Victory

Description

"Both swashbuckling and moving, no child should miss this book." "Two children cross an ocean, two hundred years apart. One is Sam Robbins, a powder monkey aboard H.M.S.Victory, the ship in which Lord Nelson will die a hero s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The other is Molly Jennings, a present-day English girl transplanted from London to America, fighting a battle of her own against loss and loneliness. his extraordinary time-shifting adventure tells the interwoven stories of Sam and Molly, linked by a mystery. Sam is a farm boy, press ganged to serve in the Royal Navy. In the dangerous world of a warship enduring the Napoleonic Wars, he meets both cruelty and kindness, and survives a fearsome battle whose echoes reach through the years to involve Molly as well. Like him, she has lost her childhood but will find her future, with help from a very unexpected source. Two lives joined forever by the touch of Nelson, the greatest sailor of all time."

"Susan Cooper is a world-renowned author of children's books. Born in 1935 and brought up in England, she worked as a journalist before moving to America, where she now lives. Her fabulous Dark is Rising sequence has won the Newbery Medal and been twice nominated for the Carnegie Medal. s well as writing novels, Susan Cooper also writes successful plays, and screenplays for film and television."

Meticulously researched and written with economy and sympathy -- Amanda Craig * The Times * Themes of loss, displacement and - eventually - adjustment and acceptance link two very different narrative strands in this evocative novel . . . The historical background is meticulously researched but above all this is an engrossing story for children to enjoy -- Kate Agnew * Guardian * Susan Cooper hits top form with Victory . . . A rousing yarn, crammed with enough accurate detail to keep any history teacher more than happy -- Nick Tucker * Independent * Susan Cooper shows great empathy for her characters . . . this is masterful historical writing which vividly brings the past to life * Publishing News * The emotional demands of contemporary family life are beautifully counter-pointed with the privations of early 19th century seafaring . . . An evocative novel -- Lesley Agnew * The Bookseller *