The Ship's Carpenter – A Historical Novel of Love, War, and a Renowned Frigate

The Ship's Carpenter
226 Pages
ISBN 978-1-61179-347-5

In the mid-1700s, Abraham, a young English shipwright, sails to France to find permanent employment after he lost his job in England. In Brest, the naval shipyard hires him and he meets Yvette, his lover. When the War of Austrian Succession begins, Abraham's nationality forces him onto adventurous paths at sea in service of the Royal Navy.

Abraham crosses paths with historical characters as they experience sea battles, cruelty, and bravery, voyaging from the coasts of France to the Citadel of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, and Boston. All the while in London, Yvette must struggle with biases, the Jacobite Revolt, and religious persecution.

Sea battles, dramatic escapes, and heroic and villainous deeds follow as Abraham and Yvette's lives swing between despair and happiness while a frigate, la Renommée, links the ardent lovers and historical warriors in its wake. In the end, the climactic Battle of Quiberon Bay changes the course of the lives of all.

David Stockman

About David Stockman (Chicago, Illinois Author)

David Stockman

David Stockman grew up roaming the woods and fields in Ohio. His fossil hunting, scouting, pet reptiles, and reading provided direction for a lifelong interest in history and science. Tales of adventure by writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Cervantes, Azimov, Joseph Conrad, and Frank Buck, led his imagination to lands and times far from his Midwest home. As an adult, travel enabled him to explore the relics of ancient empires and modern cities adding more historical perspectives to his life.

After high school, David served as a Russian translator for the military. When he graduated from college with a degree in art, David turned to painting award-winning pictures and the graphic arts. In and near Chicago, his profession carried him from publication printing of periodicals such as National Geographic and Playboy magazines, to book publishing for imprints of Simon & Schuster, Harcourt Brace & Co., and Pearson Education, and eventually to writing, first for an e-magazine and trade journals, and then novels.

His current book series, Tween Sea and Shore, follows the adventures of noted historical and fictional characters linked to a frigate, la Renommée. The French ship’s story, researched by the author for over a decade, uncovered remarkable connections among people in the mid-1700s. David unveils their story beginning with his debut book, The Ship’s Carpenter. He and his wife Valerie currently live near Chicago, with children and grandchildren scattered around the Midwest.