The Claymore

by Brian Withecombe

Fourteen year old Giles Courtenay, son of William and Helen Courtenay, joins the Claymore, a 74 gun ship of the line as a Midshipman. There he begins to learn the duties and responsibilities, together with the hardships, of a life at sea in one of His Majesty's ships. He is quickly introduced to the fight against slavery and privateers...and also how to kill in the name of the King. Ultimately commissioned as a Lieutenant, Courtenay is involved in the reverses of Toulon and Corsica, and in 1794 takes part in the major sea-battle known as the Glorious First of June. Also, he meets the first member of the family with whom he will have a feud during his career as a sea officer.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2014

Reviews

[Bill K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical fiction

The British Navy and sailing ships. This is the first in a series about a British Naval Officer, Giles Courtney. It began with Courtney as a lowly midshipman and ended with him being appointed as the First Lieutenant of a sloop under a commander he had known, and detested because of his cowardice. Although a coward, the commander has powerful connections....two uncles who are admirals. I am looked ng forward to the next book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but I must say that Age of Sail Naval Fiction is a guilty pleasure of mine. One of the great things about The Claymore is we got to see Giles Courtenay join up as a 14 year old midshipman and his growth to a lieutenant. We get to see how battle works and the hidden parts politics in the Navy. I believe the research is excellent.
This is a good start and I will continue with the series.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable, straight-forward read. Lots of sailing, sea battles, casualties, lost comrades, but no [well, very little] angst. Quite a long series, too.

[Mike Hanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the other reviewers described this book as: straightforward. Good description! I’d rather give this 3 1/2 stars. The turns of events are…a bit facile…working entirely to the advantage of the hero.

The Admiralty seems awfully distant as the hero progresses. Seem to be no worries with who is adjacent to the hero on the Lieutenants list. A huge list of devoted officers and men…with no bad characters.

The ending? Entirely predictable…. And not even close to believable …as… Captain Brown would, of course, asked as to the names, ranks, and reputations of the officers on the hero’s new ship….before releasing him. Bit of a groan here.

Lightweight… but not too bad.