A Master of Fortune

A Master of Fortune is an adventure novel by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne first published in 1901. The novel follows a hard-driving ship’s captain through perilous jobs on restless oceans.

The episodes chart a series of high-risk enterprises where the protagonist’s iron discipline and audacity secure survival through nerve and strategy. Each voyage tightens the screws: crews mutiny, cargoes vanish, and fortunes pivot on a bold bluff or a well-timed broadside.

Beneath the action beats a portrait of ambition, moral ambiguity, and the price of command. Deals cut at midnight and oaths sworn at dawn reveal a trade where law is elastic and reputation is currency, while the story’s late-imperial settings reflect the rough edges of global commerce and the hazards faced by those who profit from it.

Hyne’s brisk prose and nautical detail deliver fast pacing, vivid set pieces, and authentic sea craft. The novel’s taut, episodic structure makes each chapter a fresh trial of wits and weather, offering classic high-seas thrills for readers who enjoy iron-clad resolve, clever tactics, and the relentless pull of fortune.

"'The pay is small enough,' said Captain Kettle, staring at the blue paper. 'It's a bit hard for a man of my age and experience to come down to a job like piloting, on eight pound a month and my grub.'"