The Cruise of the Thetis

A chance meeting in Piccadilly brings Jack Singleton back into contact with his school friend Carlos Montijo in July 1894. Jack has worn himself down working in his family's shipbuilding firm and has been advised to take six months away from business. Carlos, recently arrived from Cuba, hints at a scheme that could give Jack a change of scene and an opportunity to test his small submarine. His family's sympathies with Cuban independence make discretion necessary.

Harry Collingwood combines this friendship with the technical concerns of a sea adventure. In a later scene, Jack entertains a Spanish lieutenant aboard a steam yacht while discussing the shallow approach to Mulata Bay. Careful positioning, concealed signals and a sudden engine stoppage turn a polite gathering into a scene of calculated suspense. Readers interested in navigation, ingenious machinery and the Cuban struggle against Spanish rule will find those interests closely joined in this historical novel for younger readers.