By Conduct and Courage: A Story of the Days of Nelson
1904
By Conduct and Courage: A Story of the Days of Nelson
1904
The year is the 1790s. Europe teeters on the edge of Napoleon's ambitions, and the English Channel swarms with French warships hungry for invasion. In the remote fishing village of Scarcombe, where smuggling pays better than honesty and the sea takes more than it gives, a young orphan named William Gilmore faces a choice: follow the familiar path of lawlessness like everyone around him, or carve out a different kind of life. When he signs on as a ship's boy in the Royal Navy, he steps into a world of brutal discipline, terrifying battles, and the chance to become something more than a nameless boy from a backwater town. From the bloody deck of Cape St. Vincent to the chaotic triumph of Camperdown, William rises through the ranks not through luck but through quick thinking, stubborn courage, and a moral compass that refuses to bend. He battles pirates, endures capture and daring escape, and finally earns a place in the shadow of England's greatest admiral. Henty delivers the kind of rousing adventure that made him the master of historical fiction for young readers: a story where conduct and courage aren't just abstract ideals but the difference between life and death, between obscurity and legend. Perfect for readers who cherish Horatio Hornblower, Patrick O'Brian, or any tale of ordinary boys who become extraordinary men through trial and tenacity.
