Roger Willoughby, A Story of the Times of Benbow, by W.H.G. Kingston.
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Sadly, this was the last book Kingston wrote. He was diagnosed with a
rapid fatal illness while he was writing it, and he used the opportunity
of bidding his young readers farewell in the Preface.
There is a lot of action in the book, from encounters with the Barbary
Pirates in what is now called Morocco, to military goings-on in Somerset
and Dorset, to trials by Jeffreys, the Chief Justice (or Injustice might
be a better name). It's just a little bit confusing! An example of how
confusing is that there's a ship called Benbow, and a couple of chaps of
that name as well. We have tried to sort out some inconsistencies in
spelling, for example Axminster and Axeminster, Tregellen and Treleggen,
but I think few of us would do any better if we were trying to finish a
book in the few remaining days of our life.
It's not a long book, and not a short one, either. About ten hours to
read aloud.
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