title: The Resolute Heart - Historical Young Adult Book
author: Hale, Beatrice Ann; Hale, Beatrice
description: SYNOPSIS The Resolute Heart It is late July 1805. Britain needs more sailors for the Royal Navy. In a small village in the Kingdom of Fife, 18 year old Mary Watson sees her new husband, Harry seized by the Press Gang into the Royal Navy. During the general tussle, a piece of parchment falls from the cloak of Setton , the Press-Gang captain. Mary grabs it, but is unable to read it later because the words are French. Mary decides to follow Harry. She takes the stagecoach to Edinburgh, hoping to help release him. Setton follows her to rescue the parchment, but fails. She cannot find Harry and decides to follow the press-ganged men to London.. The innkeeper gallops with her to catch the London coach, and recommends she stay at the Limehouse Inn, giving her a message to its innkeeper. Also a passenger is Ewan Cameron, an undercover government, who overhears her plans and thinks she might be able to watch for disaffected men on her husband’s boat. In London, Cameron and Jem, the London innkeeper, try to recruit her to spy for the Government. Cameron will be Lieutenant on Harry’s boat, and will maintain contact. She refuses, and walks off towards the dockyards to find the boat. The local women attack her, fearing her as a rival but she is rescued by Setton , to her horror, who drags her away. She fights and struggles with him, but luckily, Betty, a Scot, hears her screaming, recognises her accent and mobilizes the women to rescue her. Betty then takes her to find Harry’s boat, and helps her with a disguise and to embark on the same boat. Harry is overjoyed to see her. Once on board, Mary becomes assistant to the surgeon. While nursing, she receives further intelligence as does Harry. They report to Cameron. They find Setton also on board. He tries to flirt with Mary, and then to force loyalty from her. She pretends to play along. He holds her hostage while he rouses a group of mutineers and tries to take over the ship. The mutineers fight with the loyalists, and Setton drags Mary down to the lower decks, with a pistol in her ribs, threatening to kill her. The mutineers are defeated, but Mary is still held hostage. Harry rescues her. The Battle of Trafalgar begins.