With Cochrane the Dauntless

by G. A. Henty

First published 1897

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2.5(5)

The novel follows a young English adventurer into the naval war for Chilean independence, where Lord Cochrane is building a fleet capable of challenging Spanish control along the Pacific coast. Service under Cochrane means blockade, cutting-out expeditions, difficult coastal navigation and attacks in which audacity is often expected to compensate for limited ships and supplies.

The fictional hero’s fortunes develop alongside Cochrane’s real campaigns after 1818. Naval action, political rivalry and the uncertain discipline of a new national fleet make independence more than a sequence of victories, showing how difficult it is to convert rebellion into durable control of ports, ships and communications.