Wild Rover No More Review

We have come to the end of the line as Meyer presents the last adventure of the cork-like Jacky Faber. But will her fate end at the gallows as she so direly predicted back when she was a young street urchin in London?

Since we last left her, Jaimy had left thanks to Clarissa’s machinations so Jacky has sworn off men forever to focus on her true love, the sea and turning her business to an empire. Yes, it with a sad and hardened heart she does but not so hard she doesn’t feel murderous fury to one Clarissa Worthington Howe. But it is not to be for Jaimy returns one last time to break into Jacky’s peace and have a final explosive confrentation where anger turns to sweet romantic tension.

But the close kiss is interrupted by the warning that Jacky has federal officials after her arrest. What for (this time)? Flashby has crudely framed her for treason against the U.S. so she must flee into the ocean without her Jaimy Fletcher while her friends try varied ways to see that her name is clear.

So she heads across the coast to Plymouth Town where she finds cover as a governess. A governess from hell for one rambunctious Edgar Polk in particular. It is quite fun to see Jacky play at Mary Poppins and just like that famous nanny, she is able to set even the most wild of kids to rights with a bit of British inguenity and imagination.

But as this is the last adventure, Meyer packs in quite a bit for Jacky to deal with besides nannying. Like running away to the circus as we all know it would come to someday for Jacky. As you can imagine, she fits right in as Russian arelist and fan-dancer. Yep, still the exhibitionist she is as she helps turn the failing circus around by buying it (yes Faber Shipping now owns an elephant, she’s very enterprising), helping bring midways to America and narrowling escaping several hostage attempts on her poor self.

But to say more than that would be a massive spoiler for Jacky does meet her final fate here and Meyer does a heart-rendering job in depicting the hopelessness of the situation as Jacky listens to the sound of workers creating her gallows from her chained spot in the cell as well as Amy’s inconsolable journal entries.

I would think it not a spoiler to say that she makes it out for that’s how our dear Jacky goes, always popping back up like cork but you must read and guess for yourself how she wriggles out of death this time. For the story takes greta pains to remind us readers that she has faced death in the eye nine times at least. And we all know a cat only has nine, can she spare another?

Meyer does a good job in keeping the story straight and comprehensively keeping track of all of Jacky’s friends, foes and adventures, making nice callbacks and rounding out loose ends.

It’s almost bittersweet as Jacky has brought great fun and vicarious adventure in her twelve tomes. It almost seems more than twelve considering all that she’s done but it was a big treat to read, seeing the upward climb of a lowly street girl to a girl who has seen it all, been round the world back and made so many dear friends and loves.

So it’s the end of Jacky’s written adventures at least for I have no doubt she’d get up to more even when the page closes. I’ll leave it with Meyer’s closing words as he can sum it up better than I ever could:

Sail on, sailor girl.