Curse of the Blue Tattoo: being an account of the misadventures of Jacky Faber, midshipman and fine lady By L.A. Meyer

Disguised as a boy, Jacky Faber has been having a grand time as a midshipman aboard H.M.S. Dolphin. Now the masquerade is over, and she has been packed off to a private school to learn to be a lady. But Jacky is not the type of girl to sit quietly learning to embroider. Soon she is embroiled in adventures such a horseracing (to win a bet and save her the estate of her best friend's father), sneaking out at night to sing at a local tavern (to earn money to get back to England) and solve the mystery of a maid who died in suspicious circumstances.

Jacky is a great character - plucky, a bit crude, energetic, and also underneath her streetwise exterior - vulnerable.

There is adventure, humour, mystery, and a bit of romance in this energetic novel that keeps zipping along to the last page.