Professor Emeritus, Memorial University - Dr. Don Nichol
“Derek Yetman delivers his latest historical thriller at a brisk pace with great clarity and dedication—as if he were raised in Admiralty House on a diet of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower.
The shores of 18th-century Newfoundland provide the backdrop for the third Jonah Squibb novel. Having risen heroically in the Battle of St. John's in 1762 and returned from the Beothuk expedition six years later, he is called upon in 1780 to defend his island against predators from the south and French invaders during the American Revolutionary War. Supplies in St. John's are low, desertion is high, and dysfunction runs rampant.
Long grieving over the death of his wife and alienated from his stepson, Squibb finds himself drawn into personal, romantic and naval entanglements. Intermingling with actual historical figures like Richard Edwards (twice Governor of Newfoundland) and George Keppel (whose name survives in an island off the Northern Peninsula), Squibb has to navigate the trickiest of coastlines.
Flying by the seat of his breeches, resources stretched to the max, Squibb (once midshipman, now commander) is exactly the sort of resourceful Jack Tar anyone would want in a pinch. As a lad he was taught cartography by the master himself, Captain James Cook, but will that be enough?
Yetman poses some hard questions on the nature of treachery and maintains a masterful grasp on the myriad intricacies of naval conflict. A compelling yarn, with a climax sure to shiver all timbers, The Yankee Privateer highlights the extreme dangers our ancestors faced in setting up and securing a safe place in the new world.”
Author of Such Miracles and Mischiefs - Trudy J. Morgan-Cole
"In The Yankee Privateer, Derek Yetman brings to life a slice of Newfoundland history most of us know little about: the role of this island and its ships and sailors in the American Revolutionary War. Life at sea and on land in the 1780s is depicted with such vivid detail, you'll almost be able to hear wind in the sails and feel the salt spray on your face. A novel as engaging as it is illuminating."
