HMS Cracker

This novel recounts the exploits of Lieutenant Henry Honeyburn in command of the gun-brig Cracker in 1813. He has succeeded to command after the departure of Michael Fitton, whom he respects and tries to emulate, not always successfully. The plot involves the protection of convoys supplying Wellington's army outside San Sebastian against French attempts to capture or destroy them in the Bay of Biscay, using rowing gunboats mounted with 24-pounder guns, and secretly based in a small French port. In the face of opposition from a choleric RN captain, Honeyburn discovers the ruse, rescues a young Frenchwoman fleeing Napoleon, and defeats the gunboats. A bastard son of the Prince Regent, appointed as Honeyburn's junior officer, is thrown in for good measure.