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From internationally bestselling author Julian Stockwell comes a dramatic story closely based on real events following one man’s journey as he becomes a true sailor and defender of Britain. Europe is ablaze with war. The British prime minister is under pressure to intimidate the French and dispatches a Navy squadron to appear off the French coast. To man the ships, ordinary citizens must be press-ganged. Thomas Paine Kydd, a young wig-maker from Guildford, is seized and taken across the country to be part of the crew of the ninety-eight-gun line-of-battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast. Despite all he goes through, amid dangers of tempest and battle, he comes to admire the skills and courage of his fellow seamen, taking up the challenge himself to become a true sailor and defender of Britain at war. Kydd launches a masterly writing talent and is the first installment of a thrilling new series. Based on dramatic real events, it is classic storytelling at its best, rich with action, exceptional characters, and a page-turning narrative.
Internationally bestselling author Julian Stockwin's seafaring hero, young Thomas Kydd, comes of age in this epic naval adventure set in the Great Age of Sail. Writing in the sweeping tradition of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester, acclaimed author Julian Stockwin continues the saga of Seaman Thomas Paine Kydd as he moves up the ranks of the Napoleonic-era British navy. The year is 1794. Kydd and the other shipwrecked sailors have returned to England for the court-martial of the sole surviving officer of Her Majesty's frigate Artemis. Kydd was on duty the thirteenth of April as quartermaster of the starboard watch. He knows what happened that dreadful night. His evidence can destroy an offi...
'Stockwin creates a knotty narrative, writing with authority about Britain's Georgian navy and the physical world at sea with intrigue, captivating characters, and deft storytelling. Thunderer is a suspenseful journey' Quarterdeck 1812. Arriving back in England after his successes in the Adriatic, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is bestowed with honours. In London he's greeted by the Prince Regent who, despite Kydd's protestations that he's happy with his present command, insists he be given a bigger ship - HMS Thunderer, a 74-gun ship of the line. But she's old, and being part of a standing fleet Kydd's chances of further fame and distinction are slim indeed. Winning over his new command is fraught...
'Tension surges through A Sea of Gold . . . In this rousing yarn, Stockwin again raises naval fiction to a new level' - Quarterdeck 'Stockwin has surpassed himself with A Sea of Gold . . . a fine, filly favoured vintage yarn' - Warships 1809. After his heroic actions during the retreat to Corunna, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is the toast of London society. Here he falls in with the legendary frigate captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane. So begins a relationship, professional and personal, that will be unlike any that Kydd has known: a relationship that will lead him, almost simultaneously, to first glory, then ruin. The French fleet is massing in the Basque Roads in a near impregnatable position. The A...
Sailing.
In this 9th installment of the riveting high-seas nautical adventure series, Lieutenant Thomas Kydd descends into depression following the loss of his fiancée. Rescued from despair by his close friend Renzi, Kydd finds life increasingly difficult when he is framed and dismissed from his ship. The pair eke out a pitiful existence in Guernsey, where, in a moment of desperation, Renzi offers his services to the Prince de Bouillon and becomes embroiled in covert operations. Meanwhile, Kydd accepts the captaincy of a privateer and is soon taking many prizes. Kydd longs to rejoin his rightful place in the navy, however, and when he gets his chance, he risks all for revenge and restoration.
"In this ninth installment in the Kydd series, Lieutenant Thomas Kydd faces implacable enemies in high places as he reels from the death of his fiancée and the loss of his brig, Teazer. Framed and unfairly dismissed from his ship, he and his friend Renzi struggle to survive in Guernesy while they attempt to clear Kydd's name. Then Renzi is hired by a mysterious nobleman and reluctantly engages in covert operations, while Kydd becomes captain of a deadly privateer. Kydd cannot forget his lost honor, however, a seizes one final chance for revenge and restoration"--Page 2 of cover.
'Balkan Glory is an epic chapter in the splendid Kydd canon, weaving knotty political gambits with stirring naval actions, expressively re-creating the often harsh reality Jack Tars witnessed within their wooden walls during the Napoleonic Wars' - Quarterdeck 1811. The Adriatic, the 'French Lake', is now the most valuable territory Napoleon Bonaparte possesses. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds his glorious return to England cut short when the Admiralty summons him to lead a squadron of frigates into these waters to cause havoc and distress to the enemy. Kydd is dubbed 'The Sea Devil' by Bonaparte who personally appoints one of his favourites, Dubourdieu, along with a fleet that greatly outweigh...
HUNTER KILLER: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes. HUNTER KILLERS will follow the careers of four daring British submarine captains who risked their lives to keep the rest of us safe, their exploits consigned to the shadows until now. Their experiences encompass the span of the Cold War, from voyages in WW2-era submarines under Arctic ice to nuclear-powered espionage missions in Soviet-dominated seas. There are dangerous encounters with Russian spy ships in UK waters and finally, as the communist facade begins to crack, they hold the line against the Kremlin's oceanic might, playing a leading role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. It is the first time they have spoken out about their covert lives in the submarine service. This is the dramatic untold story of Britain's most-secret service.
Promoted to acting lieutenant at the bloody Battle of Camperdown in October 1797, Thomas Kydd must now sit an examination to confirm his rank—or face an inglorious return before the mast. But this is only the first of many obstacles for a man who was pressed into the King's service and discovered a calling for the sea. Kydd is from humble origins, yet he attains the lofty heights of the quarterdeck as an officer in His Majesty's Navy. If he is to avoid spending the rest of his career as a tarpaulin officer, he must also become a gentleman. Kydd and his enigmatic friend Nicholas Renzi set sail in HMS Tenacious for the North American station. Aboard the old 64-gun ship, Kydd comes to doubt he will ever match up to the high-born gentlemen officers.