Publisher's Synopsis
Recounts the unusual whirlwind romance that springs up between narrator Hugh and the lovely Danish heroine Helga, whom he first encounters when she has disguised herself as a boy in order to secure safe passage on a ship.William Clark Russell (24 February 1844 - 8 November 1911) was an English writer best known for his nautical novels.At the age of 13 Russell joined the United Kingdom's Merchant Navy, serving for eight years. The hardships of life at sea damaged his health permanently, but provided him with material for a career as a writer. He wrote short stories, press articles, historical essays, biographies and a book of verse, but was known best for his novels, most of which were about life at sea. He maintained a simultaneous career as a journalist, principally as a columnist on nautical subjects for The Daily Telegraph.Russell campaigned for better conditions for merchant seamen, and his work influenced reforms approved by Parliament to prevent unscrupulous ship-owners from exploiting their crews. His influence in this respect was acknowledged by the future King George V. Among Russell's contemporary admirers were Herman Melville, Algernon Swinburne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
