Hard cover book. Martin Hyde “The Dukes Messenger” Author: John Masefield Publisher: Wells Gardner Darton & Co Date: 1928 to 1949 Further Information: Blue Cloth hardcover with lettering and patterning to spine in black. Publisher Logo to front cover with title & authors name. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.fictionMartin Hyde, the Duke's Messenger is a historical novel set in the late 17th century, following a young boy named Martin Hyde as he moves from a carefree childhood in rural Suffolk into a web of intrigue in London. Orphaned young, Martin goes to live with his uncle in London, where he becomes tangled up in royal conspiracies and secret missions. After his father's death in 1685, the 12-year-old goes to live with his uncle and eventually becomes messenger for James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, as Monmouth tries to build support for his claim to the English throne after the death of Charles II. It's often compared to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island or Kidnapped a boy's-own adventure that takes Martin overseas and eventually back to England to take part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, with a rival working for the Crown whom he has to outwit. A reviewer also notes a small, restrained love-story thread Martin's messenger rival turns out to be a girl in disguise which nudges the book slightly outside the standard boys'-adventure genre of its era.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, martin hyde the dukes messenger, john masefield, book, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library

Hard cover book. The Bird of Dawning Author: John Masefield Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd Date: 1933 to 1939 Further Information: Blue Cloth hardcover with lettering and patterning to spine in gilt. Front cover with title & authors name in gilt. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.fictionThe Bird of Dawning (1933) is a sea-adventure novel about the clipper ship Black gauntlet, which is racing home from China to London when she's struck at night by a passing steamer. Only about half the crew sixteen men escape into a lifeboat before she goes down. The 22-year-old second mate, Cruiser Trewsbury, takes command of the survivors and leads them on a roughly 700-mile open-boat voyage to the island of Fayal in the Azores, fighting sharks, dwindling water and food, a leaking boat, and the threat of mutiny along the way. Partway through, the survivors come across an abandoned, dismasted clipper still afloat and Cruiser gets the chance to jury-rig her and sail her home himself, turning survival into a race against time.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, martin hyde the dukes messenger, john masefield, book, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, pattison collection, warrnambool library, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library