Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
Indeed, this book introduces critical characters, and a great deal about the difference between Jack ashore and Jack at sea. We've still a couple of important characters to find their way to us, but this book is, in many ways, the first book in the series, with Master and Commander almost a prequel.
It also starts in on giving us a feel for the England of the time. The whole question of debtor's prison being something that North American's don't quite get.
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As an American I must admit I don't quite get it. How could you make any money to repay your debts if you were in prison? I heard a story on NPR a while back about places in the modern US where people get sentenced to jail because they couldn't pay a court-ordered fee for some minor offense - again, how will they ever be able to pay if they're in jail?