What is so intriguing about Broos Campbell’s No Quarter, the first book of his Matty Graves series, is that while it follows the general conventions of Georgian naval fiction, it is remarkably original in setting, character and outlook. Campbell has chosen a fascinating and often overlooked period of history - the “Quasi-war” between the young American republic and the French - a time of shifting alliances when it is not always easy to tell friend from foe both internationally and within the fledgling Navy.
Matty Graves is a seventeen year old master’s mate aboard the U.S. Navy’s armed schooner Rattle-Snake. The novel opens on the day after Christmas, 1799. George Washington’s funeral procession is passing through the streets of Baltimore, from which the Rattle-Snake is preparing to sail. It is a moment of tremendous change for the young nation and its navy, leaving Matty Graves to navigate the shoals of ambiguity and uncertainty that constantly shift around him.
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