I found myself captivated early on by Peacock's portrayal of the era. I really felt as if I was present in the story. However, it's when we arrive at the seagoing portion of the story where Peacock really hits her stride. A very interesting and often disturbing look at what life must have been like on the ships of the 18th century. No thank you, I say!

In all, the story of the three boys...Jemmy, Edward and Louis...makes for very interesting historical fiction. This being the first book in a planned series, I'm looking forward to reading the next installment. A promising debut for this author. ( )

3.5 Stars

A Tainted Dawn, the first novel in a planned trilogy by author B.N. Peacock, is set in England, France, the Caribbean, and on the high seas during the late 18th century, a time of immense political turmoil in Europe. The story follows the lives of three young men, Edward, son of a deceased Royal Navy Captain who wants nothing more than to pursue a career at sea, Jemmy, the son of a carpenter, and Louis, son of well-to-do French tailor who is caught up in revolutionary fervour. While a brief yet volatile meeting between the three men at the outset of the novel seems to be of little import at the time in happens, as Edward, Jemmy and Louis' stories unfold it becomes apparent that their fortuitous encounter will impact each of their lives in ways none of them could have foreseen. Edward and Jemmy's lives once again intersect when they find themselves bound for the Caribbean aboard the same Royal Navy vessel, Edward as an unrated midshipman and Jemmy as the ship's fiddler. Louis, on the other hand, finds himself in Spanish controlled Trinidad, where he seeks to spread the ideas of liberty and equality to other Frenchman. Back in Europe, France is in political and social upheaval, while Britain and Spain once again hover on the brink of war. The Caribbean becomes a focal point for British and Spanish hostilities, with France's possessions favouring Spain. As hostilities reach the breaking point, Edward and Louis' fates collide, and the two men face off against one another not only as enemy combatants, but also as mortal foes.

Alternating between Edward, Jemmy and Louis' stories, A Tainted Dawn paints a vivid portrait of English and French life during the late 18th century. Although the son of a Royal Navy Captain and the grandson of an Admiral, life aboard ship is anything but how Edward imagined it would be. With a Captain that hates him and fellow midshipman who despise him, Edward's life becomes hell. It is Edward's struggles that truly make this novel come alive for the reader. Peacock has a solid understanding of life aboard a Royal Navy vessel, and captures well the harsh treatment that could be meted out by a tyrannical captain and officers that followed his lead. Edward proves to be a strong and resilient young man, not letting his horrible situation get the best of him and, when given the opportunity to flourish on a different ship under a respectable captain, shows that he more than has what it takes to serve. While Edward is a well-drawn character and his story is engaging, those of Jemmy and Louis prove to be less so. Louis, in particular, comes across as one dimensional, and his storyline falls rather flat as there seems to be nothing more to him then his desire to violently overthrow the established order as well as get his revenge on Edward. Although Louis' antagonism towards Edward seems a little contrived considering their one interaction at the start of the book hardly seems the sort of thing to inspire life-long animosity, my interpretation is that Louis views Edward as the very embodiment of the aristocracy he so vehemently disdains. While Louis isn't able to single-handedly bring down the aristocracy, he can bring down Edward and thus it is for this reason he becomes the focus of Louis' attention. While Jemmy and Louis' stories are less engaging than that of Edward's and, as a result, I wasn't as interested in them, I did enjoy the chapters detailing political maneuverings taking place back in Europe as they help to illustrate the foundations of the rising tensions between England, Spain and France and how these were played out in the Caribbean.

Overall, I found A Tainted Dawn to be an entertaining novel. Although the book does contain the odd editorial error, I enjoyed Peacock's writing style, which, by capturing the vernacular of the age in which it is set, helps to create a strong sense of time. I am very much looking forward to reading book two of The Great War trilogy.

Note: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review as part of the A Tainted Dawn Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour. ( )

The book starts with brief encounter of 3 boys: Edward; son of a Navy Captain, Louis; son of a French tailor and Jemmy; son of a carpenter who works as a fiddler. The boys’s lives will intervene later on The Caribbean after all of their lives has changed.

The book is told from the point of view of the 3 boys. My favourite was Edward’s story at a ship his grandfather dropped off. I liked to read about the life at the sea and men there. I didn’t however particularly like Louis so I found his chapters to be most boring ones. At the beginning Louis and Edward meet ends up fighting and Louis hates Edward for the rest of his life. I didn’t see the reason for such hate and it was the only thing besides revolutionary thoughts that drove him.
Jemmy was much more sympathetic character. A poor boy with a drunken father trying to get on with life.

There was some slow going paces but overall it was enjoyable. I liked the to read about the life at the sea most and it was fascinating reading about the relationship between the shipmates. ( )

A Tainted Dawn is about three young boys, Jemmy a fiddler and the son of a carpenter, Edward, son of a sea captain and grandson of a Lord, and finally Louis, son of a French baker. Their paths cross early on in the story. Subsequent chapters focus on their separate stories.

Jemmy runs away from home because he feels that his father cares more for his sister than him. He finds that life aboard ship is not what he expected, so he jumps ship and finds his father and sister. He works with his father doing carpentry work but finds out that his father is a smuggler. His father is hung for his crimes and Jemmy and his sister are on the run.

Edward comes from a wealthy family, his parents have not been together for a long time and when his father dies, he inherits his fathers estate but his grandfather, Admiral Ben Deveare becomes his guardian and sends Edward to sea with no money, no decent clothes. Life aboard ship is harsh for Edward as he tries to acclimate himself to lot in life.

Louis is a young man and a rabblerouser who defies his father and participates in the French rebellion against the English. He is blackmailed by his fathers servant and he loses everything to pay this ruthless man.

This is a maritime historical novel with a backdrop of the French Revolution in vivid detail. It is obvious that the author knows her history. Definitely well researched and it will appeal to the reader who love historical and maritime stories. This is the first book in a trilogy and it will be interesting to follow these three boys into adulthood. ( )

This first novel is a promising start to a nautical-based series set in the tumultuous late 18th century.

While the opening chapter offers a rather clunky introduction of our three leads (to us and each other), Peacock's story smooths out and things feel less contrived and awkward. Noble born Edward Deveare runs off to sea to avoid being shipped off to sea by his hostile and greedy paternal grandfather. Country carpenter Jemmy Sweetman runs off to sea because he hates his gin-drunk father. Wealthy French radical Louis Saulnier ends up at sea after his radical views get him in trouble at home.

Once at sea, all three young men grow up fast, and inevitably, their separate stories eventually connect -- but not after some serious agony and pain. The secondary cast of this book is large, but all rather intriguing, from Edward's dramatic mother to Louis' lace maker mistress to the cruel captain drives Jemmy to desert. I rather wished some of the secondary characters got more time in the book -- but then again I'm always partial to the stories of women.

The best parts of the book are when Peacock paints life at sea. Her descriptions are wonderfully vivid and often shocking, from the pungent scent of life below deck to the horrifying cruelties of Naval discipline and punishment. I often found myself pausing to chew over a scene that was visceral or gave me a historical 'oh, fascinating!' moment. (This whole book made me randomly curious about the development of the modern navy as I was horrified at how the British Navy worked in the 18th century. Paying for meals on a ship?! One's own uniforms?! Laundry?! Everyone drunk?!)

My edition came with a two-page supplement offering family trees of the three main leads as well as a crew list for the ships featured in the story. It was nice to have, although I will say, I had Wiki open so I could ascertain where on the ship people were -- that was more baffling to me than anything else!

My interest in nautical fiction comes from liking Master and Commander (the movie) and having a hot crush on Austen's Captain Wentworth. So needless to say, my knowledge of this genre is thin. I can't say whether the ship-speak and boat bits were accurate or not. As when I read super science-y scifi, I glossed over the super technical bits, but I still enjoyed the ambiance Peacock created and it satisfied my snapping-sails-blue-ocean-wool-uniforms-gritty-realism craving. For those who want hist fic that isn't heavy on romance, this is one for you.

From the end of the story, I'd guess this is the first in a series, and I'm curious to see where our boys end up. This is my second Fireship Press book and I'm impressed with their offerings. If you like nautical fic, take a look at this and their other offerings! ( )