Beauvallet

by Georgette Heyer

"Beauvallet" by Georgette Heyer is an adventure novel published in 1929. Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, a daring Elizabethan pirate known as "Mad Nick," plunders Spanish ships with the Queen's blessing. After capturing a galleon carrying the proud Doña Dominica, he vows to return and claim her as his bride. Disguised as a Frenchman, he ventures into hostile Catholic Spain to win her—but must outwit jealous suitors, suspicious ambassadors, and the deadly Inquisition to escape with his chosen love.