Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Preseli Press Ltd
Pub date: 5 August 2020
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

1564: Devon sailor Francis Drake sets out on a journey of adventure.

Drake learns of routes used to transport Spanish silver and gold, and risks his life in an audacious plan to steal a fortune.

Queen Elizabeth is intrigued by Drake and secretly encourages his piracy. Her unlikely champion becomes a national hero, sailing around the world in the Golden Hind and attacking the Spanish fleet.

King Philip of Spain has enough of Drake’s plunder and orders an armada to threaten the future of England.

As a huge fan of Tony Riches I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book.

Sir Francis Drake is known by all for his round the world travel and his actions during the Spanish Armada but prior to reading this that’s all I knew.

Riches delves in to Drake’s early life to uncover how he came from a humble background to be a sailor, a Knight and eventually Admiral and one of the wealthiest men in England through his ventures across the oceans.

I loved finding out more about Drake, his adventures and his family. The story is told from Drake’s viewpoint which I found incredibly interesting especially his views on slave trading and his interactions with island natives. Riches has used his research to shine a light on Drake and his involvement in a number of key events.

I was fascinated to read about his relationship with Queen Elizabeth and her advisors Cecil and Walsingham. Walter Raleigh also has a brief mention, an individual I would love to learn more about.

Riches has a way of portraying history in a manner that is highly engaging. I could not put this book down. The descriptives of those treacherous sea journeys where often Drake was faced with disaster, danger and heartbreak were so vivid I had a tear in my eye on more than one occasion.

For those who would like to learn more about Drake or have an interest in this era I definitely recommend giving Drake a read.

As you can see from the title this is book one in a series and I am so excited for the rest of the series to come!

Drake is currently available on ebook or paperbook on Amazon

For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches

If you would like to read my Guest Post with Tony you can find it here

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