The Diamond King (2002) (edit title/settings)

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Alex Leslie: Formerly a Scottish lord, now a pirate who calls himself Will Malfour. He has outfitted a ship, gathered a crew and a First Mate, and is heading for Brazil where he has heard there are really good diamonds to be bought before they are sent to India as Indian diamonds. Alex was severely injured in Scotland, leaving him with a terrible scar on his face and a lame leg. He would like to think he is now cold-hearted after all he has seen of death on the battlefield, but his heart aches for children and those who need help.
• Jeanette Campbell (Jenna): Jenna has been sent to Barbados by her family, to marry an unknown man. This is because the family has always felt that the large birthmark on her arm was a "sign of the devil" and would never allow her to marry. Thus, Jenna kept to herself over her lifetime. Now, though, the ship she is traveling on, the Charlotte, was captured by a pirate - Will Malfour/Alex Lesie - and all the passengers were taken. The Charlotte was brought to Martinique, where Alex wanted to sell it. But Jenna needed her best acting abilities - which she'd never used - to get them both out of there. Jenna's strength, willingness to do anything for others, her uniqueness, all began to endear her to Alex, against his wishes.
• Burke: There wasn't any other name give to this man, but he was a "fellow thief" to Alex at the beginning of the story when Alex was finding homes with refugee Scottish families in France for the ten children he'd saved, and Burke stayed with him as part of the ship's crew on the Ami when Alex became a pirate. Later, there was a romance included!
• Meg: Again I found no last name for Meg, but she was 11 and a child who was rescued by Alex during the awful time after the battle of Culloden in Scotland. She'd witnessed her mother dying, then braved many things just to remain with Alex, including stowing away on a ship her captained, making much trouble for him.
• Robin: Robin was also one of the rescued children and was always with Meg, caring for her, teaching her, worrying about her. He would have been a marquis had Scotland not had its problems, but his family's lands and titles were stripped from his father. He and Meg figured heavily throughout this book, showing more and more how tender hearted Alex was.
• Claude Torbeau: First Mate on the Ami with Alex, he was taken on in Paris when Alex had decided to captain the ship. Claude helped them find the cannons they needed and knew of men who would join them as crew. Although he was the epitome of obedience to his captain, he was "used" a few times when Jenna put her plans into action.

Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• Scotland: Briefly, there is a description of Alex and Burke taking the ten saved Scottish children to France, escaping the soldiers of the British Duke of Cumberland.Also, there is a chapter describing Jeanette Campbell's father and mother arranging for her to marry David Murray in Barbados, a man Jenna had never met.
• Paris, France: Where Alex makes arrangements to captain a ship, hire a crew and take leave of the children he'd saved and found homes for.
• At sea: Most of this story takes place on the Ami, a ship that Alex captains in order to reach Brazil where there are reported to be diamonds of wonderful quality that can be bought from "certain people" before they can be sent to India for the open market.
• Martinique: On this island, the Governor plays a large part in this story. This is the first stop for the Ami because Alex wants to sell the Charlotte and continue on to Brazil.
• Brazil, near Vitoria: This was the destination of the Ami, where Alex hoped to negotiate for diamonds in order to fund life for the children he'd saved and to get him to the new land called America, where he hoped to live in such a ways as to avoid being hung by the British. What occurred in the jungles of Brazil was terrifying at times.
• New Orleans

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Heart Queen.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Patricia Potter (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.54

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary