Summary
Summary of As We Sweep Through the Deep
As We Sweep Through the Deep at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 2 h 35 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 37,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Debt puts love against duty
While Jack Mackenzie serves aboard the Ocean Pride, his future is being argued over at home. General Mackenzie owes Keane more than forty thousand pounds, yet still lives grandly at Grantley Hall. Keane wants his daughter Gerty to marry Sir Digby Auld, not the general's son.
Gerty has loved Jack since childhood, but her lonely father's wishes weigh heavily on her. Before Jack faces the enemy at sea, money and family pride have already threatened the life he might hope to return to.
Key idea 2
A story reveals a promise's danger
Sir Digby mistakes Gerty's silence during his proposal for affection, though her thoughts are with Jack.
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Key idea 3
Jack's pride meets loss and kindness
Jack survives a fierce boarding action and recovers from a saber cut and a spent bullet.
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Key idea 4
A clever trap brings hidden trouble
Jack's new frigate, the Tonneraire, needs more men.
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Key idea 5
Surprise gives Jack the advantage
Guarding a merchant convoy, Jack finds himself shadowed by a larger French warship.
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Key idea 6
Firm command does not require cruelty
The Tonneraire is happy because Jack combines strict duty with kindness.
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Key idea 7
Hope lets Jack keep moving
Letters from home give Jack reasons to believe Gerty still loves him.
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Key idea 8
The quiet shore shapes the adventure
Jack's story joins naval command, raids and great battles to a struggle over love and money at home.
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Who it’s for
This book suits readers who love wooden ships, cannon smoke and brave young officers, and who enjoy a warm love story, sea songs, and a narrator who chats with you.
What this book is
Two years to the day, Jack Mackenzie sailed out of England in the frigate Ocean Pride. Now, in a foggy London office and a Suffolk mansion, three people think of him at once. Why does everyone sigh poor Jack?
As We Sweep Through the Deep is a sea adventure by Gordon Stables, a Scottish naval surgeon who wrote stirring tales and died in 1910. It is set during the wars against France in the 1790s. You get broadsides, a smugglers' trap, a phantom ship, a mutiny and glimpses of Camperdown and the Nile. A quieter plot ashore, where debt and pride decide who may marry whom, runs beside them.
In this summary
- 1Debt puts love against dutyFree
- 2A story reveals a promise's danger
- 3Jack's pride meets loss and kindness
- 4A clever trap brings hidden trouble
- 5Surprise gives Jack the advantage
- 6Firm command does not require cruelty
- 7Hope lets Jack keep moving
- 8The quiet shore shapes the adventure
Key point 1 of 8
A proud family sinks while two girls wait
The story opens in London fog, with two lawyers who see one family very differently. Keane is small, keen and suspicious. He is owed more than forty thousand pounds by General Grant Mackenzie, a one-armed Highland soldier who still lives like a lord at Grantley Hall. Richards, round and white-haired, loves the family and wishes his partner would let his daughter Gerty marry the general's son. Keane laughs. He has a baronet named Sir Digby Auld in mind, and he calls Jack a pauper with a sword.
At the hall, Flora Mackenzie plays the harp while Gerty lies on a couch nearby. The two girls count the days since Jack left. Gerty admits she has half loved him since childhood. Yet she loves her lonely father even more, and she says she might marry Sir Digby to please him.
Far off on the Atlantic, Jack and his friend Tom Fairlie lean on the rail of the Ocean Pride under a golden moon. Then the lookout cries sail in sight, and the drum beats to arms.
Pride and debt put love and duty on opposite sides before the first cannon fires.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
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Check yourself
Why does Gerty consider marrying Sir Digby?
Right. “Yet she loves her lonely father even more, and she says she might marry Sir Digby to please him.”Not quite. “Yet she loves her lonely father even more, and she says she might marry Sir Digby to please him.”
How does Jack respond to sedition among the pressed smugglers?
Right. “Instead he asks the admiral to scatter them one or two to each ship in the fleet.”Not quite. “Instead he asks the admiral to scatter them one or two to each ship in the fleet.”
What does Jack choose to believe after receiving letters from home?
Right. “He will believe that Gerty still loves him.”Not quite. “He will believe that Gerty still loves him.”
Go deeper: the whole of As We Sweep Through the Deep
About 2 h 40 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 37,300 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 35 min
Questions about As We Sweep Through the Deep
What is As We Sweep Through the Deep about?
It follows Jack Mackenzie, a young Scottish naval officer, through sea battles in the wars against France in the 1790s, while at home his family faces ruin and his love for Gerty Keane is tested.
Who is Gordon Stables?
Gordon Stables was a Scottish naval surgeon who wrote many adventure tales for young readers and families, often set at sea. He died in 1910, and his own sailor's experience colors this book.
Is As We Sweep Through the Deep based on a true story?
The main characters are invented, but the setting is real. The book describes actual battles such as St. Vincent, Camperdown and the Nile, along with the mutinies of 1797, and includes real figures like Nelson and Duncan.
Who are Jack, Tom and MʻHearty?
Jack Mackenzie is the captain of the frigate Tonneraire. Tom Fairlie is his friend and first lieutenant. MʻHearty is the ship's burly, kind surgeon, who takes up a cutlass when his friends are in danger.
Is the book easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that it is full of scenes, jokes, songs and clear action. Short chapters, a chatty narrator and a steady mix of adventure and romance make it easy to follow.
Cite this edition
Stables, Gordon. As We Sweep Through the Deep. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-we-sweep-through-the-deep.
Stables, G. (2026). As we sweep through the deep. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-we-sweep-through-the-deep
Stables, Gordon. As We Sweep Through the Deep. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-we-sweep-through-the-deep.
@book{stables2026as,
author = {Stables, Gordon},
title = {As We Sweep Through the Deep},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-we-sweep-through-the-deep}
}
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