True Colors by Valerie Roosa, is historical nautical fiction at its finest. In this book Valerie has achieved an intriguing blend of history and fiction. (You may also visit her website at www.daystarartstudios.com).
The main character Henry Stapleton has been press-ganged into the British Navy at the onset of the war of 1812. He is torn away from his wife and family in opposition to British law. As a Methodist minister he is supposed to be exempt from such outrageous practice. But it is too late Being in the wrong place at the wrong time Henry finds himself on board a British frigate, and forced to serve his country by participating in war at sea, along with twelve other men who have also been captured.Britain is at war with France during the Napoleonic wars, and all of Europe is ablaze with war. Life for Henry soon becomes one of hardship and suffering along with the rigid discipline that accompanies war at sea during the nineteenth century.Henry makes numerous friends amongst his shipmates, but also encounters some vicious enemies along the way. Within days on board, his ship is engaged in action, and the stark reality of sudden death and destruction around him brings him into a full awareness of what his life will be like from now on.True Colors will fill every reader’s desire to step back into history and be part of Henry Stapleton’s life on the cruel seas. Share his dreams, his disappointments, his personal grief and his courage as he faces the possibility of death on a daily basis. Will he survive this war? Get out your telescope; hoist your mainsail, and find out as you sail through the pages of this book.
