Books with author Dr David Starkey

Fiction. Young Adult. In this thrilling sequel to THE NOR'WESTER, Duncan Scott returns to England from Canada to search for his long-lost sister, Libby. Arriving on the Liverpool docks, Duncan learns that his sister's fate has captivated the entire country. He also learns a name: Elizabeth Fry, a prison reformer who helped Libby and who holds the key to her location. But before he can meet Fry and find his sister once and for all, Duncan is kidnapped by a Press Gang in a dockside inn. Forced to take the "King's Shilling," Duncan must serve in the Royal Navy where he once again becomes an unwilling player in the game of Empire. Now on board His Majesty's Ship Cerberus, Duncan meets old friends and makes dangerous enemies. Before Duncan's service ends, he will face deadly cannon fire on the Baltic, and will go on to fight an epic battle with Napoleon's fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, a battle that could very well seal his own destiny, that of his sister Libby, and of the British Empire itself.

In this young reader novel set at the beginning of the 19th century, Libby is placed in chains and transported to London's notorious Newgate Prison after which, in a show trial, she is found guilty of helping her brother escape justice for attacking a Peer of the Realm after he beat her. Her punishment? Death by hanging. But while living in the horrific conditions of Newgate Prison, she is befriended by Elizabeth Fry, a woman who is famous for her work with English prisoners. For reasons Libby doesn't understand she is spared the noose and is imprisoned in a rotten prison ship on the River Thames, where she waits to be transported to Australia. With the help of a new friend, Libby escapes the ship and makes her way to Elizabeth Fry. It is then Libby must make the hardest decision of her life. Does she escape from England or does she risk her life to testify in court about the horrific conditions that women endure in England's prisons? Will Libby choose to flee to safety, or will she find the courage to seek justice for herself and the unfortunate victims locked in England's grim prisons?

Fourteen-year-old Madeline Snow is the star goalie and captain of her girls rep hockey team in Burnaby, British Columbia. So when her RCMP sergeant father moves the family to his new posting in Fort St. James, a remote town in northern BC, she feels like she is losing a lot.In her new town Maddie is more unhappy than ever. Things begin to turn around when she discovers she has made the town's only Bantam team, a boys team called the Stars, but since they have a skilled goalie in Connor Spencer, Maddie wonders if she will ever get to play.When Connor dies in a car accident, Maddie is overwhelmed with sadness and guilt for having thought that only if Connor were hurt would she get to play. But Maddie has become part of the community, and her friends and the natural surroundings in Fort St. James help her to find the focus she needs to fill the net that Connor's death has left empty.