Moonfleet

<p><I>Moonfleet</I> (1898) is an adventure novel by J. Meade Falkner. Largely forgotten by today¿s readers, Falkner was more widely known in his lifetime for his nonfiction works on history and topography as well as his role as chairman of a major arms manufacturer. Far from the amateur musings of a bored millionaire, Falkner¿s writing shows a mastery of genre fiction while benefitting from his extensive geographical knowledge. <I>Moonfleet</I> has been adapted several times for radio, television, and film, most notably for Fritz Lang¿s 1955 feature of the same name. ¿When I was a child I thought that this place was called Moonfleet, because on a still night, whether in summer, or in winter frosts, the moon shone very brightly on the lagoon; but learned afterwards that ''twas but short for ''Mohune-fleet'', from the Mohunes, a great family who were once lords of all these parts.¿ Growing up in Moonfleet, young John Trenchard couldn¿t help but hear the legends of the powerful Mohune fam