Deeds That Won the Empire

On a moonless night off Cape St. Vincent, fifteen British warships glide through the haze as distant guns sound from the dark. By dawn, Sir John Jervis will face a Spanish fleet nearly twice his size—and the fate of Britain’s command of the sea may hang on what he does next.

W. H. Fitchett’s late-nineteenth-century collection brings readers into the battles that shaped the British Empire, beginning in 1797, when Spain and France threatened to sweep the Channel with an overwhelming fleet. Against twenty-seven Spanish ships, Jervis has only fifteen; nearby French forces could leave his squadron trapped between two enemies. Yet his sailors are ready, and Nelson is among the bold commanders at his side. As the fog lifts, a gap opens in the enemy line—and Jervis must seize the moment before it closes. Can nerve and seamanship overcome such impossible odds?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.