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A former editor, Paul Dowswell is the author or co-author of over 50 acclaimed nonfiction books for children on historical and scientific topics. This is his first work of fiction. He lives in Wolverhampton, England, with his wife and daughter.
A former senior editor with Usborne Publishing, Paul Dowswell is now a full-time author. He has written over 60 books, including Ausländer, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the Red House Children's Book Award and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. Paul lives in Wolverhampton with his family.
Powder Monkey: Adventures of a Young Sailor
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ISBN-13:
9781619631359
- Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
- Publication date: 10/10/2012
- Sold by: Barnes & Noble
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 304
- File size: 3 MB
- Age Range: 12 Years
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In the exciting tradition of Patrick O'Brian comes the saga of one boy's life in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Thirteen-year-old Sam Witchall had always dreamed of a sailor's life, but he didn't realize how dangerous and gruesome life at sea could be until he is pressed into service aboard H.M.S. Miranda. Beginning his naval career as a "powder monkey"-assistant to a gun crew on the warship-Sam learns the hard way how to cope with enemies both in battle and on the Miranda herself.
With enough conflict, storms, and shipwrecks to thrill any fan of the Master and Commander series, this epic tale introduces a new generation to this exciting historical period, when even a lowly powder monkey could become a hero.
Recognition
Powder Monkey has been named a NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People.
Reviews
"Readers will be absorbed in the day-to-day life of young Sam, and his vivid tale will keep them on edge as he tries to escape his commission. . . . Not for the faint of heart, this novel is a brilliant introduction to the likes of C. S. Forester's classic 'Horatio Hornblower' [ saga." -School Library Journal
"Readers who prefer their decks awash in blood 'and worse' will not be disappointed. . . . Voracious fans of the nautical genre will happily sign on." -Kirkus Reviews
"Fans of the Master and Commander series or movie will enjoy this seafaring adventure. Sam is an engaging narrator who includes tremendous detail about life aboard ships: Maggots in food, lavatory facilities (or lack thereof), floggings, and gruesome deaths-both in and out of battle--are described in vivid detail." -Voice of Youth Advocates
"Sail with young Sam Witchall on a ship of the British navy. Pressed into service, Sam leads an exciting and dangerous life as a powder monkey, handling gunpowder for the cannons, and surviving sea battles, storms and shipwrecks. A gripping adventure story on the high
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School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-This novel details the hardships of a sailor's life as seen through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy. It is 1800 in Norfolk, England, and Sam Witchall begs to go off to sea. Eventually his unwilling father secures him a post on a merchant ship but his fears come true when Sam is pressed into service aboard the HMS Miranda as a powder monkey, running gun powder from below deck to his cannon crew. His skill is soon tested in the heat of battle. Readers will be absorbed in the day-to-day life of young Sam, and his vivid tale will keep them on edge as he tries to escape his commission. He is forced to confront all of the things that can plague a sailor: fierce fighting, raging storms, cruel punishment, mutiny, and death. Not for the faint of heart, this novel is a brilliant introduction to the likes of C. S. Forester's classic "Horatio Hornblower" saga.-Kimberly Monaghan, formerly at Vernon Area Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Pressed into service aboard a Napoleonic-era British frigate, a lad finds himself amid rough company, with only the gnawing fear of violent death to offer relief from the nauseating food, brutish bosuns' mates, sneering officers and constant threats of flogging. Dowswell has done his historical homework, though he presents the results awkwardly by having characters explain such terms as "prize money" at length to young Sam while tiptoeing past foul language and homosexuality with only oblique references. Still, readers who prefer their wooden decks awash in blood "and worse" will not be disappointed-and even Sam, having survived (unlike nearly all of his shipmates) cannon fire, capture and shipwreck, opts to return to the Navy rather than escape back to his native Norfolk. Stronger on terror than triumph, this isn't quite as rousing as the likes of Michael Molloy's Peter Raven Under Fire (p. 687) or Gerald Hausman's tales of Tom Cringle, but voracious fans of the nautical genre will happily sign on. (Fiction. 12-14)