The Fastest Ship: Historical Romance Novel with Pirates, Privateers; Tall Sailing Ships; British Royal Navy; and HMS Warrior, England's First Iron-Clad Warship [Paperback]

Larita Arnold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2005

The year is 1860, at the end of the Golden Age of Sail. A pirate abducts the daughter of the Govenor of Jamaica. She is rescued by the man she is destined to marry, a man who will also build England's first iron-clad warship, the HMS Warrior. Now Warrior's maiden voyage will solve the mysteries of a lost treasure and a lost memory. Sail the Caribbean and the Atlantic in this tale of high adventure, romance, and technological revolution.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From the first word to the last, I loved this story of love, passion, heart-gripping truth about marriage and life." -- Belle-Lyssa Dreher, Intentions in Art

"The Fastest Ship is like a breath of fresh air. It has action, romance, intrigue, courage, daring & suspense." -- Shirley Jackman

From the first word to the last, I loved this story of love, passion, heart-gripping truth about marriage and life. -- Belle-Lyssa Dreher, Intentions in Art

Sitting down to read The Fastest Ship is a treat. The story is powerful, heartwarming and full of life. -- Jean Hughes

The Fastest Ship is like a breath of fresh air. It has action, romance, intrigue, courage, daring & suspense. -- Shirley Jackman

From the Publisher

The Fastest Ship is a historical fiction about the construction of the HMS Warrior, England’s first iron-clad ship, during the time period 1859-1861. The romance story, which is entwined with the Warrior story, is about Elena Williams, the daughter of the British Governor of Jamaica, who is abducted by evil John Arthur McGwyer, a pirate, to even a score with her fiancé, Whitworth. The crew of the HMS Griswald rescues her, and she meets the man she is destined to marry, John "Jack" Ashbury, who is also destined to build the HMS Warrior, England's first iron-clad warship.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com; 2nd edition (November 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411639502
• ISBN-13: 978-1411639508
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,609,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging tale of romantic historical fiction, November 8, 2005

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fastest Ship: Historical Romance Novel with Pirates, Privateers; Tall Sailing Ships; British Royal Navy; and HMS Warrior, England's First Iron-Clad Warship (Paperback)

The Fastest Ship was sort of an adventure in and of itself for me, seeing as how I drifted a little ways into the personally unchartered waters of the Sea of Romance during the journey. Of course, there's really no reason why a guy can't enjoy a little romance every now and again - and there's pirates and treasure here to boot, so there you go, matey. There's also an historical backdrop to the story, namely the maiden voyage of the HMS Warrior, England's first iron-clad ship, in 1861. All of the book's characters are fictitious, but the ship's description is based on fact, making this a story of both historical and human interest.

The Fastest Ship is a rather complicated love story surrounding the young daughter of the governor of Jamaica. During her engagement to a young Colonel Whitworth, Elena Williams is kidnapped from her home by a tough-as-nails pirate named McGwyer. Blaming Whitworth for the death of his wife and unborn baby, McGwyer seeks to return the favor to his nemesis. After a forced marriage, McGwyer and his reluctant bride do not enjoy a night of wedded bliss; instead, a seriously beaten Elena manages to escape. She is found the next day by Captain Jack Ashbury of the HMS Griswold. Unable to remember anything about her previous life, Elena - who now takes the name Angelica - falls in love with the dashing captain, and the two are married upon the ship's return to England (despite the fact that Angelica was obviously pregnant by someone other than McGwyer). A short time later, Colonel Whitworth finally tracks down his former fiancé and is heartbroken to learn she is now happily married. Newly acquainted with her true history, Angelica begins to remember more and more about her experiences - including the location of McGwyer's cave full of treasure. Two years later, she accompanies her husband back to the Caribbean on the maiden voyage of the Warrior (a ship now-Admiral Ashbury helped build). Violent past and blissful present collide upon her return, setting up a drama seemingly preordained by fate itself.

There's really no question that this is a romanticized story. I don't think any British sailors of the 1850s and 1860s lived the kind of idyllic lives of Ashbury's loyal crewmen, Ashbury is remarkably accepting of his new wife's pregnancy by another man, and the two lovebirds do get awfully lovey-dovey at times. The characters, though, are remarkably well-developed, especially the roguish pirate McGwyer. The reader's knowledge of the events fuelling his murderous rage makes him very human and even sympathetic to some degree.

Larita Arnold has written a novel of romantic historical fiction that should appeal to a whole cross-section of readers. Whether you come for the romance or the historical details surrounding the transition from wooden ships to iron-clad monsters, readers should enjoy Arnold's mixture of the two genres. This tale of romance on the high seas is certainly worth the price of the voyage.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars historic inaccuracies and awkward prose, November 27, 2005

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fastest Ship: Historical Romance Novel with Pirates, Privateers; Tall Sailing Ships; British Royal Navy; and HMS Warrior, England's First Iron-Clad Warship (Paperback)

One of the reasons I became an Amazon reviewer was to give back to others what I have gained by reading other reviewer's comments. When weighing the decision to invest in a book, a movie or anything else sold on Amazon, I have always relied heavily on the reviews of others before making the monetary plunge and when I have bought a book, movie or other item and have found it to be either an excellent value or an albatross, I have returned the favor by sharing my views on the item in question to either recommend the item or warn people against it.

Giving warnings against an item is easy when I have plunked down money for an item that fell short of expectations, but it is not easy to do so when an author has sent you a review copy, obviously expecting a positive review.

I finished reading Larita Arnold's book a few weeks ago, but have been loathe to write a review that would hurt the author's feelings. After seeing copious positive reviews, however, I felt it was important to add balance to those reviews by countering praise I feel is unmerited.

Admittedly, romance is not my genre of choice when looking for a fiction read, but I have read a number of books that have had romance vignettes peppered throughout that enhanced the story, so I am not unfamiliar with reading "sexed up" literature.

The book's cover "art" does not give the reader a good first impression and it pretty much goes downhill from there. The story opens in the home of the book's main characters and principal love interests, Admiral Jack Ashbury and his amnesia suffering wife, Angelica.

The timeline takes place in the 1850s Britain and the Caribbean. Despite the Victorian era's nearly Puritan attitudes toward sex, and penchant for having all unwed couples chaperoned, at all times, the "angelic" Angelica is a 21st century girl. Not quite a rebel or radical feminist, rather a randy girl that everyone seems to wink and nod at. Before her amnesia, when she was 16 year old Elena, she ends up bumping uglies with her fiancee and quickly catching pregnant. In reality, a peasant girl may have had the occasional tryst in the barn with a farm boy at this time, but proper British girls of the 1850s did not simply roll in the hay. They were properly courted and promptly married. A girl raised in this era may have had the same sex drive as Madonna, but knew that not waiting until marriage could result in being shipped off to a convent and/or disowned by one's family, destined to live a lonely, shamed existence raising a bastard child that would unfairly inherit this stigma. It's not pretty, but that was reality... and a proper British girl, as Angelica is portrayed, would have been chaperoned at all times her gentleman caller was present.

After numerous circumstances involving pirates, prisons and revenge, Captain Ashbury is nearing the end of a 2-year tour of duty in the Atlantic, fighting off the French, pirates and the loneliness of being stuck on a smelly boat with smelly sailors when he spies a young, buxom, red-headed girl laying unconscious on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean. Not one of the 200+ sailors gives so much as a wolf whistle. They are all charmed by the little hottie and call her "sis." Yeah, right.

After she is given medical attention by the doctor, she is found to have amnesia, but otherwise in good health and is unchaperoned on the ship, helping the sailors polish bells. Apparently being in her "boy togs" makes her as cute as a 5 year old Shirley Temple and all the sailors adore her like a sister, despite her ample bosom.

After realizing she had not had her "woman's time" in some weeks, the doctor explains with astounding medical accuracy that her head injury may have resulted in damage to her pituitary gland, which would affect her periods. What makes this statement truly amazing, despite the fact that such topics were rarely discussed, even with doctors, was that the doctor cited the existence of the pituitary gland at all in the year 1859... when its function was unknown until 1912.

With the introduction of a dress, Angelica, as she is named by the Captain, morphs from Shirley Temple to Aphrodite and must be escorted at all times when not in her cabin. After weeks together, the captain proposes marriage to Angelica, and the now obviously knocked-up girl with no realistic hope of ever fitting into society otherwise, cheerfully accepts. While the captain may have enjoyed the company of comfort women during his various stops at ports of call, he is so smitten by her, he is ready to not only marry her, but call the child his own. Yep, that's very Victorian. During an island stop when everyone but Angelica leaves the ship to go swimming in a fresh water pond, the captain returns to the ship alone to knock boots with the young maiden. She could be pregnant, has accepted this man's proposal in marriage, and is in no way frightened that he will leave her, throw her off the ship, or dismiss her after they prematurely consummate their nuptials.

He writes home to his widowed mother telling her of his engagement, not mentioning that she's pregnant, suffering from amnesia or will be arriving dressed like a boy. There is no explanation as to how his letter makes it to his mother before he does, when he is traveling to England with his bride-to-be when he pens it, but that can be overlooked. When they do arrive at dear old mom's house, she is a bit taken by surprise, but utterly delighted that her only child, a proper British gentleman and officer in the British Navy is bringing an obviously pregnant girl into her home that he has not yet married, and unfazed by the fact that the child is not even his.

Rather than claiming that they were married on an island months before, they publicly announce that they will marry the very next day. Wedding invitations are obviously run off at the local Kinkos, as hundreds of invitations are produced in no time flat and over a thousand pack St. Paul's Cathedral to the apparent wedding of the century. A newly promoted Admiral and his knocked-up wife showing her belly in public. Yes, that's very 1859. The night before their public declaration of marriage, the Admiral's mother is also unfazed that her unmarried son will be taking his pregnant-by-another-man fiancee into his bedroom. With "Mum" right down the hall, they still cannot wait until their wedding night and have another go at it. Jack brings this up to his mother, saying he's surprised she allowed it, when she giggling admits that she was carrying him in her belly before she and his father were wed. Is that a normal discussion, revelation and attitude in any era, especially Victorian England? I think not.

While I know that proper British couples in the Victorian era still had sex, it was not a topic of open discussion. Even couples who had been married for years did not prance around in the buff wearing nothing but a pendant and a smile, and they most certainly did not discuss the act with each other. Not only do Angelica and Jack have frank, open discussions about how he "enjoys [her] sexually," they use terms that were not coined for decades to come. The term "sex" had the exclusive meaning of gender until 1925, but Jack even refers to his bride as a "sex kitten," an expression that would not be coined for nearly another 100 years. In a handful of "romantic" interludes between them, Jack takes his wife in various positions that leave little to the imagination of the reader, while both spout off idioms from the 20th century.

Putting aside the time-travelling language of the main characters, their conversations are unrealistic and awkward. Even today, when couples frankly and openly discuss their sexual antics, and even video tape them, people simply do not speak the way these characters do. The dialogue is simply forced and awkward. As an example, here is a snippet:

"Darling, to express my love for you in an infinite variety of ways, to fulfill and satisfy you sexually and emotionally, and to make you content, these are the deepest desires of my heart. To be erotic and exciting with you and for you is my right as your wife."

Who talks like this?

So many things stood out as peculiar when I was reading the book, I cannot remember them all, but I will cite a few:

Conveniently, upon his arrival to England with his bride-to-be, Jack finds that he has inherited a lavish estate and over a million British pounds in cash. The estate comes with a yacht and a complete staff of servants. Jack's Mum, Eleanor, quickly sells her home and she moves in w/ the newlyweds to the new house. The ground floor has an entry way, a kitchen and grand dining hall - and on the second floor are the bedrooms and a large ballroom. This just seems odd to me. A ballroom for party guests right next to the bedrooms on the second floor? Naturally, the home is not only fully furnished and filled with fine silver and oil paintings, but all the clothes in the closets are stylish and fit both Angelica and her mother-in-law. How convenient.

While every other British home made the use of wardrobes, every room in their newly acquired estate had its own closet and the master bedroom had a large walk-in closet that was apparently lighted (see page 140). Since the electric light bulb would not be invented for another 20 years, I'm not sure in what manner that the closet is lighted, but it is.

In an era where people can die at the drop of a hat from infection and disease (as the owners of their newly acquired estate conveniently did), Angelica has a very carefree attitude toward life bordering on sociopathic. Her former lover and father of her child blows his brains out on their property. The only other mention the poor heartbroken clod gets... Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Piracy, adventure and a story of unconditional love, October 23, 2005

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fastest Ship: Historical Romance Novel with Pirates, Privateers; Tall Sailing Ships; British Royal Navy; and HMS Warrior, England's First Iron-Clad Warship (Paperback)

The year is 1860 and fierce pirates still roam the Caribbean, preying on helpless ships and terrorizing the population. It is also a time of great change, as the British Navy is beginning the process of using iron to turn their vulnerable wooden sailing ships into nearly indestructible steam powered weapons.
The captain of the most notorious pirate ship is a man named McGwyer and he kidnaps the daughter of the Governor of Jamaica (Elena) and forces her to be his bride. She is beaten into submission, but after only one night, she manages to escape. Bloody to the point of being near death, she is adrift on a small boat until rescued. She has lost her memory, but a naval officer falls hopelessly in love with her, they marry and she changes her name to Angelica. They live happily in England until another man arrives and fills in some of her past.
This begins a tale of love, revenge, recovery and closure. Angelica's husband, Admiral John Ashbury oversees the construction of the HMS Warrior, the first ironclad in the British fleet. They sail to the Caribbean on her maiden voyage, find and destroy McGwyer's ship, see that he is hanged for his crimes and get Elena's marriage to McGwyer annulled.
The story is one of unconditional love that lives and thrives in the presence of great strain. Angelica is pregnant with the child of another man and yet her husband does not care. Her mysterious past also does not concern Admiral Ashbury, he only wants her to be happy. It is a story that is very pleasant to read, the historical backdrop, which is reasonably accurate, helps flesh it out and make it interesting. I enjoyed the book very much, even though as a rule I find romance novels dull and uninteresting.