Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian.
"She is barely remembered today, but in her time the Macedonian was recognized the world over as the most important prize of war ever taken by the American Navy-a distinction she holds to this day." This reads James Tertius de Kay's thesis in his novel, Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian, which the American Heritage describes as "Engrossing with energy, high good humor, and an engaging familiarity with the various characters who animate De Kay's tale." Written more like an adventure story than a historical novel, De Kay's vivid storytelling skills are highly praised in his nonfiction work. De Kay weaves a riveting yet accurate history of the Macedonian, from her first launch by the British in 1810, to her capture by the U.S. in the War of 1812, and finally, to her death in 1922, when the last of her remains perished in a fire.
The novel starts out interestingly with the Macedonian's birth in 1809, when her maker, Edward Sison, examined her layout, and then began building her using scarce imported oak from Poland and Russia. More than a year after Sison first approved of her layout, the Macedonian was launched. Her first captain was Lord Fitzroy, who is described as "bloody-minded and petty, exclusively thin-skinned, and a man of profound self-delusion." He was also snobby and sadistic to a certain degree; one acount describes him ordering a drunken sailor forty-eight blows (four times the allowed amount), beating the poor man to unconciousness. After being dismissed for illegally trying to get money, FitzRoy was replaced by another captain, John Carden. De Kay obviously has done his homework in researching the Macedonian, because he goes on to describe Carden, in full detail, as a "thin, aesthetic type His face was enigmatic, with narrow lips, heavy-lidded eyes." De Kay goes on to depict what Carden is wearing on his first day as captain.
