This book is the trials and tribulations, failures and successes of the life of Walter Crofter.
Walter Crofter was born into Elizabethan England.
In a country and a time where favor and politics were both deadly, can an honest boy stay true to himself?
Especially given his family background?
Professional Reviews
Loved This Book! by Charity
An exquisite story, skillfully and perfectly executed!
I felt as though I've personally lived through each and every sword fight, laughing with Walter during the best times and crying with him through the most sorrowful.
This book is so much more than a mere 'romance novel' it's a human novel. Each character has such depth and a realness that is scarce in so many books today. Historical pieces are often very difficult to write but Hartner pulls it off beautifully, causing the reader to momentarily believe that this isn't a work of fiction but a true historical account.
This IS one of the best books I have ever read. I will most certainly be on the lookout for the next one in the series.
Captivating by JustJan
Downloading a book when there is such a brief description, no prior reviewers and an unknown author could be risky. I, Walter, is full of risks and great rewards. The author introduces you to a 67 year old Walter Crofter as he begins to pen his life's story. The reader is instantly charmed and captivated.
This is an action filled story that is told with such clarity that the reader can nearly smell the streets of Elizabethan England: hear the noisy seaport sounds and feel the salty wet winds. The story takes you across oceans and around continents and is full of surprises - some that will elicit tears and others that will churn your stomach and raise bile in your throat. Nothing is predictable. The supporting characters simmer your suspicions and you never truly know who to trust. It is a story that feeds your fears while tugging your heart-strings. Your heart will feel the weight of Maria's hand as she rests it upon Walter's shoulder or mops his fevered brow.
With all the turmoil and truama there is an equal amount of joy. Walter's story is quite a journey and it will linger with you long after the words have gone.
The first in a captivating series about destiny, chivalry and valor by CHanticleer Book Reviews
"I, Walter" is a captivating story of valor and chivalry. This classic grand adventure takes you on the high seas and to exotic ports-of-call during the Elizabethan era when a boy acknowledges that he must change his stars and expand his horizons if he is to live the life that he wants to live--one that is quite different than the one into which he was born.
The narrator is Walter, who at the age of 67 years and possibly dying of malaria - in sixteenth century England- begins his tale of how he, like other boys of that era who lacked social standing, were "earning coin" as soon as they could be put to work to earn money for their family and find food, too.
After his older brother suddenly leaves home without notice, Walter does his best to help his family. But in doing so, he learns the reality of what life has in store for him if he continues down the same path as his father, whom he considers lethargic. He has often felt as if he was born into the wrong family. He decides that he must leave his family (now living in a hovel near London) or succumb to a disappointing life. He decides to take a chance to change his stars. He finds himself in Bristol, where he is commandeered into the Royal Merchant Marines as a lowly sailor. It was then and there that his adventures began.
Young Walter learns how to use the stars to steer the way the ancient mariners did, but he also is taught how to work with the Davis Quadrant, the latest advancement in navigational technology at that time. Meanwhile, the crusty old salts taught him the survival skills that he would need to survive at sea; they took a special interest that the boy could hold his own if their ship was boarded. They teach the young boy to fight with knives, swords, muskets, and cannons. Trading merchant ships, like the one that Walter served on, were hunted by pirates who are always plying the waters in search of booty--making "sayling" a most dangerous endeavor.
Walter narrates his encounters with the scoundrels in a way that makes us feel as if we need to dodge a cutlass or thrust a sword in the heat of a battle. Walter cannot seem to escape the threat of peril even on dry land. A mysterious thin man with a hat pulled down over one eye seems to be following him. And even more dangerous to Walter, he falls in love with the beautiful, but to his heart, unattainable Marie.
Walter engages us with tales of his sea adventures that took him to strange lands and introduced him to new trading goods such as sugar and tobacco along with excellent new wines and exotic spices. As we read Walter's memories, we smell the odors and aromas of foreign markets. We feel his strength and confidence building as he develops into a valiant, but humble, young man.
However, all is not glory and honor. Hartner, the author, also shares the brutishness and indifference of the times in the telling of "I, Walter." The story nuances mature as Walter ages. We experience the travails of life at sea, the treacheries of traveling by land, the comforts of a familiar pub, and love's longing.
This action packed novel is a tale of noble innocence with a most refreshing, charming slant. Romance, adventures, mysteries, rescues, deceptions, along with vivid descriptions make this novel an enjoyable and inspirational read that will leave you wanting more. This reviewer is happy to know that "I, Walter" is the first of the series from Mike Hartner.
Encountering danger, romance, heartache and tragedy, Catherine Merit strives to fit into a world filled with prejudice, hatred and violence where she is forced to kill a man in order to save herself. Third book of the Indignities Series.
Ireland 1947. Seven weeks of relentless snow. Guard Eamon Foley is searching for a missing child.
At Toby Appleyard’s farm, he discovers the kitchen littered with dead cats. And the skeletal remains of a woman. Upstairs, Toby is dead in his bed.
