Synopses & Reviews
It is 1793.
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 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 the 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 new writing talent and 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.
Synopsis
It is 1793. 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 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 the 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 new writing talent and 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.
Synopsis
This is the debut novel in a thrilling new series of the seafaring adventures of Thomas Paine Kydd, a young man pressed into service who comes of age in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
About the Author
Julian Stockwin was born in Hampshire, England, in 1944 and was sent at the age of fourteen to Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the Royal Navy at fifteen and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated. He saw service in the Far East, the Antarctic, and the South Seas, and served on a carrier task force in Vietnam. Later commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve, he was awarded the MBE and retired with the rank of lieutenant commander. He now lives in Guildford with his wife, Kathy, where he has completed Artemis, a sequel to Kydd, and is at work on a third Kydd novel. Visit the author at julianstockwin.com