The Blockade Runners

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This classic tale of adventure from Jules Verne links the bustling docks of 19th century Glasgow with the turbulence of the American Civil War.

During the American Civil War sea blockade, Scottish merchant James Playfair hatches a scheme to sail across the Atlantic, smuggling weapons to the Confederates in exchange for cotton. His mission is put at risk when Jenny, the daughter of an abolitionist, is discovered on board. Will he risk everything to save her father, a prisoner of the Confederates?

Torn between his desire for a successful mission and his growing love for Jenny, James must choose his allegiances carefully. Blockade runners in the American Civil War, like James Playfair’s Dolphin, were ships that risked the Unionist blockade to trade in the Confederate ports. As the Unionist forces were trying to stop all overseas commerce for the Confederates, the potential profit for those who evaded the blockade was a great temptation for some merchants, regardless of their political views.

Reviews

The Blockade Runners is a superbly constructed novella. IAN THOMPSON

The Blockade Runners belongs to the period when the inspiration of the author was growing in power. CHRISTIAN ROBIN, Verne Scholar

Verne's is a tale of love and honour that also manages to concern itself with the abolition of slavery, though with the lightest of touches. It rockets along, aided by Karen Loukes's clean-limbed translation. THE GUARDIAN

This lively work… cuts a steam-powered dash through the Atlantic waves. THE GUARDIAN

JULES VERNE (1828-1905), French writer and pioneer of science fiction, whose best known works today are Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France. His parents were of a seafaring tradition, a factor which influenced his writings. As a boy, Jules Verne ran off to be a cabin boy on a merchant ship, but he was caught and returned to his parents. In 1847, Jules was sent to study law in Paris. Later in 1850, Jules Verne's first play was published. His father was outraged when he heard that Jules was not going to continue law and discontinued the money he was giving him to pay for his expenses in Paris. This forced Verne to make money by selling his stories.