Lawlor, Laurie. Dead Reckoning: A Pirate Voyage With Captain Drake.LAWLOR, Laurie. Dead reckoning dead reckoning: see navigation. ; a pirate voyage with Captain Drake. Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. . 272p. map. c2005. 0-689-86577-5. $15.95. JS Students may have some vague knowledge of Sir Francis Drake from the history of exploration curriculum, but they may be surprised to find out what a scoundrel SCOUNDREL. An opprobrious title given to a person of bad character. General damages will not lie for calling a man a scoundrel, but special damages may be recovered when there has been an actual loss. 2 Bouv: Inst. n. 2250; 1 Chit. Pr. 44. he was. Lawlor bases this historical fiction on the actual voyage of the Golden Hind Golden Hind ship on which Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596) became the first Englishman to sail around the world. [Br. Hist.: EB (1963) VII, 575] See : Exploration from 1577-1580, though many of the firsthand journals and charts have been edited or lost because the voyage was officially secret. Drake attacked Spanish ships and colonies wherever he found them, essentially becoming a pirate who tortured prisoners for gold. Lawlor portrays Drake as a greedy man who craved riches above all else. If he could use the Queen (Elizabeth I) and his country's enmity for Spain in this pursuit of wealth, so be it. The sympathetic protagonist is Drake's young cousin Emmet, who is part of the voyage, but generally an innocent who is horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. by the violence around him. He is highly educated, actually, and has grown up in protected surroundings, so the fighting, the bullying, the lies and power plays astound a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, him. There are vivid descriptions of the ship, the sea, and the lands visited; much of this is truly an unknown world to the British seamen, and their ignorant reactions to all they encounter are dismaying. After a series of deaths, even Emmet runs amuck a·muck also a·mok adv. 1. In a frenzy to do violence or kill: rioters running amuck in the streets. 2. burning and looting a native village; his conscience haunts him, however, to the extent that he gives up any claim he may have to the treasure Drake has stolen and instead abandons ship to try to survive in the new world, rejecting Drake and his piracy. This is darker than most YA fiction, but highly realistic; it will certainly appeal to YAs who like realistic historical fiction, especially sea adventures. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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