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Floating Gold [Paperback]

M C Muir (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 28, 2012
Age-of-Sail nautical fiction adventure. 1802 - The Treaty of Amiens heralds a fragile peace in the war with France. Britain's fighting ships languish in ordinary and sailors litter the alehouses of Portsmouth. From a beach, Captain Quintrell observes a fleet preparing to sail little knowing he will soon have command of the frigate "Elusive". Entrusted with secret orders, he heads south, unaware of the horrors which lie ahead. But when he enters the freezing Southern Ocean, a mutinous crew, murder most foul and the dangers held within a simmering volcanic island pose more of a threat than a broadside from a man-of-war.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Extremely satisfying" The Historical Novels Review" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Born in England, Margaret Muir now lives in Tasmania where she is a member of the Tasmanian Sail Training Association. During her travels, she has cruised round the coast of South America, crossed Drake Passage and visited the frozen islands off the Antarctic Peninsula. It is these experiences which inspired her to write Floating Gold. Floating Gold is Muir's fifth novel for Hale Books, but her first nautical fiction adventure. For more information go to: www.margaretmuirauthor.com
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 234 pages
  • Publisher: lulu.com (February 28, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1447670205
  • ISBN-13: 978-1447670209
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Muir grew up in Yorkshire, England but has lived in Australia for almost 40 years. Having spent her professionsal life in Cytology, she was made redundant in the 1990s.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," she said.
Apart from taking up goat farming, sailing tall ships and ocean cruising, Marg completed a degree in Creative Writing. Since graduating she has had four Historical novels published by Hale Books in London.
Two years ago she moved to Tasmania.
"It is a beautiful island and is known as the Island of Inspiration," she said.

Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A Kid's Review
Format:Hardcover
Margaret Muir's new novel, Floating Gold, is a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt. A rousing tale, well told.

Captain Oliver Quintrell is on the beach, both literally and figuratively. Recently released from Greenwich Hospital after recovering from injuries related to a "direct contact with a four pound cannon ball," he finds himself without a commission in a world briefly at peace following the signing of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. He is therefore pleased to be given the command HMS Elusive, a frigate on a secret mission with sealed orders bound for an island near the bottom of the world. Along the way they encounter storms, calm, murder, and sabotage until they finally arrive at an island near the bottom of the world, which itself may be the greatest threat of all to survival of the ship and crew. Hidden on the island is a vast, yet mysterious treasure that Captain Quintrell, his officers and crew must find and carry back to England.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Captain Quintrell and Will Ethridge, a young apprentice shipwright, who arrives aboard the Elusive quite by accident. The shift in perspective balances the world aft and forward of the mast nicely. All of the characters will be familiar to readers of naval fiction and yet felt fresh and individual.

Margaret Muir is no stranger to square-rigged ships and it shows in her writing. The scenes aboard ship feel right. They have an authenticity in the small idiosyncratic details she deftly adds. Muir has also visited the mysterious and dangerous island that plays such a central role in the story. Her background and travels help bring the novel together, giving a sense of reality to the fantastic scenes she describes.

Floating Gold is well a paced and vividly drawn tale of adventure in the high latitudes and on the high seas. Highly recommended.
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A Treasure Hunt February 28, 2012
Format:Paperback
A Treasure Hunt

A nautical treasure that is, and a hunt that kept my attention from the first page to the last.

For writers of nautical fiction set in the Napoleonic period, the hiatus brought about by the `Peace of Amiens' offers a challenge. Ships were laid up or de-commissioned, officers and men found themselves unemployed. Not very much was happening at sea to keep the Royal Navy busy. Or was it?

So it was gratifying to stumble across Floating Gold, by Margaret Muir, I suspect an accomplished sailor as she has an excellent grasp of seamanship and, it must be said, an accomplished writer to boot. Born of a personal experience and a footnote from a news item, Muir has created a well-crafted and plausible tale of adventure on board one of HM's frigates, Elusive. An aptly named vessel, for an elusive treasure.

Oliver Quintrell, a young Post Captain on half-pay, is given command of a 38-gun frigate and secret orders. He learns his ultimate destination only when the ship is far from England. He does not learn the nature of the treasure until he reaches the destination noted in his secret orders and even then, it is less than obvious.

The ship and the crew deal with a succession of challenges, from the weather, to pirates, to murderers, all plotted superbly. Once returned to England, Quintrell's trials do not cease, as the author keeps the interest running as high as the seas to very nearly the final page.

Floating Gold is excellent story-telling. The principal characters are visual, immediately empathetic and human. This is an intelligent, well-structured and thoroughly enjoyable story, which for enthusiasts of nautical fiction is highly recommended.

MHM
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Format:Paperback
Anyone who knows me will know I devour anything with a Tall Ship theme--so I was excited to receive Floating Gold. Here is an example of how authors who, for one reason or another, no longer have their books in print with a mainstream publisher, decide to self-publish. Margaret Muir used to be published by Robert Hale, but with a backlist out of print, she decided to publish her books herself to keep them alive and in circulation. Good for her!
Floating Gold is a Georgian treasure hunt adventure. It is 1802 and there is a tentative peace between France and England. Captain Oliver Quintrell, as with many a sailor during times of peace, is ashore with no command and nothing to do. When he is offered HMS Elusive and a secret mission, he jumps at the chance to accept. He is bound for the Southern Ocean with secret orders, and his crew encounter storms, murder, and various adventures on the long voyage south. They reach their destination--and the treasure hunt proper begins.
The author knows her ropes when it comes to ships and shipping: the ship-board scenes are accurate and give a real feel of being at sea; her characters are believable--and the action, vigorous.
My only comment is that the edition I received had been incorrectly typeset with double spacing between paragraphs. While this in no way detracted from the story, it did spoil the look of an otherwise superb book--I believe it has now been re-typeset though, so all new editions reach full mainstream quality.
Had Floating Gold not been a republished, previously mainstream novel, I would have made this my editor's choice. HNS rules state books must be newly published, however. So very highly recommended must suffice.

Helen Hollick UK Editor for Indie Published Historical Fiction

HNS Reviewer
[...]
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