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Quarterdeck Compliments of McBooks Press SUMMER 2019 MARITIME LITERATURE & ART REVIEW
Quarterdeck
Compliments of McBooks Press
SUMMER 2019
MARITIME LITERATURE & ART REVIEW
Alexander Kent“The Bolitho series may sail on forever and that’s just fine.”
– Kirkus Reviews
McBOOKS pressTHE DESTINATION FOR NAUTICAL FICTION
www.mcbooks.com
T SC
ContentsS 2019
3 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
INTERVIEW
14 ROBIN LLOYDThe former NBC correspondent
turned novelist relates the story behind his transition to historical fiction
FEATURE
7 MALCOLM DARCHQuarterdeck visits the studio of
England’s master model maker
COLUMNS
5 By George!Alex Skutt – Founding a
safe harbor for nautical fiction
21 AUTHOR’S NOTES Thomas Kydd’s Guildford by Kathy Stockwin
Quarterdeck is published quarterly byTall Ships Communications
6952 Cypress Bay DriveKalamazoo, MI 49009
269-372-4673
EDITOR & PUBLISHERGeorge D. Jepson
ASSOCIATE EDITORAmelia A. Yeoman
CONTRIBUTORSRoy and Lesley Adkins, Michael Aye,
Chris Durbin, Geoffrey Huband, Paul Garnett,Seth Hunter, Alex Skutt, Julian Stockwin, and
Kathy Stockwin.
Quarterdeck is distributedby McBooks Press, an imprint of
Globe Pequot246 Goose Lane, Suite 200
Guilford, CT 06437
EDITORTom McCarthy
Phone: [email protected]
www.mcbooks.com
Visit Quarterdeck On Facebook
ON THE COVER:Detail from “The Gathering Storm, ” an oil-on-
canvas painting by English marine artistGeoffrey Huband, RSMA.
© Geoffrey Huband.
© Tall Ships Communications
McBooks Press
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DEPARTMENTS
4 SCUTTLEBUTT
24 BOOK REVIEWS
27 MARITIME FICTION
32 MARITIME HISTORY
33 MARINE ARTGeoffrey Huband Miniatures
33
QuarterdeckMARITIME LITERATURE & ART
REVIEW
New Book Releases2019
US (United States)UK (United Kingdom)
TPB (Trade Paperback)PB (Paperback)HB (Hardback)
EB (Ebook)NF (Nonfiction)
JULY
The Cursed Fortress (USTPB)by Chris Durbin
Heroes of Annapolis (USTPB)by David Poyer
AUGUST
The Traitor of Treasure Island (USTPB)by John Drake
SEPTEMBER
HMS Hazard (UKHB)by David Donachie
OCTOBER
To the Eastern Seas (UKHB)by Julian Stockwin
Patrick O’Brian – A Very Private Life(UKHB)
by Nicholas Tolstoy
The Nugget (USHB)by P. T. Deutermann
NOVEMBER
Overthrow (USHB)by David Poyer
Blood Will Out (UKHB)by David Donachie
The Devil in Paradise (USHB)by James L. Haley
In Northern Seas (USTPB)by Philip Allan
4 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
P . T. Deutermann’s new WorldWar II thriller, Nugget, will be
launched in October. LieutenantBobby Steele, USN, is a young andeager naval aviator – a “Nugget,”who needs to learn the ropes andcomplex procedures of taking offand returning safely to his aircraftcarrier. A blurry night of drinkinglands him in an unfamiliar bedaboard the USS Oklahoma; laterthat day, the Japanese destroy PearlHarbor. After cheating death andlosing his friend, Steele vows toavenge the attack. Flying sea battleafter battle, he survives the most
dangerous air combat in World War II, including Midway, is shotdown twice, rescued twice, and eventually leads a daring mission to freeprisoners from a secluded Japanese POW camp.
P. T. Deutermann
Nicholas Tolstoy
In Patrick O’Brian – A Very Pri-vate Life, due out in October, the
English author’s stepson NikolaiTolstoy draws upon his archives andpapers to faithfully capture a lifededicated to the written word. Thislong-awaited second volume in thebiography covers the latter part ofO’Brian’s life, from the moment ofhis arrival at Collioure in the southof France in 1949, where he wroteall his major works – including theacclaimed Aubrey and Maturin seaadventures – to his death in 2000.Throughout his career, O’Brian’swriting was supplemented by his
translation work, which saw him translate the likes of Simone de Beau-voir and Henri Charriere. Patrick O’Brian – The Making of the Novelist1914 – 1949 by Tolstoy was published in 2004.
SCUTTLEBUTT
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I N THE EARLY 1990S Patrick O’Brian wasmaking waves among literary circles on bothsides of the Atlantic, after Richard Snow,writing in The New York Times, called his
Aubrey and Maturin canon “the best historical nov-els ever written.” About the same time, AlexSkutt, a bespectacled indepen-dent bookshop proprietor inIthaca, New York, “read thewhole series through and likedit.” Smitten by the O’Brian sto-ries about the British Royal Na-vy during the Napoleonic Wars,he plunged into the RichardBolitho sea adventures by Alex-ander Kent “and liked them.” Skutt’s entrepreneurial spiritsoon sailed in a new direction.Selling two book shops – onecalled McBooks – and two vid-eo outlets, he embarked on anew venture, founding McBooks Press. The enterprise sparked a nautical fiction resur-gence in the United States. Although PatrickO’Brian’s first Aubrey and Maturin novel, Masterand Commander, had been published in 1970, hisbooks had been out of print in the United Statesfor a decade until W. W. Norton released its tradepaperback edition in 1990. The Bolitho novels, written by former Britishnaval officer Douglas Reeman under the pen nameAlexander Kent, started with To Glory We Steer in1968, and achieved a faithful following in America.Reeman had also published a series of novels – pri-marily naval stories – under his own name since1958.
ALEX SKUTTFounding a safe harbor for nautical fiction
By the 1990s, though, his books were no longerbeing published in the US. That changed in 1997,when Skutt contacted Reeman. “It struck me as strange that books this goodwere not available,” he said. The late author’s wife,
Kimberley, recently recalled theeventful connection: “Douglas believed in fate,and it was surely fate thatbrought Alex Skutt and Mc-Books into our lives at thevery time when relations withG. P. Putnam’s Sons hadreached a nadir, and byDouglas’s own choice Ree-man and Kent books were nolonger in print in the USA. “Alex came out of no-where, introduced himselfand McBooks by letter, and
offered to buy the rights to aselection of Alexander Kent
novels. “‘I liked his style immediately,’ Douglas said ofthis can-do approach. ‘It was a small firm nobodyhad ever heard of, but Alex was committed andcompletely dedicated, and so were his people, andthat was it. I knew we could work together.’ “For the rest of Douglas’s life, and during hiscareer as American publisher of Reeman and Kentnovels, Alex never failed us. He brought the Bo-litho novels, and more recently some of the Ree-mans, back to American readers, and he hadDouglas’s deep respect and gratitude. As he hasmine.” The Douglas Reeman signing landed a best-sell-ing author, who was writing two books a year, �
By George!
Alex Skutt
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By George!
one under his own name and another as AlexanderKent. The Kent backlist, which Skutt rapidly re-turned to print, immediately drew readers to Mc-Books, establishing the imprint in the marketplace. As a lifelong bibliophile and book dealer, usedand rare shops were familiar haunts for Skutt.About the time he founded McBooks Press, hechanced upon a set of old editions by CaptainFrederick Marryat, who had served in the BritishRoyal Navy under Lord Thomas Cochrane – thefamous fighting captain – during the NapoleonicWars. Marryat’s yarns charmed Skutt. “It was kind oflike Mark Twain goes to sea,” he said. After acquir-ing the volumes, which had no copyrights, Mc-Books published two new editions: Frank Mildmay
or The Naval Officer and Mr Midshipman Easy. The list of naval fiction authors continued toexpand. Skutt read Ramage by Dudley Pope in aused British edition. The naval defense correspon-dent for the London Evening News wrote carefullyresearched naval history and was encouraged by C.S. Forester to try his hand at naval fiction. Skutt’s keen eye was crucial to his early success.The Lord Ramage novels added eighteen titles tothe catalog. Pope joined Reeman and Kent, Marry-at, David Donachie, James L. Nelson, DeweyLambdin and John Biggins, among other authors,establishing McBooks as the destination for nauti-cal fiction in America. Never one to rest on his oars, he launched anonline retail bookstore, offering a broad selection ofmaritime fiction available from other publishers, inaddition to the McBooks Press editions. In 2005, Skutt acquired the US rights to Eng-lish novelist Julian Stockwin’s Thomas Kydd navaladventures. The author’s vivid portraits of life be-tween England’s “wooden walls” during the the18th and early 19th centuries further strengthenedMcBooks’s position as a safe harbor for nauticalfiction. Introducing American novelist William West-brook’s debut novel, The Bermuda Privateer, in2017, Skutt signaled that the future for sea talesremained bright. Earlier this year, that rosy outlookwas affirmed when the Rowman & Littlefield Pub-lishing Group, headed by his longtime friend JedLyons, acquired McBooks Press.
“I met Alex Skutt 25 years or so ago when hestarted McBooks and we became his sales and ful-filment partner,” said Lyons, Rowman’s presidentand CEO. “I always admired his quick mind, hissarcastic sense of humor and his integrity. He builtthe preeminent nautical fiction house in Americafrom scratch. We are thrilled to carry on his lega-cy.”
McBooks Press, operating as an imprint ofGlobe Pequot, sails forward under editor Tom Mc-Carthy. n
– George Jepson
Alex Skutt in 2014, with McBooks’s first edition of Julian Stock-win’s Pasha, the 15th title in the Thomas Kydd naval adven-tures.
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FEATURE
A GATHA CHRISTIE’S legendary sleuth Hercu-le Poirot might describe Malcolm Darch as“an artisan most extraordinaire.” England’sworld renown model shipwright
crafts maritime masterpieces in his snug har-borside studio in Salcombe, a charming coast-al town in south Devon. Over a career spanning nearly five decades,Darch has created fifty-nine scratch-built,museum-quality models of ships and other watercraftfrom the 17th to the 21st century, including an exqui-
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MALCOLM DARCHDevon’s master model shipwright recreates maritime history
site rendering of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s favoritecommand, the 64-gun Agamemnon. On a gray autumn morning, with showers in the off-ing, Julian Stockwin, author of the Thomas Kydd naval
adventures, and I called upon Darch in his Sal-combe workshop cum library, which is tucked
away in an unassuming corner of the water-front. At the time, he was well along in construct-
ing a precise scale model of the big racing cutter Iverna,designed by Alexander Richardson and built in 1890 �
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BY GEORGE D. JEPSON
Tony Fernandes
for John Jameson of the Irish whiskey family.“It was Jameson who put the ‘e’ in Irish whis-key to separate it from Scottish whisky,”Darch said. The finished model, which wasrecently collected by the commissioning cli-ent, took him approximately 2,250 hours –or a little over a year – to finish. Greeting us with his broad, infectious smile, Darchled us into the long, narrow two-room studio, where hispassion for things maritime is conspicuously on display.Reference books line the wall just inside the door. Othersurfaces overflow with maritime photographs, marineprints and paintings, and nautical artifacts, including alarge ship’s wheel and a figurehead. A drafting table dis-played a copy of Iverna’s 1890 original line drawings. At the far end of the studio a 10-foot by 11-footworkshop overlooks the harbor through a pair of win-dows. A workbench stretches along one wall, whereIverna, still in early construction stages, sat in her cradle.A variety of small hand tools collected over a half centu-
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ry are stowed in close-at-hand nooks and crannies,along with a selection of paints and finishes. A dentaldrill is also at hand for shaping fine moldings.
“Really, I have too many miniature tools to list themall,” he said, “but I use them on a regular basis to createmy work.” On occasion, Darch, who is a Fellow of the Societyof Nautical Research, turns to his inner Hercule Poirotto solve a mystery. Perhaps the most dramatic case wasa two-year investigation to discover what the stern ofNelson’s Agamemnon actually looked like when she sliddown the ways at Buckler’s Hard, Hampshire, England,in April 1781. By the end of his quest, the enigma �
ABOVE Malcolm Darch with the finished model of theracing yacht Iverna. RIGHT Detail from the mast andboom connection, skylights and windlass, which Darchfashioned with the precision of a fine jeweler.
FEATURE
PLACE HOLDER
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had been solved, with the design re-created on the1/64th-scale model (see photos above). The final solution came about when Darch discov-ered that English marine artist Nicholas Pocock hadpainted the 64-gun third-rate ship of the line from lifein 1784, while she was being repaired at ChathamDockyard. The original painting hangs in AdmiraltyHouse at Her Majesty’s Naval Base, Portsmouth, reveal-ing the intricate details on the stern. “By far, the most challenging commission I havebuilt was Agamemnon,” said Darch. “It was so challeng-ing that I shall not be visiting that period of historyagain, having previously built a fully rigged model of �
LEFT Agamemnon’s ornately detailed stern gallery.Note the copper sheathing on the hull, which is2000th of an inch thick. The cannons are properlyrigged and carry the king’s cipher. ABOVE The ship’squarter gallery. The frieze painting that wrapsaround the ship took 240 hours, and tells the storyof the siege of Troy. In The Iliad, Agamemnon wasthe commander of the Greek forces in the TrojanWar. BELOW The finished model, which Nelsonwould have recognized.
FEATURE
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the British frigate Minerva (see photo above).” Agamem-non took him five years and seven months to complete– over 10,000 hours – and “cost the client a great dealof money, and rightly so because of the time and effortinvolved.” Darch is a meticulous shipwright, paying uncommonattention to details. As if the exteriors of the two fully-rigged men-of-war was not impressive enough, he com-
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pletely fitted out both ships’ interiors – greatcabin, crews’ quarters, gun decks – to scale. Each of his models are built with satin wal-nut or English boxwood, much of which hesources from recycled furniture. Diminutivedeck and hull planks are individually cut andlaid. The latter are steamed and bent to fit thecurves of the hulls just as they would be in ashipyard. The finished Agamemnon model representsthe ship as she would have appeared during
the three years Nelson commanded her from January1783. Darch’s zeal for ships and saltwater began at an earlyage. “I was always not far from the sea, being born with-in earshot of ships and their steam whistles navigatingthe torturous River Avon up to Bristol,” he said. “Welived in a village at the edge of the city, with a rurallandscape in view.” �
FEATURE
ABOVE The view through Agamemnon’s stern win-dows at the fitted out spar deck, including properlyrigged cannons and the double wheel, which wasattached to the steering ropes. LEFT The British frig-ate Minerva. Darch also fitted out both ships belowdecks.
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Young Darch and his family were connected with
the P. K. Harris & Sons shipbuilding family at Apple-dore in North Devon and “spent many happy fortnightsin their ‘Dock Cottage,’ which was squeezed betweentwo shipyards on the the River Torridge.” Observing shipbuilding at Appledore in the 1950sand 1960s “was a great influence” on the impressionablelad, “peeking through gaps in the gates to see men withred hot rivets and welding torches along with the deaf-ening hammering of steel plates, building tugs for own-ers in Liverpool and London and as far afield as SydneyAustralia.” In 1962, the 12-year-old spent a summer holi-day in Salcombe, wherehis father introduced himto dinghy sailing. “Wewere also taught to scull a dinghy – with one oar overthe transom – and to sail a multitude of different smallboats,” he recalled. Two years later, he became an in-structor, teaching in Salcombe during his holidays. By this time, his interest in maritime literature wasbeginning to dawn. While hospitalized the year afterlearning to sail, he read Alan Villiers’ autobiography,The Set of the Sails, which led him to the mariner’s otherbooks. Then came Eric Newby’s The Last Grain Raceand Windjammer: Pictures of Life Before the Mast in theLast Grain Race. In recent years, he turned to PatrickO’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series and is “currently
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working through Julian Stockwin’s tremendous novels.” Darch’s serious book collecting started with BasilLubbock’s works, including his two-volume set, TheLast of the Windjammers. This modest beginning hasgrown into a 6,500-volume library, where his investiga-tions begin for new projects. At age six, he ventured into building model airplanesuntil the slip of a razor blade sliced off the end of hisleft thumb, necessitating a trip to the hospital for it tobe sewn on again. “Mother said, ‘That is the last modelplane you are going to make,’” he recalled. “So that was
when I thought I had bet-ter start on boats. “It was about this timethat I became better ac-quainted with my godfa-ther, my mother’s much
younger brother. He more than anyone else encouragedme to build model boats and ships, which he did . . .sailing windjammers and small-scale waterline modelsof the entire British Navy.” Nearing age 10, Darch remembered, he and his fa-ther learned “how a hull lines plan worked on paper . . .it was a very steep learning curve. This was the first timeI experienced the design of yachts and how they wereput together.” They copied the lines from a book writ-ten by boat designer Harrison Butler and built a pondyacht to sail on the Severn Estuary at Portishead. The project was a harbinger of things to come. By �
FEATURE
LEFT Malcolm during his first summer in Salcombe in 1962. The original Iverna is the black houseboat tothe right background of the photo. RIGHT The shipwright with his first commercial project, a half model ofthe Brixham trawler Provident, originally built on the River Dart in 1924.
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“Mother said, ‘That is the last model planeyou are going to make.’ So that was when I
thought I had better start on boats.”
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FEATURE
11). “I placed the half model on a highly polished ma-hogany backboard, which acted like a mirror and re-flected the other half of the vessel,” he said. “I felt itworked well.” In the years to come, Darch perfected his approach tomodeling, creating matchless miniatures for discerningcollectors around the world. He only works on onemodel at a time. Each is marked with a concealed logo,
evidence that it is an au-thentic Darch. One of his favorites isCicely, the 134-foot gaff-rigged schooner designedby William Fife (see pho-tos on page 13). “The
number of beautiful schooners that were built in theUnited States as yachts and working vessels was amaz-ing,” he said. “There must be a multitude of candidatesas subjects for exquisite models.” The three-masted clipper fruit schooner Annie,launched at Salcombe in 1867, is next for Darch. It has been commissioned by an American client, whoselate wife was descended from a Salcombe shipbuild- �
age 16, after excelling at engineering in school, Darchbecame one of the first apprentices at the new Ship-building Industry Training Centre in Southampton for one year. He also attended Southampton City Col-lege throughout his five year apprenticeship with thetraditional yacht yard at Hamble, acquiring a "tremen-dous grounding” in yacht and boatbuilding. At graduation in 1971, he received the country’s topaward – a silver medal –and accepted a position asthe shipwright with theIsland Cruising Club inSalcombe. Four years on, the La-bour government imposeda luxury tax on yachts, and Darch, along with manyothers in the British marine industry, was suddenlywithout work. So he turned to his childhood interestand set about building models for private collectors.The years spent training and working as a shipwrightprovided a natural bridge to creating miniature vessels. His first commercial project was a half model depict-ing the Brixham trawler Provident (see photo on page
This five-foot lapstrake (clinker in the UK) plankedmodel of the Honourable Company of Haberdash-er's Livery Barge St Catherine, originally built inthe 1650's, features 23.5- carrot gold leaf. It wasbuilt for the London Companies Livery Hall.
“I placed the half model on a highlypolished mahogany backboard, which
acted like a mirror and reflectedthe other half of the vessel.”
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FEATURE
Cicely, the 134-foot gaff-rigged schoo-ner designed by William Fife and builtin Southampton in 1902, is one ofDarch’s favorite models. INSET All thedeck joinery was dovetailed together.Photos by Malcolm Darch.
ing family. The Annie was the last ship built by thefirm. Fifteen years ago, while serving as the voluntary Cu-rator and Vice Chairman with the Salcombe MaritimeMuseum, the American couple approached Darch tolearn more about the local shipbuilding history and thefamilies connected with it. A year ago, the husband re-turned to Salcombe to revisit Darch for more informa-tion, subsequently commissioning a full show-casedmodel in memory of his wife and her family. “It was a commission I did not see coming,” saidDarch, “but it has a tremendous air of sentimentalitywith it, which usually is the reason for models beingcommissioned. In this case, having known the client’slate wife, I feel very honored to have been asked to pro-vide such a beautiful keepsake.” Over the past 50 years, he has specialized in research-ing 19th-century British clipper fruit schooners and hasbuilt eight models on commission. “I shall be writing a
definitive book on these British vessels in the next cou-ple of years” he said. The Annie story has another personal connection toDarch and Salcombe. “On one of her first voyages, shebrought a full cargo of oranges to England from Paler-mo in Sicily,” he said. “Subsequently, she was re-riggedas a barquentine for the Brazilian sugar trade. She mether demise one stormy night on Salcombe’s notorioussand bar in 1879.” The entire crew was saved, including the master andmate who were brought ashore by the first Salcomberowing and sailing lifeboat, Rescue. In 1977, Darchmade a model of the craft. So, looking ahead to build-ing Annie, he said, “I shall be re-creating Salcombe his-tory once again.” Poirot would call it an “objet d’art, n’est-ce pas?” n
Malcolm Darch may be contacted [email protected].
A MERICAN JOURNALIST
and novelist Robin Lloydspent his early years onthe island of St. Croix in
the US Virgin Islands, which kindledhis passion for history, sailing and thesea. After four decades in televisionjournalism, including fifteen as a for-eign correspondent for NBC News,Lloyd embarked on a new course,researching and writing his first nov-el, Rough Passage to London. The breezy yarn, published by Ly-ons Press in 2013, is based on the reallife of Yankee ship Captain Elisha ElyMorgan, Lloyd’s ancestor, who went
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ROBIN LLOYDFormer television journalist embarks on new course in historical fiction
Detail from a rendering of Havana Harbor in the mid nineteenth century just prior to the American Civil War.
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to sea in the early 1800s. The author’s second novel fromLyons Press, Harbor of Spies (see re-view on page 24), is a historicalthriller set against blockade runningbetween Cuba and the Confederacyduring the Civil War. The intricatetale draws young American ship cap-tain Everett Townsend into the con-flict, initially as a blockade runnerand later as a Union spy. During the 1980s and 1990s,Lloyd spent considerable time inCuba as a correspondent, where heacquired an intimacy with the is-land’s history and culture. This senseof the country and its people �
Robin Lloyd
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enriches his narrative in Harbor of Spies.Lloyd and his wife, Tamara, divide their
time between homes in Maryland and Maine,where he keeps his 38-foot ketch. Sailing is“good for my sanity,” he says. In between re-cent speaking engagements on Cuba and theAmerican Civil War, Lloyd shared his personalstory in this interview with Quarterdeck | Sum-mer 2019.
–George Jepson
Were you a reader as a boy?
I was a voracious reader as a boy. Other thanplaying outdoors, books were my primary en-tertainment. My mother didn’t approve of tele-vision so we never had one in the house. WhenI was about eight, she had her mother send usscores of old books which were frayed, cloth-backed classics from another generation. Mostof them were put on bookshelves in my room.I always wondered where they came from.Maybe a library sale? Or maybe they were mymother’s old books. She never said.
What sorts of books did you fancy?
Early on I fondly remember reading English children’sbooks – the Black Beauty series, Arthur Ransome whowrote the Swallows and Amazons series, Wind in theWillows and The Secret Garden. But those old books mygrandmother sent were everything from western classicsby Zane Grey and Ernest Thompson Seton to Englishsuspense mysteries like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, WilkieCollins and John Buchan. Somewhere in there I wasalso introduced to C. S. Forester’s Hornblower seriesand another favorite, the historical novels by KennethRoberts, many of which are set in Maine.
How did your years on Saint Croix influence thecourse you’ve taken in life?
The short answer is a great deal. I would say growing upin the West Indies gave me a sense of other cultures.The island of St. Croix was Danish before the United
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States bought it in 1918. We moved there from Virgin-ia when I was just two years old, so I grew up verymuch as an island boy. I could speak the local West In-dian dialect. I could swim, ride horses and sail from anearly age. I went to Catholic school in Christianstedthrough the sixth grade. We were taught by Belgiannuns, who had come to St. Croix from what was thencalled the Belgian Congo. Most of my classmates wereWest Indians or Puerto Ricans. My father owned andran a dairy plant, but my parents would sail over to theBritish Virgin Islands whenever they could. Naturally Iwas brought along on these trips. The French islands ofSt. Maarten, and St. Barts, along with the British is-lands of Nevis and Antigua, were frequent destinations.The result was I got used to the concept of sailing todifferent islands where there were different languagesand cultures. I think my father, who had two other chil-dren from an earlier marriage, saw me as his West Indi-an child. So I would say St. Croix with its multi-cultural diversity always encouraged me to look to �
NBC correspondent Robin Lloyd (far right) with Republic of Cuba PresidentFidel Castro.
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the outside world.
What drew you to a career in journalism?
At Princeton, I was a Latin American history major, butI was well versed in languages, speaking in varying de-grees of proficiency – Spanish, Portuguese andFrench. I dabbled in journalism. In lieu of signing upfor sports, I worked for one of the two university papersthen, the Princeton Notice, mostly as a photographer.But I was sent to cover some of the anti-Vietnam pro-test marches, including one at the Fort Dix army base inNew Jersey, where I was tear gassed for the first time.I’ll never forget how horrible that experience was. Mysenior year in 1973 I went to talk with a retired NewYork Times reporter and he encouraged me to think of acareer as a television foreign correspondent. I rememberhim saying not to work for the print media, becausenewspapers were dead. Television news was the future,he proclaimed. That put me on my path and six yearslater, after working in several different news jobs andgetting a masters degree from the Columbia JournalismSchool, I was NBC’s Latin American correspondentbased in Mexico City.
Your career took you to a wide variety of places inthe world, some of them very dangerous. How havethese experiences influenced your work as a novel-ist?
As a journalist you learn to quickly size up people andget a sense of their character. So I would say the job ofreporting makes you above all an observer of humannature. All those years of interviewing people gave me avirtual library of character types to draw on as a novel-ist. The job of a foreign correspondent only adds morecomplexity to that picture. Often you find yourself indangerous situations and you have to throw yourselfinto the swirl and mix of that chaos. So I would say a
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good foreign correspondent, like a good novelist, knowshow to pull his readers or viewers into this other place.Help them understand what it’s like. But beyond allthose experiences and people you meet, I think a careerin journalism helps the novelist find and recognize agood story.
When did you first consider writing fiction?
Like most people who are reporters, I always thought Ihad a book in me, but not necessarily fiction. I hadwanted to write about my experiences covering the warsin Central America, but the intensity of my job withNBC News never allowed it. It wasn’t until years later,when I was writing and producing documentary seg-ments for Maryland Public Television, that I thoughtabout trying to write a book. I began researching an an-cestor who was an American ship captain by the nameof Captain E. E. Morgan. He was close friends withCharles Dickens, Thackeray and other members of theEnglish arts and literary scene in London. Dickenswrote a short story about him, and he and Dickens fre-quently wrote to each other. I wondered how a Yankeetar with only a basic schoolhouse education would comeinto contact with these men of arts and letters. That ledto a huge amount of research, but with no journals Iwas not able to find enough material for a biography. SoI was encouraged to turn it into historical fiction. Thatbecame Rough Passage to London, which tells the story ofthis man’s life at sea. The result of writing that bookmade me realize how much I liked writing historicalfiction. Through a great deal of research and my ownimagination I was able to feel like I had walked in thisman’s shoes. Like a foreign correspondent, I felt as if Ihad been sent on an assignment; in this case, as a sailoron a three-masted tallship. I had to learn what it waslike to climb those tall masts and climb out onto the jibboom in the midst of crashing seas. It was quite a thrillride. �
“I began researching an ancestor who was an American ship captain . . .He was close friends with Charles Dickens, Thackeray and
other members of the English arts and literary scene in London.”
INTERVIEW
Was Rough Passage to London your first attempt atwriting fiction?
Yes. Before I began writing that book, I don’t think Iwould have ever dared to think of writing fiction. I was far too cowardly. In that sense, I have to give myancestor, the ship captain, the full credit. I don’t think Iwould have attempted to write fiction if it hadn’t beenfor the fact that I could see no other way to tell his sto-ry.
Was the transition from writing news stories to cre-ating fiction difficult?
Difficult is an understatement.In the beginning, it was likepulling teeth. My editor told methat in all likelihood the majori-ty of my draft biography withmuch of the historical researchwould never see the light of day.It’s deadwood, she said. Whatdo you mean, I asked her. It’sno longer pertinent to the story,she replied. I wanted to cry. Itold my editor that I was goingto call myself a reluctant novel-ist. She thought that was veryfunny. In the beginning, Ifought this new way of writing.It was like learning another lan-guage, but I kept on with itstubbornly. Scores of pages andeven chapters went into thetrash as I experimented with different characters andscenes. Suddenly I was in a new world of not just tellinga story, but making up scenes and characters, conjuringup conversations. I was having to stop telling the readerand start showing the reader. Even after completing thissecond book I would say I’m still learning how difficultthis is. In short, for me learning how to write news sto-ries is a skill, but learning how to write novels requires afull box of painter’s brushes with plenty of paint.
What appealed to you about setting your storiesagainst the background of the nineteenth century?
When I did all the research for Rough Passage to London,I became fascinated with this period. In the early part ofthe nineteenth century everything and everyone cameand went by sailing ship. Rich and poor all traveled onthe same ship. These ships were not just passenger andcargo ships. They were the only form of communicationacross the Atlantic back then. They were the telephone,the post office, and the Internet. They were the convey-or belts of western civilization. By mid century, steam-ships started to make their appearance as commercialocean-going ships. This transition between sail andsteam seemed like an intriguing period of change to
write about. Once I got to knowthe period, I decided to staythere with the second book.
What was the driving force be-hind Rough Passage to Lon-don?
When I was researching the reallife story of my ancestor ElishaEly Morgan, I contacted manyrelatives and found the recordsof this man’s family in the Con-necticut River Valley. They hada farm near Old Lyme. He waspart of a medium sized familyand the two older boys had runoff to sea. I found a copy of aletter written to his mother in1816. It took my breath away.It was from a sailor in NewYork who wrote that her older
son, William, had gone down on his ship. Her otherson, Abraham, was missing and feared dead. Mysteri-ously, this sailor, who was clearly a stranger, gave nodetails about Abraham’s fate. Shortly afterward, my an-cestor ran away from the farm to go to sea. He was onlyfifteen years old. So that was the genesis of Rough Pas-sage to London. Having grown up on a farm myself, Icouldn’t imagine a younger son running off at such anearly age, leaving his parents. One thought I had wasthat my ancestor ran away because he wanted to findhis brother Abraham. Perhaps he had a clue about whathappened to his brother? From that simple actual �
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INTERVIEW
letter, I began writing the novel. The extensive researchI had done about the man’s life gave me a basic outline,but it was the search for his brother that became thedriving force of the novel.
What inspired you to write Harbor of Spies?
I thought I’d like to write another sea novel and I beganby thinking of what would I like to write about. To behonest, I didn’t know if I could write another. So Iasked myself what would I like to research. I decided onthe naval part of the Civil War. And specifically block-ade running – the smuggling of goods, arms and ammu-nition into the South. This may have been the last timesailing ships and steam ships competed in a theater ofwar. So I was researching this topic of the Union Navalblockade in the Monroe County library in Key West
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and I was going through the Naval records ofthe Civil War in the Gulf of Mexico. I was fas-cinated to discover that most of the ships smug-gling arms into the South had come fromHavana, Cuba. As an NBC News correspond-ent I’d spent quite a bit of time covering storiesin Cuba, mostly during the 1980s and later inthe 1990s. I’d always admired that harbor andall the decaying buildings in old Havana. I won-dered what they must have been like back then.So I would say the inspiration came from thediscovery of Havana’s importance to the Con-federacy’s war effort and also my desire to imag-ine Havana in that time period. Naturally as asailor I also wanted to imagine what it was liketo run through the Union blockade. The storyin Harbor of Spies is much more complex thanthat. It’s about a young man who gets entangledin a murder investigation of a diplomat as hecomes face to face with some of the dark forcesin Cuba, first as a Confederate blockade runnerand then as a Union spy. But certainly that nov-el was like giving myself an assignment; in thiscase, to travel to Cuba as it was in the 1860s.
How do you research your novels?
I am not sure I have a refined technique, but with bothof these books I’ve spent a year or more researching theperiod and the subject I’m interested in. I would say Itend to over research, because I’m looking for not onlythe bigger picture but also details. I want to be comfort-able and feel like I knew the pertinent facts of the day,everything from the types of cigars people are smokingto the medicine they are taking. This leads to more pri-mary research from newspapers and biographical re-search about actual historic individuals. Once I feel Ihave a solid grounding then I begin to think of fictionalcharacters and a possible fictional story. Usually I findmy research helps to point me in a specific direction.It’s not that dissimilar with what a foreign correspond-ent might do before being sent to open up a new bureauin a foreign posting. The more you know about theplace you’re being sent to, the better writer you’ll be-come. With Harbor of Spies I didn’t think about weav-ing Cuban slave trading into a story about the �
Robin Lloyd speaking about Cuba and the American Civil War af-ter the publication of Harbor of Spies.
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INTERVIEW
American Civil War until I read the dispatches from theUS Consul General in Havana, who was tracking manyreports of illegal slave landings on the Cuban coast. Hewrote to Washington in a dispatch that the colored peo-ple in Havana were shouting in the streets, “OnwardMr. Lincoln, Onward. You are our only hope.” I knewthen that the slavery issue was critical to my story.
Do you write the sort of story you would like to read,or do you write for a certain audience?
I would say more the former than the latter. I’ve alwaysenjoyed sea novels, so it’s no surprise that I enjoy writ-ing them. I’m always amazed that in so many books inthis genre the characters hardly ever come ashore. I’vealways been a fan of Conrad because he wrote aboutships, but his salty characters also came ashore. So inboth my books I’ve tried to straddle ship and shore. Ienjoy writing about how central ships were to those liv-ing back then. I’ve also always enjoyed historical novels.I love the detail. I am drawn to good sea novels and alsostories that both entertain and inform me about anothertime period and place. So as a writer I’ve tried to dothat as well. Many fiction readers want nothing butcharacter development. I totally understand that. But ascentral as good textured character development is to themaking of any good novel, so is a good story. Above allI want to tell a good story first and foremost.
Do you plot out your novels before beginning towrite?
Yes. I try to create a basic outline as a way to guide mywriting. I want to have a general narrative direction tostart with. I want to have some scenes and situations inmind. When I begin writing I know these scenes willchange along with my characters. So I know the outlineis never more than just a vague idea of where the story
will go.
At what point in the process do you begin writing?
After a year of research, and after completing an outline,I then start writing the novel. Part of the magic of writingfiction is that the story is forever changing. As a writer,you are never completely behind the wheel. Sometimesyour characters decide to go in another direction.
Please describe where you write?
As a foreign correspondent we used to write our storieswherever we landed. Hotel rooms, airports, newsrooms.As a novelist I prefer less noisy environments, but I endup writing wherever I am. All I really need is a desk andmy laptop. Usually I write in a small room in the base-ment of our Maryland home, which I call my office. Myfavorite place to write is in Maine where my wife and Ispend our summers, but I’ve written portions of both ofthese books in faraway places. I fondly remember finish-ing a final draft of Harbor of Spies when we were visitingour children in California and pounding away withRough Passage to London when we were vacationing inParis.
Are you currently working on a new novel?
Yes. I am mulling and researching another effort.There’s a vague outline of a story rumbling around inmy brain, trying to reveal itself. It will probably be asequel to Harbor of Spies. This story will focus on theend of the Civil War, but beyond that I’m not surewhat form it will take. The only thing I can say is thatlike Harbor of Spies the story will straddle Cuba and theUnited States.
What writing projects would you like to pursue in �
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“As a foreign correspondent we used to write our stories whereverwe landed. Hotel rooms, airports, newsrooms. As a novelist
I prefer less noisy environments . . . ”
INTERVIEW
the future?
Who knows? Ideas come and go. Maybe something todo with the Caribbean. My childhood years gave me arich trove of material. Maybe something to do with theMaine coast where my wife and I now spend much ofour time. I might like to cast my eye to California. Imight even continue with another story in Cuba. Thewhole process of writing fiction is a little bit like beingsprinkled with pixie dust. Let’s see what projectsthe fickle story fairies may have in store for me.
If you could host a small cadre of historic figures,living or dead, over dinner, who would you
invite?
First you’d have to have a central topic whichthese figures could all discuss. Something theyhave in common. Maybe I’d put together a pan-el of novelists who were all journalists at onetime. This would be a group from two differentcenturies. And you would certainly want somelively conversation. I would ask them to say howtheir training as journalists affected their careersas novelists. Where did they find the deepesttruths? Hemingway, Garcia Marquez, GeorgeEliot, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens,Mark Twain. My hope is that Dickens wouldclash swords with Hemingway. George Eliot andLouisa May Alcott might quietly find commoncause. Over cigars, I might hope for a livelymatch of wits between Garcia Marquez andTwain.
Is there anything else you would like to sharewith our readers?
I suppose it would be one last thought to helpanswer why I’m drawn to writing historical fic-tion. As a young boy growing up in St. Croix Iwas surrounded by scenes from a bygone era. Itwasn’t just the old eighteenth century Danisharchitecture. It was walking into an old pharma-
cy with botanical jars and creaky dark floors. It was see-ing the old wooden cargo schooners from some of theother islands filled with fruit sailing into the harborwith no engine. Some people on the island still gotaround in donkey carts as they’d done in the nineteenthcentury. All that along with the crumbling stone ruinsof the old sugar mills scattered on the hilltops were re-minders of the past. That might be another reason whyI’m drawn to writing about the nineteenth century. n
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The author at sea off Key West, Florida, aboard a charter schooner.
Visit Robin Lloyd online atwww.robinlloyd.org.
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INTERVIEW
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Kathy and Julian Stockwin work closely as acreative team producing the much-loved Tho-mas Kydd naval adventures. A former maga-zine editor-in-chief, Kathy brings animpressive range of skills to the table and inthis third of a series of special features forQuarterdeck she shines a spotlight on CaptainThomas Kydd’s hometown.
C APTAIN THOMAS KYDD’S jour-ney to a man-of-war’s quarterdeck began inGuildford, a charming English market
town in Surrey just thirty minutes southwest of central
PD –
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BY KATHY STOCKWIN
Thomas Kydd’s GuildfordLondon – a world apart from the capital’shustle and bustle. The town has a long and proud 1500-year history. It was founded by Saxon set-tlers shortly after Roman authority hadbeen removed from Britain. The site waschosen because the Harrow Way, an an-cient trackway, crosses the River Wey atthis point, via a ford. This gave rise to the
second half of Guildford’s name; the firsthalf probably came from the golden colored sand at thebank of the river. A number of authors have written about places �
The High Street in Guildford, Surrey (circa early 1800s), where Thomas Kydd plied his trade as awigmaker before being taken by a press gang in Kydd by Julian Stockwin (detail from a paintingby Charles Deane.)
Kathy Stockwin
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AUTHOR’S NOTES
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where they have lived in their books. Julian is no excep-tion and selected Guildford as Thomas Kydd’s birth-place. We made our home there for over ten yearsbefore moving to Devon. Aside from his intimate knowledge of the town, Ju-lian chose it as Kydd’s hometown because he wantedsomewhere removed from the larger world of the warwith France, a peaceful backwater from which he couldextract his hero with maximum impact and shock. Kydd was quietly enjoying a drink in the Horse andGroom tavern when his life changed forever:
Much of Kydd’s Guildford still remains today.
ST MARY’S CHURCHThe earliest building you can still see is Saxon, fromabout 950 AD – the stone tower of St Mary’s church.The Normans built the thick nave walls and the twoaisles supported on thick columns were finished in the12th century. It was here in Pasha that Kydd’s sisterCecilia married Kydd’s best friend Nicholas Renzi in aceremony that saw half of Guildford Town turn out tosee the honoured guests and shower the couple withwheat grains as they joyously emerged as man and wife.
THE MEDIEVAL CASTLE KEEPWilliam the Conqueror had a castle built at Guildfordin the classic Norman style; sadly only the keep stillstands. A major purpose of Norman castle building wasto overawe the conquered population. As the threat ofinvasion and insurrection declined, the castle’s statuswas demoted to that of a royal hunting lodge. Guildfordwas, at that time, at the edge of Windsor Great Park. Itwas visited on several occasions by King John, Eleanorof Aquitaine and King Henry III. By 1611 it was a ruin,but has kept silent vigil over the centuries. Kydd wouldhave played there as a youngster and today visitors canadmire the structure by strolling through a colorful �
“One minute it was noise and laughter, the next an ap-palled silence in the smoke-filled taproom at the sight ofsailors appearing at every exit. They were in costume likethat to be seen in the theatre, complete with pigtail,black tarred hat and short blue jacket. And each had acudgel in one hand, which he tapped slowly in the oppo-site palm. Patrons were allowed to leave, but at each door theywere separated into those who would go home to relatetheir escape to wide-eyed loved ones, and those whowould begin a long journey to their fate on the high seas.Kydd had struggled but under the weight of superiornumbers was soon over-powered.”
– Kydd, pages 5 & 6
ABOVE Julian Stockwin in front of the Horse & Groom public housewhere Thomas Kydd was press-ganged. RIGHT the medieval Norman-style Castle Keep in Guildford, where Thomas Kydd would have playedas a boy.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
Photos by George D. Jepson.
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municipal garden.
THE COBBLED HIGH STREETThe Guildhall dominates the High Street, with itscharming polygonal turret and the huge clock of 1683,which hangs out over the street. It was used as a courtroom, and later as the council chamber for the borough.The facade is classical, but the original building behindit is Tudor. It was just up from the Guildhall that Julianlocated the imaginary wig shop where the Kydd familyworked.
THE ANGEL POSTING HOUSEIn Kydd’s day there were a number of coaching inns inthe town. Just one survives today, the Angel Hotel inthe High Street. Its status as a posting house with livery stables issmartly picked out in black and white. Its fine Regencyfacade conceals a secret – there’s a Tudor timber framebuilding behind and a medieval undercroft.
The Angel was a popular place of lodging for navalofficers en route by coach from London to Portsmouth.Over the years many famous names have been added tothe guest register, including Jane Austen, OliverCromwell, Lord Nelson, and Lord Byron. In fact Nel-son spent his final night in the posting house writing afinal letter to Emma Hamilton before travelling toPortsmouth and embarking aboard HMS Victory forTrafalgar and immortality. It was also in this hotel that Julian and I learned hewas to be a published author. We were having a drinkin the bar when we received the phone call from ouragent Carole Blake.
HOLY TRINITY CHURCHThe Holy Trinity Church at the top of High Streetdates to medieval times. The present structure was com-pleted in the classical style in 1763. It was in the burialground here that Julian selected names from headstonesfor some of his characters. A weathered and tiltingmarker with the name Tewsley carved into it gave Julianinspiration for a “lined, middle aged lieutenant” aboardDuke William, who first appeared in Kydd.
THE RIVER WEYEarly in the series, we often strolled along the leafybanks of the River Wey, when Julian had a particularplot point he wanted to discuss. Its peace and serenityalways seemed to encourage the creative juices to flow. So, if you’re ever in Guildford do take a moment togo back in time to the days of Thomas Kydd, the youngwigmaker who, although press-ganged and taken to seaagainst his will, comes to love the life, discovering a truecalling. The twenty-second title in the Kydd Series, To theEastern Seas, soon rolls off the presses. Kydd is now aknight of the realm and captain of a famous fightingfrigate, Tyger. In a book some time in the not so distantfuture he will rise to the very pinnacle of his professionand hoist his pennant as admiral. It all began in Guildford . . . n
The Angel Hotel, a posting house in Guildford on the road fromLondon to Portsmouth, which was frequented by naval officers,including Nelson, in Kydd’s time.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
Visit Julian and Kathy Stockwin online atwww.julianstockwin.com.
24 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
BOOK REVIEWS
Harbor of SpiesBY ROBIN LLOYD
Lyons Press, US Hardback, $24.95 /$14.39, Kindle / $13.49, NOOK
AVAILABLE NOW
T he Cuban connection during theAmerican Civil War is a remnant
of history filled with intrigue, cutthroatcharacters, romance, and daring on thehigh seas. Robin Lloyd, who spent con-siderable time in the Caribbean coun-try as a foreign correspondent, bringsthese pieces together in his scintillatingsecond novel, Harbor of Spies.
Although Spanish Cuba claimedneutrality, Havana harbor teemed withbelligerents supporting both the Northand South. Union Navy ships taskedwith blockading southern ports sharedthe anchorage with vessels deliveringwar matériel and other goods to theConfederacy. In return, blockade runners returnedto Havana loaded with cotton, a highlysought after and profitable commodity,particularly in Great Britain, whichsympathized with the Confederatecause.
Against this background, Lloyd haswritten a provocative historical thrillerbristling with sea chases, murderousspies and a love story. The mysterioustwists and turns are enough to keepreaders guessing until the very end. Lloyd’s protagonist is young EverettTownsend, recently dismissed from theNaval Academy at Annapolis, who isunexpectedly in command of the 93-foot merchant schooner Laura Ann,which flies the Stars and Stripes and isbound from New York to Havana lad-en with a cargo of Maine lumber. Arriving in darkness below the “grimstone walls of El Morro Castle,”Townsend is ordered to anchor outsideHavana harbor until sunrise by theCaptain of the Port. At midnight “asilvery slice of moon” creeps across thesky, as Townsend and Clyde Hen-dricks relax on the deck, gazing at thebright stars above. When the calm is disturbed bythrashing sounds from the surroundingblack waters – and then “a muffledcry” – they lower the yawl boat andhaul aboard a mysterious English fugi-tive from Spanish authorities swim-ming for his life among sharks. This act of compassion sets theyoung Yankee on a course that threat-ens his life and sense of duty to thecountry he once hoped to serve as anaval officer. Townsend is imprisoned after heand the Englishman are attacked onthe street by unknown assailants. Fac-ing a firing squad, he is liberated by ashadowy, well-dressed Spanish mer-chant. The price for his freedom is to runthe Union Navy blockade with theLaura Ann, carrying contraband toRebel forces along the Gulf coast, put-ting him in league with a band of ruth-less profiteers. As Captain Townsend navigates ci-gar-smoke-filled drawing rooms and
cafes in 1860s Havana, foreign agentslurk at every turn. At sea, running theincreasingly risky Union naval block-ade, he contemplates an escape fromhis perilous predicament. All the while, he has romantic de-signs on a beautiful young American,Emma Carpenter, whose loyalty is withthe Union. When an opportunity towork covertly for the North arises,Townsend must decide where his truepassions lie.
Harbor of Spies skims along like atopsail schooner in a lively breeze, illu-minating a dramatic chapter in Ameri-can history, hopefully a promise ofmore to come from Lloyd’s pen. n
The Turn of the TideBY PHILIP ALLAN
Penmore Press, US Trade Paperback,$19.50 / $5.49, Kindle & NOOK
AVAILABLE NOW
C aptain Alexander Clay and thecrew of His Britannic Majesty’s
frigate Titan are caught up in the Ch-ouannerie – a Royalist uprising againstthe French First Republic – during �
25 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
BOOK REVIEWS
the French Revolution in 1800. This latest chapter in the Claychronicles is chock full of intrigue driv-en by mysterious characters, includingMajor Fraser, a secretive Scottish armyofficer with a “scarred and batteredface” and one eye “covered by a blackleather patch.” Summoned to London by EarlSpencer, First Lord of the Admiralty,Clay learns that Titan will be dis-patched to the Inshore Squadronblockading the Brittany coast “on de-tached service” to support the Royalistcause as he and the enigmatic Frasersee fit. Leading the Royalists is Count LouisD’Arzon, another murky character,who “served briefly in the French Ar-my” and boasts a loyal followingamong Royalists in Brittany’s Morbi-han region. Against this backdrop, Titan sailsfrom Plymouth into treacherous watersalong Brittany’s rugged coast. His or-ders are to deliver arms and powder tothe insurgents, along with Major Fraserand a contingent of drill sergeants. TheScot is tasked with shaping D’Arzon’sragtag Royalists into fighting units. Delivering weapons, related equip-ment, and soldiers to bolster the Ch-ouannerie on French soil is problematicenough, with enemy men-of-war atlarge in the Channel. But the enigmapresented by Fraser and D’Arzon fur-ther complicate Titan’s mission. Navigating the unexpected in TheTurn of the Tide is tantamount to afrigate beating into a tempest, wonder-ing what’s behind dark, scuddingclouds ahead. Razor-sharp shoals or aFrench broadside? Philip Allan’s narrative is anythingbut predictable as he spins a sailor’syarn steeped in dramatic battles at sea,daring raids ashore, and day-to-day lifeaboard a Royal Navy frigate. His Jack Tars, from a former slave to
an odd seaman who claims powers en-abling him to see into the future, createan eclectic brotherhood below decks asreal as the officers who walk the quar-terdeck. Through six titles in the AlexanderClay series, Allan has emerged as ashining new voice in naval fiction setagainst the background of the FrenchRevolution and soon the NapoleonicWars.
restored to fighting trim in the navaldockyard at Cape Town. Captain Thomas King sails fromEngland as a passenger aboard theHonourable East India Company arm-ed sloop St. George, which is escortinga merchant convoy to India. He isbound for Cape Town to resume com-mand of Mistral. Sharing his cabin isAimée, the elegant French woman heplans to wed. Crossing into the South Atlantic, alookout aboard the merchant Earl ofDalkeith signals St. George that twoenemy men-of-war are in sight, result-ing in a chase, with the sloop facing asuperior force. Observing the French ships closingwith the convoy and its escort, Kingand the St. George’s master clash overthe best strategy with which to defendagainst the impending attack. As thesloop clears for battle, King’s universeis about to burst. At Cape Town, Mistral’s refit isnearly complete, while CommodoreRichard Banks awaits her overdue cap-tain, realizing he must soon name anew commander. Candidates arescarce, but include the dockyard com-missioner, a “plump and balding offi-cer . . . not the archetypal frigatecaptain.” It is imperative that the frigate setsail to defend British shipping againstattacks by the French navy on the lu-crative trade route between Englandand India. Bond consistently delivers rousingnaval adventures, vividly seen throughthe eyes of the seamen who risk deathhigh above in the rigging or in man-ning red-hot cannon in battle, as wellas those in command on the quarter-deck. A superb storyteller, he weaves bitsand pieces into suspenseful scenarios,which move like smoke and oakumfrom one plight to the next. �
Sea TrialsBY ALARIC BOND
Old Salt Press, US Trade Paperback,$14.25 / $8.99, Kindle & NOOK
AVAILABLE NOW
ver the last decade, English nov-elist Alaric Bond has delivered
crackerjack naval fiction to readers onboth sides of the Atlantic, with hisFighting Sail Series, depicting life at seaduring the Nelson era.
Sea Trials is another bracing narra-tive from the author’s pen. His Britan-nic Majesty’s frigate Mistral, which wasseverely battered in an action againstthe French in Sealed Orders, has been
26 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
BOOK REVIEWS
Letter of MarqueBY MICHAEL AYE
Boson Books, US Trade Paperback, $20.99 /$6.99, Kindle & NOOK
AVAILABLE NOW
C onflict between the United Statesand the United Kingdom on the
high seas touched off the War of 1812or “the war for sailor’s rights.” The Napoleonic Wars, which flaredup in 1803, severely taxed the BritishRoyal Navy, whose inshore squadronsblockaded French ports and constantlysought men to fill out their crews. One unpopular answer was to im-press American merchant sailors, apractice that eventually led PresidentJames Madison to declare war againstGreat Britain on 18 June 1812. In Letter of Marque, Georgia-basednovelist Michael Aye wades into theclash, which often pitted brotheragainst brother. Cooper Cain, the for-mer pirate, is caught between America,his adopted country, and his ties to hisnative England. Aye is at his best telling storiesthrough striking characters, from theyoung one-time brigand Cooper Cain
to the Chinaman Quang to England’sFighting Anthonys. His breezy proseflows with the ease of a ship underplain sail. Returning to Savannah from Anti-gua with his new bride Maddy –daughter of a Royal Navy admiral –Cain assumes command of the newprivateer frigate SeaFire, armed with aletter of marque – legal permission touse an armed vessel to capture enemymerchant shipping. In concert with the privateers Thun-derbolt and Southern Cross, SeaFire sailsfrom Savannah into the Gulf of Mexi-co, along the Georgia coast, and toMaine’s Casco Bay, seeking Britishprizes and their valuable cargoes. When Vice Admiral Sir Gabriel An-thony is summoned to the Admiraltyin London, life suddenly becomesmore complicated. New orders puthim in command of frigates specificallydirected “to search out and destroy”the American privateers wreaking hav-oc with British supply ships – includ-ing his son-in-law, Cooper Cain.
Letter of Marque is another thump-ing good read from Michael Aye, thesecond in his Pyrate Trilogy.
Heroes of AnnapolisBY DAVID POYER
Northampton House Press,US Trade Paperback, $17.95
JULY
D avid Poyer turns from his best-selling Dan Lenson naval thrill-
ers to presenting profiles in courageamong United States Naval Academygraduates between the American CivilWar and the recent Global War onTerror. Poyer, who is an Annapolis gradu-ate, sought subjects who acted beyondthe call of duty “to enlarge our under-standing of what human beings are ca-pable of” – ordinary people doingextraordinary things. In 1898 during the Spanish-Ameri-can War, Robley D. Evans – known as“Fighting Bob, ” class of 1864 – distin-guished himself by going to the aid ofenemy sailors from their burning ship,off Santiago, Cuba, when they cameunder fire from Cubans. It was but oneheroic incident in the career of a “pro-fane sea dog, with a gimpy, swayingwalk . . . ever ready for a fight.” Nearly a century and a half later,three class of 1995 graduates – MeganMcClung, Erik Kristensen, and Doug-las Zembiec – paid the ultimate pricefor America in the wake of the 911 at-tacks . In the decades in between, genera-tions of Annapolis alumni were cele-brated for courageous acts, includingLieutenant-commander Howard W.Gilmore, class of 1926. An “averageguy,” he was the first submariner toearn the Medal of Honor, when he or-dered his executive officer to “take herdown” as he lay wounded on thebridge.
Heroes of Annapolis is an inspirationfrom cover to cover. n – George Jepson
27 | QUARTERDECK | SUMMER 2019
Kings and PawnsBY JAMES L. NELSON
(Fore Topsail Press, $12.99, US Trade Paperback / $3.99, Kindle) With theirlongships storm-blown to the southern coast of Engla-land, Thorgrim NightWolf and his men find themselves rich with plunder and safely ensconced ina priory called Christchurch. But that cannot last. Thorgrim, in a wolfdream, has seen the enemy armies closing in, and he knows that peace willsoon be at an end. The gods do not go so easy on them. Nor are the godsthe only threat they face. As Nothwulf, brother of the murdered ealdormanof Dorsetshire, and Cynewise, his sister-in-law, fight for rule, each seeks tomake the raiders unwitting pawns in their game, maneuvering toward a finalbattle that each hopes will spell the end of the other, as well as the Norsestrangers who have invaded their shores.AVAILABLE NOW
A Stormy PeaceBY DAVID McDINE
(Endeavour Media, $4.99, Kindle) The nineteenth century has just begun,but it has not arrived quietly. At least, not on the high seas, where Lieuten-ant Oliver Anson and his comrades have been fighting the NapoleonicWars. A tenuous peace finds them enjoying some respite. And for Oliver,there are matters of the heart to be resolved back at home. But nobody istaking anything for granted. Which is how Anson and his friends, includingthe rakish French aristocrat Hurel, find themselves undertaking clandestinework in France, just as the peace begins to falter and the threat level rapidlyrises.AVAILABLE NOW
MARITIME FICTION
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The Traitor of Treasure IslandBY JOHN DRAKE
(Endeavour Quill, $12.99, US Trade Paperback / $3.99, Kindle) Buried forover 300 years and now brought triumphantly to light by Dr Livesay, thisis, at last, the true story of what happened on the fateful Treasure Island.The truth about Captain Flint and his fabled death. The truth about LongJohn Silver and his coveted wife. And the truth about Jim Hawkins, thatdouble-dealing turncoat of the first order: the traitor of Treasure Island.AUGUST
Destiny’s TideBY J. D. DAVIES
(Canelo Adventure, $2.99, Kindle) Jack Stannard has spent his whole life atsea, enduring savage beatings from his father and the furious aggression ofwhip-cracking storms. But a more cruel and dangerous foe is on the hori-zon. When Henry VIII dissolves the monasteries and wages war againstFrance and Scotland simultaneously, Jack must take up his family destiny atthe head of the Dunwich fleet. But enemy blades may be the least of hisproblems. Aging ships, treacherous rivals, and ghosts from the past allthreaten to interfere with the war effort. The only man he can trust isThomas Ryman, a former warrior turned monk. As the English fleet de-scends on Edinburgh, the dangerous game of politics and war reaches a shat-tering climax aboard the pride of Henry’s navy, the Mary Rose. Stannard andRyman know that it is not just their lives that are at stake, but the future ofEngland herself.AVAILABLE NOW
MARITIME FICTION
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Sea of GoldBY JULIAN STOCKWIN
(Hodder & Stoughton, $13.99, UK Trade Paperback / $8.99, Kindle &NOOK) 1809 . . . After his heroic actions during the retreat to Corunna,Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is the toast of London society. Here he falls inwith the legendary frigate captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane. So begins a rela-tionship – professional and personal – that will lead him, almost simultane-ously, to first glory, then ruin. The French fleet is massing in the BasqueRoads in a near impregnable position. The Admiralty orders Cochrane tocommand an attack, to the chagrin of more senior officers, who object tobeing overlooked and Cochrane’s reputation for daring. Cochrane insists thathis new friend, Kydd, is in the forefront of the assault armada, a motley col-lection of rocket, bomb and fire ships that will set the anchorage ablaze – thisdespite Kydd’s almost pathological fear of fire. The fallout from what followswill see Kydd financially ruined, with only his former shipmates, his oldestfriend, Nicholas Renzi, and the whisper of hidden Spanish treasure promis-ing the sea of gold that he needs to save himself.AVAILABLE NOW
The Cursed FortressBY CHRIS DURBIN
(Independent, $12.00, US Trade Paperback / $5.40, Kindle*) The Frenchcalled it La Forteresse Maudite, the Cursed Fortress. Louisbourg stood at themouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, massive and impregnable, a permanentprovocation to the British colonies. It was Canada’s first line of defence,guarding the approaches to Quebec, from where all New France lay open toinvasion. It had to fall before a British fleet could be sent up the St. Law-rence. Otherwise, there would be no resupply and no line of retreat; Canadawould become the graveyard of George II’s navy. A failed attempt on Louis-bourg in 1757 had only stiffened the government’s resolve; the Cursed For-tress must fall in 1758. Captain Carlisle’s frigate joins the blockade ofLouisbourg before winter’s icy grip has eased. Battling fog, hail, rain, frostand snow, suffering scurvy and fevers, and with a constant worry about thewife he left behind in Virginia, Carlisle will face his greatest test of leader-ship and character yet. The Cursed Fortress is the fifth installment in the Car-lisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures, which are set against the backgroundof the Seven Years’ War.JULY *These prices may vary slightly depending on UK-US exchange rates.
MARITIME FICTION
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1 – THE KING’S COAT(McBooks Press, $19.95, US Trade Paperback / $6.99,Kindle) 1780 . . . Seventeen-year-old Alan Lewrie is abrash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that hiscallous father believes a bit of navy discipline will turnthe boy around. Fresh aboard HMS Ariadne,Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas,finding – rather unexpectedly – that he is a bornsailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures ofthe port and the raging battles on the high seas. Butin a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise forthe young midshipman.
2 – THE FRENCH ADMIRAL(McBooks Press, $24.95, US Trade Paperback / $9.99,Kindle / $9.49, NOOK) Alan Lewrie finds life at sea is astark contrast to the London social whirl. As his careeradvances, he finds the life of a naval officer suits him.At the siege of Yorktown, near the end of theRevolutionary War, the town is pounded by theAmerican forces on land and French warships at sea.The Royal Navy, with heavily-armed frigates, is posedto break through the French blockade. Aboard HMSDesperate, Midshipman Alan Lewrie sets his gunnersto their lethal work firing broadsides of 24-poundershot at the enemy vessels.
3 – THE KING’S COMMISSION(McBooks Press, $19.95, US Trade Paperback / $6.99,Kindle) 1782 . . . Fresh from duty on the frigateDesperate in her fight with the French Capricieuse offSt. Kitts, Midshipman Alan Lewrie passes his exami-nation board for lieutenancy and finds himselfcommissioned first officer of the brig o’war Shrike.There’s time for some dalliance with the fair sexbefore Lieutenant Lewrie is off to patrol the NorthAmerican coast. Then it’s back to the Caribbean, tosail beside Captain Horatio Nelson in the Battle forTurks Island.
3 – THE KING’S PRIVATEER(McBooks Press, $19.95, US Trade Paperback / $6.99,Kindle) Having at last foiled his father’s plot todisinherit him of his mother’s fortune, LieutenantLewrie is in London and in the chips, furnishing a flatand enjoying the favors of at least three shamelessLondon ladies while paying semi-serious court to hisvirtuous colonial girlfriend, Caroline Chiswick. But thelife of ease and easy virtue ends abruptly with a callfrom the Admiralty. Alan’s services are neededimmediately. He’s to join a secret, unofficial mission,sailing with the crew of Telesto, an armedmerchantman bound for India.
The Alan Lewrie NovelsBY DEWEY LAMBDIN
MARITIME FICTION
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The Alan Lewrie NovelsBY DEWEY LAMBDIN
MARITIME FICTION
5 – THE GUN KETCH(McBooks Press, $23.95, US Trade Paperback / $9.99,Kindle / $9.49, NOOK) It’s 1786 and Alan Lewrie hashis own ship at last, the Alacrity. Small but deadly, theAlacrity prowls the waters of the Caribbean,protecting British merchants from pirates. But Lewrieis still the same old rakehell he always was. Scandalsets tongues wagging in the Bahamas as the youngcaptain thumbs his nose at propriety and makes a fewwell-planned conquests on land before sailing off totake on Calico Jack Finney, the boldest pirate in theCaribbean.
6 – HMS COCKEREL(McBooks Press, $24.95, US Trade Paperback / $7.99,Kindle / $9.49, NOOK) 1793 . . . After four yearsashore, the thrill of the high seas await Alan Lewrieonce more. He is gratified when Revolutionary Francethreatens war and the Royal Navy beckons. But,aboard the HMS Cockerel Lewrie must deal with adifficult captain and disgruntled seamen. Once in theMediterranean he throws caution to the wind as hemeets the bewitching Lady Emma Hamilton and findshimself at the Battle of Toulon. Outnumbered three-to-one, Lewrie takes on the French in a desperate bidto help the Royalists escape.
7 – A KING’S COMMANDER(McBooks Press, $24.95, US Trade Paperback / $9.99,Kindle / $9.49, NOOK) It's 1793 and Alan Lewrie isnow commander of HMS Jester, an 18-gun sloop.Lewrie sails into Corsica only to receive astonishingorders: lure his archenemy, French commanderGuillaume Choundas, into battle – and personallystrike the malevolent spymaster dead! With HoratioNelson as his squadron commander on one hand anda luscious courtesan who spies for the French on theother, Lewrie must pull out all the stops if he’s goingto live up to his own reputation.
8 – JESTER’S FORTUNE(McBooks Press, $24.95, US Trade Paperback / $3.99,Kindle / $9.49, NOOK) 1796 . . . Napoleon hasinherited a ragtag army and turned it into anunstoppable fighting force. While the soil of Piedmontand Tuscany runs with blood, another battle takesshape on the mysterious Adriatic Sea. Alan Lewrie andhis 18-gun sloop, Jester, sail into the thick of it. Butwith England's allies failing, Napoleon busyrearranging the world map, and their squadronstretched dangerously thin along the Croatian coast,the British squadron commander strikes a devil'sbargain: enlisting the aid of Serbian pirates.
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GibraltarBY ROY AND LESLEY ADKINS
(Penguin Books, $18.00, US Trade Paperback / $13.99, Kindle & NOOK)For more than three and a half years – from 1779 to 1783 – the tiny territo-ry of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the over-whelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in Britishhistory. The obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of theAmerican colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Medi-terranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place ofvaried nationalities, languages, religions, and social classes. During the siege,thousands of soldiers, civilians, and their families withstood terrifying bom-bardments, starvation, and disease. Very ordinary people lived through ex-traordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attemptedinvasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadlyinnovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells, and a barrage from im-mense floating batteries. This is military and social history at its best.AVAILABLE NOW
In the Hurricane’s EyeBY NATHANIEL PHILBRICK
(Penguin Books, $18.00, US Trade Paperback / $14.99, Kindle & NOOK) Inthe fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington hadcome to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with thehelp of the French navy. But as he had learned after two years of trying, co-ordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships basedthousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5,1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most im-portant naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of theChesapeake – fought without a single American ship – made the subsequentvictory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. In a narrativethat moves from Washington's headquarters on the Hudson River, to thewooded hillside in North Carolina where Nathanael Greene fought LordCornwallis to a vicious draw, to Lafayette’s brilliant series of maneuversacross Tidewater Virginia, Philbrick details the epic and suspenseful yearthrough to its triumphant conclusion. A riveting and wide-ranging story,full of dramatic, unexpected turns.AVAILABLE NOW
MARITIME HISTORY
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MARINE ART
“Breezy Weather”Oil on board, 6" x 8"
$650
“Passing Squall”Oil on board, 6" x 8"
$650
“Moonlight Rendezvous”Oil on board, 6" x 8"
$650
“Channel Rendezvous”Oil on board, 7 1/4" x 9 3/4"
$750
Geoffrey Huband, RSMAG eoffrey Huband, a member of the Royal Society of
Marine Artists, has created cover art for the Alexan-der Kent novels published by McBooks Press. He worksprimarily on commissions and is presently focusing on ex-hibitions in the United Kingdom and the United States.Individuals interested in these oil-on-board miniaturesmay contact the artist at [email protected].
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Geo
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McBOOKS pressTHE DESTINATION FOR NAUTICAL FICTION
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