The Blighted Cliffs - Hardcover

Martin Jerrold is a lieutenant in the Royal Navy - the year is 1806 - and as he disgraced himself earlier at Trafalgar (lying drunk in the hold), he has been posted to a cutter called Orestes at Dover, under the command of Captain Crawlet, to catch smugglers. However, before joining, he gets drunk and is discovered with an unknown corpse at the bottom of the cliffs. The magistrate wants to hang him, but Captain Crawlet intervenes. Jerrold learns from his uncle at the admiralty that he has two weeks only to save his skin. A splendid 19th century adventure, no doubt the first of many, which is truly an exciting tale.

This is the first part of an adventure series written in the tradition of "Flashman". The key character is a naval cad called Martin Jerrold who behaves in a manner unbecoming to a person of his station.