell must come to terms with both a tragedy and a betrayal that shatters every illusion of the man she thought she knew better than anyone else. Resonant, illuminating and utterly absorbing, The Unwitting is about the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and the power of both truth and love.

Show book

A Blessing to Cherish

Lauraine Snelling

Though she has known hardships in her life, Ingeborg Bjorklund chooses to focus on all she has been given. Blessed with children and grandchildren, she enjoys the friendship and support of the entire Blessing, North Dakota, community. And after several years of widowhood, she has reached a place of contentment with her life. 
 
Meanwhile, her stepson Thorliff is raising two children alone since his beloved Elizabeth died. But there is a new schoolteacher in town, Louisa Gutenburg, and Thorliff doesn't seem to be himself whenever she's around. It isn't just his obvious fascination with Louisa, but the fact that he seems completely oblivious to it that makes Ingeborg smile. How long before Thorliff realizes what everyone else can see a mile away? 
 
But not everything is comfortable for Ingeborg. One of her dearest friendships is changing--and she will have to decide if her settled, predictable life is worth more to her than a future she hardly dares to imagine.

Show book