Captain Sir Richard Giles has become the Earl of Camshire on the unlamented death of his father. The old scoundrel’s death has complicated Giles’s and his wife Daphne’s lives because Giles now is a member of the House of Lords, and the tangle of problems arising from entails on his properties and the dubious uses Giles’s father had made of his holdings require their vigorous attention. These challenges are added to problems stemming from the discovery that Giles’s prize agent has been embezzling and misusing funds entrusted to him. Both Giles and Daphne are involved in solving these problems, though Daphne plays the larger role since Giles still commands his frigate Glaucus. In that role he is busy harassing enemy ports and ships and supporting King George’s status as ruler of Hanover. In a world where law enforcement is spotty at best, both Giles and Daphne have to take active roles in making sure that their property is protected and that Napoleon cannot safely ignore the land he could not invade.
John G. Cragg Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)
The war continues as Captain Sir Richard Giles, Viscount Ashton, must thwart Napoleon's latest scheme to distract Britain from his main plans. To uncover the French plot, he disguises himself as part of an English smuggling ship's crew, leading him into dangerous waters. His mission involves evading a French battleship, seizing a frigate, and capturing a battalion of soldiers. Meanwhile, London Society attempts to draw Giles and his wife, Daphne, into its elite circles, as they navigate grand events at the King's palace and the Prince of Wales's mansion. Despite receiving honors and Daphne's presentation to the Queen, they prioritize more pressing matters. Giles's challenges extend beyond thwarting French initiatives; he must also travel to the West African coast to confront pirates threatening East India Company vessels. His mission includes defeating the pirates, attacking their stronghold, and facilitating a coup d'état. Complications arise when a French frigate attempts to disrupt his return journey with liberated ships. At home, Daphne faces her own trials. Her uncle's illness and a crooked lawyer threaten his factory, and she must intervene to protect her family’s interests. Additionally, her father-in-law's attempts to divert funds from his wife to his mistress complicate matters further. Despite these burdens, Daphne manages everything efficiently, ensuring that Giles returns to find her in control, alleviating the
In early 1805, England and France are at war, with a stalemate as Napoleon's army waits to invade across the English Channel, blocked by the Royal Navy. Captain Sir Richard Giles, recovering from battle wounds at his estate, Dipton Hall, decides to purchase a neighboring estate recently vacated due to its owner's criminal activities. Before he can settle in, he must return to his frigate, leaving his wife, Daphne, to manage the estate and its unexpected hoard of smuggled goods. As she navigates the challenges of her new property and her role in society, Daphne discovers the need to distribute the luxury items without compromising their social standing. With the help of her sister-in-law's fiancé and other acquaintances, she establishes a contra-smuggling enterprise to support the gentry and fund the Navy. Meanwhile, Giles embarks on naval adventures that hinder the French, including destroying a fort and rescuing British prisoners. His return to England coincides with a mission to dismantle a local smuggling operation. As Giles faces ongoing duties at sea, Daphne juggles estate management, societal leadership, and her growing family. Ultimately, they reunite after significant challenges, but their lives remain unsettled as the war continues.
In 1804, as Britain battles Napoleon's France, Captain Sir Richard Giles enjoys a brief respite at Dipton Hall before his next naval mission. Tragedy strikes when he learns of his half-brothers' deaths, leaving him with more problems than inheritance. His wife, Daphne, must help resolve these issues. After introducing her to London, Giles takes her on the maiden voyage of his new frigate, which quickly turns perilous when they encounter a formidable French ship. Tasked with delivering secret treaty terms to St. Petersburg alongside a difficult special envoy, Giles faces challenges, including evading spies and the advances of noblewomen, while his crew dishonors his ship. His interactions with the Russian Navy at Kronstadt prove more fruitful than his social experiences in the capital. After being expelled from St. Petersburg, he assists his friend Captain Bush in defeating two French frigates to secure his return to Daphne. Meanwhile, Daphne, pregnant and left to manage her deceased brother-in-law's affairs, reluctantly navigates the darker aspects of Georgian society. Using her wit, she turns the tables on unscrupulous opponents and manages to profit from her predicament. Back at Dipton Hall, she gives birth, but her recovery is interrupted by a plot to undermine her husband's control of a corrupt borough. Their troubles culminate in Giles's return, where he outsmarts their rival despite his injuries.
Captain Sir Richard Giles is now married to the former Daphne Moorhouse, but the demands of war take him to sea almost at once. His frigate is engaged in harassing French preparations for invasion, dealing with privateers, contending with the influence system in naval establishments and being peripherally engaged in espionage activities. Meanwhile Daphne is fully occupied managing her husband's and father's estates and taking her new role as the wife of a major member of the landed gentry and as the doyenne of a great house. Fox hunting becomes a major preoccupation for Daphne while concerns about getting more satisfactory situations for her not very welcome relatives get her scheming to arrange satisfactory marriages for them. Only at rare intervals do the two principals get together to share their lives and interests, but these result in truely memorable moments.
Captain Sir Richard Giles has used the peace of Amiens to find and purchase a rural estate at Dipton It will provide living quarters for his relatives and an opportunity to pursue his interest in agricultural processes and improvements, a task where he may find assistance from the daughter of his immediate neighbor. She seems to be more interested in estate management and improvement than in the more usual pursuits of young ladies. A French frigate of possibly new design has been using the period of peace to take British frigates and merchant ships illegally and spirit the captures to some unknown base. Giles is called from his bucolic pursuits to take command of a newly built frigate whose task is to find and destroy the enemy vessel and recapture her prizesWhile Captain Giles is doing this, life continues apace at Dipton so that when Giles can snatch some leave, he finds that things have not remained static. The novel tells of how events develop at sea and also on land in the early days following the abrogation of the treaty of Amiens.