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For Want of a Shilling: A New Zealand Historical Novel of Naval Adventure and Political Intrigue
Hardcover
Series: Moana Rangitira, Book 2
Mystery & ThrillerHistorical Fiction
ISBN13: 9780473424558
Publisher: Mellester Press
Published: Jan 21 2018
Pages: 420
Weight: 1.47
Height: 1.06 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
A secret Russian warship. A defenceless colony. The forgotten countdown to a Pacific invasion.
London, 1868. British Prime Minister William Gladstone makes a chilling prediction: New Zealand's massive gold rushes, rich coal fields, and agricultural resources have made the remote colony a prime target for envious nations. To cut costs, Britain is withdrawing her troops-leaving the young territory completely exposed.
Saint Petersburg, 1872. High within the ranks of the Imperial Russian Navy, a shadow plot takes shape. Inspired by the devastating commerce-raiding tactics of the American Confederate Navy, Prince Alexei and Admiral Romanov deploy Russia's most advanced ironclad frigate, the Petropavlovsk, on a covert mission to the bottom of the world. Their objective: map the defences of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington for an impending invasion.
Wellington, 1873. Under the cover of a violent southern storm, the massive steel-sided predator slips undetected into the Cook Strait. But when a ruthless marine sniper pulls a trigger on a dark gravel beach, a quiet reconnaissance mission explodes into a fatal international incident. As blood spills on the shores of Owhiro Bay, the fate of a fledgling nation hangs on a knife-edge. Can a colony with no navy defend itself against a global superpower?
Based on the fascinating, historically factual Russian Scare era of the late 19th century, For Want of a Shilling is a gripping historical thriller packed with authentic naval tactics, political intrigue, and boots-on-the-ground military suspense. The Russian Scare of the 1870s is a documented chapter of New Zealand's colonial history. Parliamentary debates, naval intelligence reports, and coastal fortification records confirm that the threat was taken seriously at the highest levels of government. For Want of a Shilling brings this forgotten crisis vividly to life.
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