"Elizabethan Commando."—The New York Times

"Delightful reading for adults and thrilling fare for teenagers."—Los Angeles Times

Young John Forrester never knew his father, a man who left his family and his home in England in search of the treasure of El Dorado...and disappeared.

But when he receives news that his father is still alive and being held prisoner in Spain, John is thrust on a mission to save him...but he must save England first.

"Singeing the King of Spain's Beard" was what Queen Elizabeth and Sir Francis Drake called the daring and successful English raid on the Spanish fleet in the Bay of Cadiz in 1587.

From the author of The Mouse that Roared and The John Treegate Series on the American Revolutionary War.

"In 1587, the year in which this story takes place. It was not unusual for a lad of 16 to play a man's part in the adventurous, dramatic world aboard an Elizabethan man-of-war. John Forrester, young hero of The King's Beard, sees action of the most swashbuckling and satisfactory sort on board Sir Francis Drake's flagship, the Elizabeth Bonaventure. His exploits include an active part in the historic sea battle in the harbor of Cadiz, the rescue of his father who for many years had been a prisoner of the Spanish, and two meetings with Good Queen Bess herself. The result is a picturesque yarn. Most readers will have the traditional trouble putting down."—The New York Times