{"product_id":"9780993336904","title":"A Shilling on Good Friday: VOLUME ONE: A Lesson Learnt","description":"\u003cp\u003eA novel based on the short, eventful and tragic life of Englishman William Reynolds as it unfolds against that of Prussian immigrant to the USA, George Atzerodt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the death of his father in Gosport’s Haslar Hospital in 1853, a seafaring uncle exerts a paternalistic influence upon the young William Reynolds, deviously arranging his entry into the Royal Navy. This was much against his will since William’s ambition was to become a soldier.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRaised by his widowed mother and grandmother, Reynolds’ story shifts from the Hampshire village of Forton – and the kindly Parson Veck – to the boisterous streets of Portsmouth. Come 1862 and while attached to the Navy’s North America and West Indies Station, the disillusioned naval rating finds himself and his ship – the gunvessel HMS \u003cem\u003eCygnet\u003c\/em\u003e – moored in Halifax harbour, Nova Scotia. After an abortive attempt to jump ship he is sent ashore to spend four weeks confined in the grim, local penitentiary. Yet it is here, with the connivance of others, that a plan is hatched to desert the \u003cem\u003eCygnet\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen that plan is successfully executed, shortly after returning to his ship from the penitentiary, Reynolds makes his way south, eventually arriving in the city of Baltimore. Here, in the Civil War-torn United States, he seeks a new beginning and realisation of his wish to become a soldier…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A thrilling adventure story in the tradition of great British storytellers.’ – Edward Steers Jr., American historian and author of \u003cem\u003eBlood On The Moon \u003c\/em\u003e(the University Press of Kentucky 2001) and \u003cem\u003eThe Lincoln Assassination Encyclopaedia \u003c\/em\u003e(Harper Perennial 2010)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Amolibros","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49972162560240,"sku":"9780993336904","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780993336904","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}