The Wednesday Book

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY By John Boyne DOUBLEDAY, Pounds 12.99 Order for Pounds 11.69 (free p&p) on 0870 079 8897

John Jacob Turnstile, the narrator of this enthralling novel, is aged 14 and on his first sea voyage. But resemblances to other popular navy yarns set in the 18th century end there. For John is both a pickpocket and the orphan survivor of a brutal male brothel in Portsmouth.

Once on board the Bounty, he is frequently, in his own words, "at tug" after experiencing "the motions". The sexual undertow of life in the Royal Navy in any age is still regularly blanked out in stories set on the high seas. There is no danger of that happening here. An extra reason for such ...