The Taking of the Gry is a novel by John Masefield

John Masefield

John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...

 published in 1934, and set in the fictional Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 or South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n state of Santa Barbara, also the setting for Odtaa

ODTAA

ODTAA by John Masefield . It is an adventure novel first published in February 1926. Its title stands for One Damn Thing After Another...

, Sard Harker

Sard Harker

Sard Harker by John Masefield is an adventure novel first published in October 1924. It is the earlier of three novels by Masefield set in the fictional nation of Santa Barbara in South America...

, and part of The Midnight Folk

The Midnight Folk

The Midnight Folk is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield first published in 1927. It is about a boy, Kay Harker, who sets out to discover what became of a fortune stolen from his sea-faring great grandfather Aston Tirrold Harker...

. The novel is set in 1911, sometime after Don Manuel, the benevolent dictator in Sard Harker, has died. It is an adventure story about the taking of a ship called 'the Gry'. It additionally features the only known map (or, rather, map illustration) of the City of Santa Barbara, and an Appendix setting out fictional historical background to Santa Barbara.