Sam fights in a fierce battle against the Danish Fleet, led by none other than Admiral Nelson himself, and against all odds victory is theirs. Peace is declared and Britain's war with most of Northern Europe is over. Sam can go home. But on the journey back, he witnesses a crime, for which he is framed. He is sentenced to death, but at the last minute this sentence is commuted to transportation to Australia. With petty thieves, vicious criminals, women and other children, Sam begins an eight month journey to the other side of the world, and a life of slavery in the harsh Australian interior. He knows that, against all odds, he must escape.

Thirteen-year-old Sam endures harsh conditions, battles, and a shipwreck after being pressed into service aboard the HMS Miranda during the Napoleonic Wars.

Albert is a happy-go-lucky Philippine-born sailor who joins the United States Navy to see the world and enjoy wine, women, and songhopefully in every port. When he meets Sheila, an irresistible blonde, while docked in Boston, it is not long before she takes his virginity and his heart. Sheila, who loves reading and writing poetry, seems the perfect match for Albert, who has dreams of becoming a naval officer. She finds him warm and affectionate. He finds her beautiful and caring. But shortly after they fall in love, Alberts ship departs on a six-month Mediterranean cruise. As their relationship is tested by the distance, temptations lure Albert, and soon he is unable to resist his attraction to attractive women. Meanwhile, as Sheila patiently waits for him back home, she begins to grow lonelier by the day and wonders whether he will forget her. But after she receives a letter from her long-lost marine boyfriend and Albert returns home, Sheila is left with a decision that has the potential to change everything. In this tale of love gained and lost, a young sailor sets out on a journey of self-discovery, where he learns about himself, his dreams, and what he wants for his future.

"Throughout his long career, Henri Matisse (1869-1954) continually expanded the boundaries of his art. By repeating images in pairs, trios, and series, he conducted an ongoing dialogue with his earlier works in order to, as he put it, "push further and deeper into true painting." In this fresh approach to a much-studied artist, prominent scholars from the United States and Europe examine more than sixty works in concise chapters that focus on this aspect of Matisse's working process. From early pairs such as Young Sailor I and II (1906) and Le Lexe I and II (1907-8) through a series of late studio scenes from Vence (1946-48), Matisse is shown revisiting a given theme with the aim of devising innovative, often radical, solutions to such problems as how to portray light, handle paint, select colors, and manipulate perspective. New technical studies of the early paired works and photographs documenting the evolution of his later paintings help to elucidate Matisse's complex evolution. In numerous excerpts from letters and interviews, he is revealed as an artist who regularly questioned himself and his methods, a man of powerful intellect who regarded each new painting as an adventure. A significant addition to art historical literature, Matisse: In Search of True Painting is a revelatory study of a seminal figure in 20th-century modernism."--Page 4 of cover.