"Collector's Edition, bound in Genuine Leather"; includes the original Easton Press Bookplate for completion and attaching to book (pic); copyright 1997; Illustrated by N.C. Wyeth; The Easton Press publishers, Norwalk, Connecticut; excellent condition with wonderful illustrations; spine with raised bands; burgundy leather boards with vivid gilt lettering and design; a beautiful Collector's Edition book.
 
description -
Westward Ho! is an 1855 historical novel written by British author Charles Kingsley. The novel was based on the experiences of Elizabethan privateer Amyas Preston (Amyas Leigh in the novel), who sets sail with Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and other privateers to the New World, namely the Preston Somers Expedition and Raleigh's El Dorado Expedition where they battle with the Spanish.
 
The title of the book derives from the traditional call of boat-taxis on the River Thames, which would call "Eastward ho!" and "Westward ho!" to show their destination. "Ho!" is an interjection or a call to attract passengers, without a specific meaning besides "hey!" or "come!"
 
plot -
Set initially in Bideford in North Devon during the reign of Elizabeth I, Westward Ho! follows the adventures of Amyas Leigh (Amyas Preston), an unruly child who as a young man follows Francis Drake to sea. Amyas loves local beauty Rose Salterne, as does nearly everyone else; much of the novel involves the kidnapping of Rose by a Spaniard.
 
Amyas spends time in the Caribbean coasts of Venezuela seeking gold, and eventually returns to England at the time of the Spanish Armada, finding his true love, the beautiful Indian maiden Ayacanora, in the process; yet fate had blundered and brought misfortune into Amyas's life, for not only had he been blinded by a freak bolt of lightning at sea, but he also loses his brother Frank Leigh and Rose Salterne, who were caught by the Spaniards and burnt at the stake by the Inquisition.