Pasha

Word has come from the British ambassador Arbuthnot that the neutral Turks are being wooed by the French and if the ancient city of Constantinople falls into their hands, Napoleons route to India will be completely unfettered and his plans for world domination a reality. Concerned for his safety, Arbuthnot is demanding a large fleet presence to take him off and bring the Turks to their senses. Braving treacherous currents, unreliable winds, and giant bombards, Thomas Kydd returns to sea and rescues the ambassador, but as Kydd waits for the rest of the expected fleet, the French are able to strengthen the Turkish defenses. Meanwhile Kydds friend and confidential secretary, Nicholas Renzi, has assumed a new and dangerous role that he can never make public. He engineers a coup in the Topkapi Palace that turns the tables on the French but at the cost of both infidel nations being ejected from the Ottoman Empire. When Kydd learns of Renzis incarceration in a Turkish prison, he knows if will take superb seamanship and sheer bravado to free his friend.

“High-seas adventure, ocean battles, bloody melees, and general villainy . . . Stockwin, who based this tale on a factual debacle overlooked by history, is a master of Napoleonic-era atmosphere and rich descriptions of the military, politics, and society. With the last two books, Stockwins series is approaching the level of C. S. Foresters Hornblower books.”  —Publishers Weekly

Julian Stockwin is a retired teacher and educational psychologist, and a former lieutenant commander of the Royal Navy Reserve. He entered the British Navy at age 15 and was eventually named a Member of the British Empire. He is the author of the Kydd Sea Adventures series.