“Artemis”

Julian Stockwin

This is the second of Stockwin’s novels about British sailor Thomas Kydd. “Artemis”, Kydd’s new ship, is a frigate with an aggressive captain. After a battle early in the book Kydd goes home to help his family but discovers that he is no longer the wigmaker who was pressed into service; he has become a sailor and he misses the sea. He returns to “Artemis” as it’s leaving on a journey to India and China, a journey that will ultimately lead to the South Pacific and Cape Horn.

In some ways this is a typical novel about the 19th century Royal Navy, but Stockwin’s focus on a somewhat naive sailor rather than on an officer distinguishes it from the pack.