The Pearl Driver ( It is worth flagging up that these were real people
29th January 2026 by | Uncategorized
Meet the Characters from my current novel, The Reflection in the Mirror
The Pearl Driver ( It is worth flagging up that these were real people)
It is extraordinary to remember that not long after the Mary Rose sank, the Tudor state was already thinking about salvage. Under Edward VI, divers were hired from abroad to recover what they could — not the ship herself, but the valuable ordnance and stores. The operation was directed by a Portuguese master diver, who carefully planned how the guns might be freed from the silt and raised to the surface.
Among his team was the Venetian “pearl diver” Francesco, famed for his skill in deep water. Using primitive but ingenious methods — weighted stones, grappling hooks, and sheer lung power — they managed to bring up several of the Mary Rose’s bronze cannon. These pieces were prized assets, cast at great cost, and the Crown was determined that they should not be lost to the sea.
In the end, a surprising amount of material was recovered in those years: cannon, shot, and fittings were all brought ashore and returned to service. It was the first chapter in a salvage story that stretched from the sixteenth century right through to the Mary Rose Trust we have today.
The novel is now available as a paperback, or on Kindle, and hardback copies will be on sale shortly.
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Thank you for reading my post
Gemma
www.murderinthetower.london