Qu arte rd eck

Interviews:
Geoff Hunt
Roy & Lesley Adkins May/June 2009
 CONTENTS
May/June 2009 Quarterdeck is published by
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The Frigate Surprise by Brian Lavery and Geoff Hunt. Eastern Time.

FEATURES
PUBLISHER
Alexander Skutt
6 Geoff Hunt alex@mcbooks.com
English marine artist Geoff Hunt chats about his career and
new book, The Frigate Surprise, produced in collaboration QUARTERDECK EDITOR
George Jepson
with naval historian Brian Lavery. 269-372-4673
gdjepson@gmail.com
9 Roy and Lesley Adkins EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
British naval historians and archaeologists Roy and Lesley Jackie Swift
Adkins describe their approach to researching and writing jackie@mcbooks.com
about the Age of Fighting Sail.
CUSTOMER SERVICE DIRECTOR
Robin Cisne
RECENT ARRIVALS robin@mcbooks.com

Zulu Hart by Saul David IT DIRECTOR

14
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell chris@mcbooks.com

15 The Killing Way by Tony Hays

Blood Rock by James Jackson Prices are subject to
Captain Rawson Series by Edward Marston
change without notice.
16 Oathsworn Novels by Robert Low
Under Enemy Colors by S. Thomas Russell

18 Billy Boyle World War II Mysteries

Cover: Detail from Flying Kites HMS Surprise by Geoff Hunt (©

Geoff Hunt), which appears on the cover of The Frigate Surprise by
Brian Lavery and Geoff Hunt (see page 5).

2 QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com

SCUTTLEBUTT
DEWEY LAMBDIN
Nashville-based author
Dewey Lambdin reports
N EW B OO K
that he is working with his P UB LI C ATI O N D ATES
St. Martin’s Press editor on 2009 - 2010
the final manuscript of
US (United States)
King, Ship and Sword, the UK (United Kingdom)
sixteenth Alan Lewrie PB (Paperback)
TPB (Trade Paperback)
naval adventure, which is HC (Hardcover)
scheduled for publication
in February 2010. The
Dewey Lambdin book follows The Baltic
Gambit, which is currently May
available in a hardcover edition.
A new McBooks Press trade paperback edi- The Frigate Surprise (USHC)
tion of HMS Cockerel, book six in the Alan Lewrie series, is now available. by Geoff Hunt and Brian Lavery

The Tide of War (UKHC)

GEORGE D. JEPSON
by Seth Hunter
The June issue of WoodenBoat magazine features an article by Quarterdeck
Editor George Jepson on the history of Great Lakes schooners during the The Hawk (UKPB)
1800s. The magazine is now available on newstands. Jepson also has written by Peter Smalley
profiles of two wooden vessels, which will appear in WoodenBoat Magazine’s
Small Boats 2010 issue, which will be on newstands in December. Contentious Captains (USHC)
by Louis Norton
JAMES L. NELSON
James L. Nelson, Maine-based author of the June
Revolution at Sea Saga and maritime historian,
presented a talk in March at the Prizker Military The Glory Boys (UKPB)
Library in Chicago, IL. Nelson spoke on his by Douglas Reeman
most recent naval history, George Washington’s
July
Navy. The entire talk is available to view on line
at the Pritzker Military Library’s website at
The Gathering Storm (UKHC)
by Peter Smalley
(www.pritzkermilitarylibrary.org),
Julian Stockwin’s Maritime
or as a podcast, which may be downloaded from Miscellany (UKHC)
the Pritzker site. by Julian Stockwin
Nelson is currently writing a new history,
George Washington’s Great Gamble, which dis- October
cusses how Washington, whose understanding of the need for a naval force
was chronicled in George Washington’s Secret Navy, finally understood that Invasion (USHC)
the Revolutionary War was not going to be won without naval supremacy. by Julian Stockwin

The Privateer’s Revenge

S. THOMAS RUSSELL
(USTPB)
Vancouver Island-based novelist S. Thomas Russell is at work on the sequel by Julian Stockwin
to Under Enemy Colors. The book’s working title is The Corsican. No date of
publication has been announced.

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BY GEORGE!
Geoff Hunt’s Eyes ...
O
n an autumn evening in the
early 1990s, I stopped by
J.R. Rollins, my favorite
independent bookshop in
Kalamazoo, MI, which sadly is no longer.
Outside the entrance were tables covered
with books offered at discounts. Browsing
through the hundreds of volumes, I
chanced upon several trade paperbacks by
an author called Patrick
O’Brian. I was drawn to
them by their cover art,
which portrayed scenes at
sea during Britain’s wars
with Revolutionary and
Napoleonic France.
Although I had read
C.S. Forester’s Horatio
Hornblower stories and
was particularly fond of
Alexander Kent’s Richard
Bolitho novels, Patrick
O’Brian was still unknown
to me. After reading a few
Detail from “HMS Artemis”
by Geoff Hunt passages in the books, I
was uncertain as to
whether they were my cup of tea. But I
fancied the cover art by a fellow called
Geoff Hunt, and I was soon headed
home with several titles under my arm.
It wasn’t long before I found Patrick
O’Brian’s work to be a pure joy. I was
thrilled to have found another window
into the time of Nelson. There were then
fifteen titles featuring Captain Jack
Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, and
O’Brian was at last gaining broad recog-
nition. Better yet, W.W. Norton was
releasing the entire series with cover art
created by Geoff Hunt, whose paintings
had captured my emotions, and were
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exquisite visual companions to O’Brian’s
Aubrey-Maturin novels.
A decade later, after Amy and I had
assumed the helm of Tall Ships Books, I
was interviewing Geoff for Bowsprit –
the publication which preceded
Quarterdeck – when he recommended a
new author named Julian Stockwin.
Geoff had been commissioned to create a
painting of HMS Duke William for the
cover of Kydd, the author’s debut novel.
Within the year, we were in England
on a busman’s holiday, based in Guildford
south of London, the fictional home of
Julian’s character, Thomas Kydd. Julian’s
second novel, Artemis, was about to be
launched, and we were invited to the fes-
tivities at the Royal Naval Museum with-
in the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth.
Also among the guests was Geoff Hunt,
who unveiled his original oil painting
portraying the crack frigate HMS Artemis.
By then, Geoff ’s work had been embrac-
ed by collectors on both sides of the
Atlantic, and his limited edition naval
prints were in great demand.
On another occasion, we accompanied
Julian and Kathy Stockwin on a visit to
Geoff ’s studio in Wimbledon, which
stood on the grounds of Merton, the
home of Nelson and Lady Emma
Hamilton. Seeing the environment – ref-
erence books, small models, easel, paint
tubes, palettes, brushes and sketches – in
which he created his magnificent art was
an experience we will never forget.
Seldom a day passes that I do not
take a journey – however brief – to the
world of Nelson, Aubrey and Kydd
through the eyes of Geoff Hunt.
George Jepson
BOOKSHELF

The Frigate Surprise

By Brian Lavery & Geoff Hunt

“Geoff Hunt’s pictures, perfectly accurate in period and detail, but very far from merely
representational, are often suffused with a light reminiscent of Canaletto.”
Patrick O’Brian

T
here is no more famous a vessel in this historic vessel.
naval fiction than HMS Surprise, Readers are treated to a perceptive
the principal ship in Patrick introduction by Nikolai Tolstoy, Patrick
O’Brian’s much-celebrated Aubrey- O’Brian’s stepson, who describes the rela-
Maturin naval fiction series. Yet, this 28- tionship between Geoff Hunt and
gun frigate also had an eventful real O’Brian, which began in 1987 when the
career, serving in both the French and the artist was commissioned to do the first of
British navies. She was captured from the his cover illustrations for The Letter of
French by the Royal Navy in 1796, and Marque.
took part in Brian Lavery’s history of Surprise offers
the famous interesting nuggets of information about
cutting-out such things as the ship’s first British com-
action on the manding officer, Ralph Willett Miller,
frigate HMS who “was the only son of a colonist who
Hermione, lost most of his property through his loy-
which the alty to the British crown during the
Spanish had American Revolution.”
taken after a Thirty-five of Geoff Hunt’s brilliant
savage mutiny. paintings – some specially commissioned
In 1802, after – compliment historical illustrations,
the Peace of maps, artifacts, and photographs. Fifty
Amiens, HMS line plans have been drawn by the marine
Surprise was draftsman Karl Heinz Marquardt, who is
decommis- well known for his work with the
sioned, and in Anatomy of a Ship series.
1973 she was The Frigate Surprise is a fitting com-
delivered into the fictional captaincy of panion not only to Patrick O’Brian’s
Jack Aubrey by novelist Patrick O’Brian Aubrey-Maturin novels, but to those who
in HMS Surprise. enjoy the period of the French Revolution
This sumptuous new volume – a col- and Napoleonic Wars, including the nov-
laboration between distinguished naval els of Julian Stockwin, whose covers have
historian Brian Lavery and marine artist also featured Geoff Hunt paintings.
Geoff Hunt – narrates the career of HMS
Surprise in both her historical and her fic- HARDCOVER | 144 PAGES | $39.95
tional roles, and presents an all-embracing (50 color illustrations; 70 black-and-white
drawings; maps)
construction and fitting-out history of
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 GEOFF HUNT

Artist & Historian

“It’s the source material which is so fascinating, the
wealth of logbooks and other first-hand material ...”

W
hen English
marine artist Geoff
Hunt creates an oil
painting, he opens
a window into the past, bringing
the days of the Royal Navy during
Nelson’s time – as well as other his-
torical periods –
into focus. Viewing
an original Hunt
painting or print
often brings to
mind English
authors Patrick
O’Brian and Julian
Stockwin, whose Geoff Hunt
novel covers bear fine
representations by the
artist of the ships portrayed in prose within.
Geoff Hunt first became associated with Patrick
O’Brian in 1988 when The Letter of Marque was pub-
lished, beginning a collaborative relationship that resulted
in Hunt paintings gracing the covers of each of the twen-
ty-one Aubrey-Maturin novels, as well as many compaion
volumes produced over the years.
In 2001 – in the year following Patrick O’Brian’s death – a cover
painting by Hunt portraying British ship-of-the-line HMS Duke William
launched Kydd, Julian Stockwin’s debut novel featuring impressed seaman

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 GEOFF HUNT
Thomas Paine Kydd. Hunt’s well- were there artists, either from earlier Has your approach to your work
researched and historically accurate periods or your contemporaries, changed much over the years?
paintings have irrevocably linked who influenced your work?
him to the O’Brian and Stockwin Still office hours, still can’t find
novels. I am not really conscious of influ- enough of them, particularly the
This month, The Frigate ences specific to marine art, though daylight ones. I don't think my gen-
Surprise: The Complete Story of the in general I know what kind of eral approach has really changed,
Ship Made Famous in the Novels of painting I like, and which of my though I sometimes hope the work
Patrick O’Brian (see BOOKSHELF on contemporaries I now admire. I itself has improved.
page 5), a collaboration by Hunt guess if there was an early influence
and distinguished naval historian in my book-cover work it would You have focused a great deal of
Brian Lavery, is being released in the have been Chris Mayger, a fine work on the American Revolution
United States. The book follows The British illustrator no longer with us, and the French Revolution and
Marine Art of Geoff Hunt: Master alas. Napoleonic Wars. Is there still more
Painter of the Naval World of Nelson for you to accomplish during these
and Patrick O’Brian, which was pub- What is your opinion of the histori- periods?
lished in 2004 and
carried a foreword by Yes, always more. As in
Julian Stockwin. Both “I just start reading contemporary the first answer, the
coffee table-sized vol- original source materi-
umes are richly illus- accounts ... before I know it, I am al we have from that
trated with paintings period is of such high
by the artist. irresistibly drawn to start wonder- quality and there is so
Geoff Hunt recent- much of it.
ly responded to ques- ing what that scene would have
tions from You have also done
Quarterdeck in this looked like ...” recent paintings of fast
interview: sailing ships during
cal accuracy of paintings done dur- the Great Age of Sail. Will you do
What is it about ships and the sea ing the Napoleonic period versus the more in the near future?
that brings you back time and again work accomplished by modern
to produce your wonderful work? artists? I’m hoping to get back to some of
those soon.
It’s the source material which is so You get a feeling for an artist's accu-
fascinating, the wealth of logbooks racy and the same thing applies Do you still enjoy creating paintings
and other first-hand material. I just whether they lived in the eighteenth to serve as cover art for sea novels?
start reading contemporary century or now – or even the six-
accounts, and before I know it, I am teenth century, as I have recently I do very few book covers these
irresistibly drawn to start wondering been discovering in connection with days, but I have very much enjoyed
what that scene would have looked the Mary Rose. You find that certain working with Julian and Kathy
like, what it would have been like to artists are consistently credible, so Stockwin on the Kydd series.
be there. But the same kind of thing you feel you can depend on what
also applies to modern ships once I they portray, and others are not. Have you observed much of a
get involved in them – for example, change in the publishing world since
I love to pore over ships’ plans. Do you still keep “office hours” at you began creating cover art for
your studio in Merton Place on the Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin
As you developed your unique style, grounds of Nelson’s former home? novels?
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 GEOFF HUNT
I’d say the biggest change has been reproduction rights to the Mary
the steady deterioration in the status Rose Trust, as a tiny contribution to
of the book-cover artist, mainly due a mountainous amount of fund-rais-
to the fact that [publisher’s] art ing they are having to contemplate.
directors and designers have become The painting’s first outing will prob-
accustomed to regarding everything ably be on the book cover of Peter
that arrives in their computer as just Marsden's forthcoming volume, an
another graphic element which they academic study which will probably
can do with as they wish. The com- not be widely available; thereafter
puter has made everything ephemer- we are looking at producing it in a
al – including, of course, illustra- variety of different print formats,
tions themselves, which are now and so on. For anyone interested,
often created by illustrators on the here’s the Mary Rose website address:
computer itself. For those artists,
their work is merely a digital file and www.maryrose.org.
has no physical existence, and I
think they themselves are now com- Are there other areas you would like
ing to regard their work as dispos- to explore with your work?
able, of no real value, just another Detail from “Speedy 14-gun brig”
input. I really think we have lost by Geoff Hunt I am still interested in modern ships
something in this process. and shipbuilding, and would like to
opportunity for 25 years to create an do more in this field. I recently
What was the driving force behind artist’s impression of this 500-year- painted one of the Royal Navy’s new
The Frigate Surprise? old ship reflecting all the latest Type 45 destroyers under construc-
archaeological and documentary evi- tion on-site, and that was very inter-
This book was my original idea, but dence. Very challenging, too, since esting.
a very casual one. I was chatting all the obviously interesting parts of
to the publisher, John Lee, over a the ship in pictorial terms – the Has the end of your term as presi -
pub lunch one day, dent of the Royal
and I happened to Society of Marine
suggest that the “This has been very exciting, the Artists opened up more
Surprise might make time for painting or
a very good first opportunity for 25 years to recreation?
Anatomy of the Ship
subject. It was John create an artist’s impression of this My five-year term
who did all the hard ended in October 2008,
work, recruiting 500-year-old ship ... Very chal- and it has temporarily
Brian and freed up a good deal of
Karl, and developing lenging, too ...” time, but needless to say
the concept into the other commitments are
much more ambitious book it masts and sails, the upperworks, the beginning to loom up to fill the
became. colouring – are all missing, so prac- vacancy!
tically every single brushmark in
Tell us about your new project with these areas has to represent a best- Do you still sail?
the English vessel Mary Rose ? guess, requiring a great deal of
thought. Regarding the Mary Rose, I Still do, and still get seasick all the
That has been very exciting, the first have donated the painting and all its time.

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 ROY & LESLEY ADKINS

Naval Historians
“What sparked our interest was our first ever visit to
the Trafalgar Cemetery in Gibraltar ...”

B British naval historians and archaeologists Roy and Lesley

Adkins have made their mark in naval history, after a distin-
guished career in archaeology. Jack Tar, their most recent
book, has been extremely well-received on both sides of the
Atlantic, though its availability in the US is limited.
McBooks Press stocks the title, along with The War for All the
Oceans and Trafalgar, also by the Adkins.
The Adkins recently chatted about their career in this inter-
view with Quarterdeck:

What motivated you to write naval history after

distinguished careers in archeology?

Lesley: We have been writing books from virtual-

Roy and Lesley Adkins
ly day one as professional archaeologists, and one
of our books was The Keys of Egypt: The Race to
Read the Hieroglyphs. This starts off with
Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt and the discovery
of Egyptian antiquities, including the Rosetta
Stone. And of course it involves the destruction
of Napoleon’s fleet in Aboukir Bay by Nelson.
We were fascinated by that element of the story
and in this roundabout way we became hooked on naval his-
tory. We weren’t total newcomers, though – both of us had
visited HMS Victory on many occasions as schoolchildren,
and I myself was brought up very close to Portsmouth and its
dockyard, so the sea, the navy and HMS Victory were always
present in my early life.

Did either of you read naval history and/or sea fiction?

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 ROY & LESLEY ADKINS
Roy: I certainly have done so, and I as reality, and this is how they learn would be fascinating to write a book
spent much of my youth reading the about history. For me personally, it that was geared not so much around
novels of C.S. Forester, Alexander can be frustrating when reading tactics and officers, but on what the
Kent, Patrick O’Brian, and others. I some novels not to be able to tell men experienced. The anniversary
also read other types of historical fic- fact from fiction. That’s usually the was a bonus. We were still some way
tion, and one of my favorite authors sign of a skillfully written book! off from the 2005 commemoration
is Dorothy Dunnett. I have also Many people only ever read fiction, of the battle, so there was no way of
always read many non-fiction histo- yet at the same time they may visit telling how many books would be
ry books on all sorts of topics, which sea-related events, places and muse- published on the battle and on
is very important to get a rounded ums, so it is really important to har- Nelson. In the UK it was published
view of the world. ness people’s enthusiasms and pas- in autumn 2004 as Trafalgar: The
sions in any way. Biography of A Battle, but in the US
What place does naval fiction today the book came out a year later, and
play in providing context for mod- What drew you to write about the publisher decided on the title
ern readers about the history of the Trafalgar in light of all the books Nelson’s Trafalgar: The Battle that
Royal Navy and the Changed the World,
world during the Age which reviewers then
of Sail? “We have written three nonfiction criticized! Publishers
and booksellers love
Lesley: We have writ-
ten three non-fiction
books on naval history, and many anniversary books or
TV tie-in books,
books on naval history,
and many people have
people have told us they read like because they expect
free publicity in the
told us that they read
like fiction, which we
fiction, which we take very much media.

take very much as a

compliment. If we can
as a compliment.”
inform and entertain
at the same time, then we feel that
that is an immense achievement. In
my view, the best historical fiction
books are ones that interweave their
story with a real background. If
readers of fiction can be transported
back in time to that age and go
away feeling entertained, then that is
great. Fiction serves a different pur-
pose to non-fiction, though. Its pri-
mary role is to entertain. I find that
what I choose to read depends on
my mood and on the level of physi-
cal and mental tiredness, and that
must apply to other readers.
Roy: There is a danger with fiction
(not just naval fiction) that some
readers accept everything they read
coming out at the time of the bicen -
tennial?
Roy: What sparked our interest was
our first ever visit to the Trafalgar
Cemetery in Gibraltar, even though
the cemetery barely has any
Trafalgar-related burials. We were on
a coach tour of Spain, and most of
our party went on tours to the
Upper Rock, but we have a fascina-
tion for old cemeteries and church-
yards. All life is there, you might say.
We couldn’t wait to get home to
research the cemetery further and
see what books were available on
Trafalgar. We were surprised to find
that very little had been done in
recent years, and decided that it
How did you research
Trafalgar? Did you
uncover any surprises?
Roy: The main aim was to put
together a very readable story and
not simply to overwhelm the reader
with new research. The most impor-
tant aspect was the selection of
material so that it flowed together as
a coherent story. It was important
not just to research manuscripts, but
also to have a look at previously
published primary material, especial-
ly little gems tucked away in, say,
old newspapers and magazines. Two
surprises spring to mind. First, the
number of women who were pres-
ent. Up to then, it was assumed that
very few women were on board
Royal Navy warships at this period.
The Trafalgar research proved that

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 ROY & LESLEY ADKINS
this was not the case, and in our
subsequent research we have come NAVAL HISTORY
across increasing instances of women
being aboard – not huge numbers,
sometimes none and sometimes ten,
Jack Tar
twenty, or more, and sometimes By Roy & Lesley Adkins
children were on board as well. The
“If you've read the Hornblower novels and Master and Commander, you
other surprise of Trafalgar was the may think you already know about life with Nelson's Navy. Jack Tar will
effect of the storm afterwards, which make you think again. Here, for a change, is a book devoted to the life
some called a hurricane, so you can of ordinary seamen below decks; a self-contained world of comrade-
tell how terrifying it was. Most ship, savage discipline and scurvy, punctuated by grog, song and
dance, women and bursts of violent carnage. An extraordinary read.”
Trafalgar books up to then had
glossed over the storm. In meteoro- Daily Mail (November 2008)
logical terms today, it probably
wasn’t technically a hurricane, but if
The Royal Navy to which Admiral Lord
you think you’re going to die, then
Nelson sacrificed his life depended on
technical terms don’t count for
thousands of sailors and marines to man
much. What was moving about the
the great wind-powered wooden war-
storm is the humanity that was dis-
ships. Drawn from all over Britain and
played by the opposing sides.
beyond, often unwillingly, these ordi-
nary men made the navy invincible
What motivated you to research and
through skill, courage and sheer deter-
write The War for All the Oceans and
mination. Yet their contribution is fre-
then Jack Tar?
quently overlooked, while the officers
became celebrities. Jack Tar gives these
Lesley: Having focused on a single
forgotten men a voice in an exciting,
battle, we thought it would be good
enthralling, often unexpected and
to take on the challenge of writing a
always entertaining picture of what their
readable account of a much broader
life was really like during this age of sail.
period of the Napoleonic Wars, par-
Through personal letters, diaries and
ticularly if we could include the
other manuscripts, the emotions and experiences of these people are
1812 war with the US. So that’s
explored, from the dread of press-gangs, shipwreck and disease, to the
what led us to do The War for All the
exhilaration of battle, grog, prize money and prostitutes. Jack Tar is an
Oceans. We started with the Battle
authoritative and gripping account that will be compulsive reading for
of the Nile, which was Napoleon’s
anyone wanting to discover the vibrant and sometimes stark realities of
first defeat at sea, and ended the
this wooden world at war.
book with his final defeat on land at
Waterloo. We were asked by the
HARDCOVER | 429 PAGES | $39.95
publisher not to deal with Trafalgar,
so we only cover that battle briefly.

Roy: Many readers told us that they Coming in the July/August issue:
especially enjoy the information on
how the seamen lived, something we Interviews with Peter Smalley and Julian Stockwin,
tried to weave in and out of the pre- plus Quarterdeck joins the cyber generation ...
vious two books. This is an aspect
which is of particular interest to us
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 ROY & LESLEY ADKINS
as well, and so we decided to Roy: It’s also good to visit places the sort of conditions suffered by
research and write Jack Tar. Our that figure in a book. A trip to the seamen. On the research side,
intention was to concentrate much Gibraltar for Trafalgar research much of archaeology involves study-
more on the ordinary seamen as stands out, as local historians took ing the remains of ordinary people
they are invariably overshadowed by us under their wing and showed us and trying to reconstruct their lives.
the officers. We also wanted to deal everything they could think of, an We feel that we have come into
with the marines, as they were an incredible kindness. Other places are naval research from the lower decks,
important element of each ship’s closer to home, such as the memori-
crew, but they tend to be overlooked al to those American prisoners-of- Is there a highlight from your work
as well. war from the 1812 war who died that is a particularly memory?
during their captivity at the hated
Where did your research take you Dartmoor prison. This is situated Roy: There are many such memo-
for these titles? within the present-day prison ries. For Jack Tar, we were fascinated
grounds, and is only 20 miles from by Aaron Thomas. One of his
Lesley: We went to any place that where we live. Inevitably, with any diaries was published in 1968, and
we thought might possess a rich book, you can go on forever with the diary itself remains in private
seam of material or might answer research, but you have to draw a line hands in Nova Scotia. Another diary
specific questions, in is now in the special
the time that was collections of the
available, and we also “... we have spent many horrible University of Miami,
tracked down infor- and from the two
mation in private times working on archaeological records we were able to
hands. For the lives of piece together his life,
ordinary seamen in excavations in the most dreadful including the various
Jack Tar, the same people he mixed with,
quotations tend to be weather, even in snow and ice, such as the drunken
used time and again boatswain and his
(not always accurate- with very little heating ...” equally drunken wife.
ly!), so we wanted to He is a very witty
discover different sources of infor- and say, “That’s it, time to tidy up writer, but his diary came to an end
mation. The most important the manuscript and hand it in to the when he was taken ill, in September
archives for us to look at were The publisher.” 1799. He had so many plans for his
National Archives at Kew (London), future life that we very much hoped
where most of the Admiralty records How did your experiences in arche- he had managed to return to
are held, the Royal Naval Museum ology contribute to your work in England, but in searching the
at Portsmouth, the nearby Royal naval history? muster books in The National
Marines Museum at Southsea, and Archives in Kew, we eventually came
the National Maritime Museum at Lesley: On a practical note, we have across a note that he had died in the
Greenwich. Surprisingly, there were spent many horrible times working hospital at St Kitts on December
many untapped sources of informa- on archaeological excavations in the 13th. We have to admit that this
tion in these archives. You start the most dreadful weather, even in snow was quite a tearful moment, solving
day in these places by ordering up a and ice, with very little heating in the problem and discovering the
few of their archives, never knowing the wooden site huts. It was truly personal tragedy.
if they are going to be of no use miserable on many occasions, when
whatsoever, or whether they will be you never felt warm all day long! We Do you have plans to write more
a treasure trove of information. think that these experiences have naval history?
given us a good understanding of

12 QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com

 ROY & LESLEY ADKINS
Lesley: We have plenty of ideas for
naval and maritime history, and we
would very much like to start some-
thing new. We are trying out a few
things at the moment and hope to
tempt a publisher before too long.
Are you currently working on a new
book?
Lesley: The same answer applies! At
the moment we’re not working on
anything, for almost the first time in
thirty years of writing, which is very
strange. We’re taking the opportuni-
ty to renovate our very dilapidated
house – everything tends to get neg-
lected when writing, as the writing
and research takes over your life.
You become totally obsessed by
everything you are researching and
normal life is suspended! We have
almost finished renovating one
room, and the transformation is
amazing.
Is there anything else you would like
to share with our readers?
Roy: Well, firstly we would like to
share our website, which is
www.adkinshistory.com
and to invite your readers to sign up
for our occasional newsletters (we
send them out every two or three
months). We would also like to
encourage everyone to support
books, either by buying them for
yourself or as gifts for others, bor-
rowing them from libraries, reading
them (of course), passing on your
recommendations to friends and
family, perhaps join a reader’s group,
go to book-related talks. There are
several seafaring books aimed at
QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com
Naval HISTORY
The War for All the Oceans
By Roy and Lesley Adkins
As they did with his much lauded Nelson’s
Trafalgar (see below), the Adkins thrust
readers into the perils and thrills of early
nineteenth-century warfare. This is an
adventure story – a superb account of the
naval war that lasted from Napoleon’s seizure
of power in 1798 to the War of 1812 with
the United States, providing a ringside seat
Naval
to HISTORY
the decisive battles, as well as detailed and
vivid portraits of sailors and commanders,
press-gangs, prostitutes, and spies.
TRADE PAPERBACK | 534 PAGES | $17.00
Nelson’s Trafalgar
By Roy Adkins
In the tradition of Antony Beevor’s
Stalingrad, Nelson’s Trafalgar presents the
definitive blow-by-blow account of the
world’s most famous naval battle, when the
British Royal Navy under Lord Horatio
Nelson dealt a decisive blow to the forces of
Napoleon. The Battle of Trafalgar comes
boldly to life in this definitive work that re-
creates those five momentous, earsplitting
hours with unrivaled detail and intensity.
TRADE PAPERBACK | 392 PAGES | $16.00
children, fiction and non-fiction, so repeating to others. For those who
catch them at an early age! Aim to might initially regard books as a
carry a book with you and encour- chore (perish the thought), it soon
age children to do the same, so you becomes a pleasure, and from books,
are never stuck on, say, a train, with other pleasures arise, especially with
nothing to do. And if you’re driving naval and maritime books. You
an automobile, then try audiobooks might want to visit the actual loca-
– and with luck more relevant tions mentioned in a book, or visit a
audiobooks will be produced. We surviving ship or a museum, watch a
know that for readers of relevant film (such as Master and
Quarterdeck, we are speaking to the Commander) or a TV program (like
converted, but the message is worth the excellent Hornblower series).
13
 RECENT ARRIVALS
Historical Fiction

Zulu Hart Agincourt

By Saul David By Bernard Cornwell
Bullied at school for his sus- Young Nicholas Hook
piciously dark skin and lack is dogged by a cursed
of a father, Hart soon learns past – haunted by what
to fight – and win. At eight- he has failed to do and
een, he is shaken by his banished for what he
mother’s revelation that his has done. A wanted
anonymous father is willing man in England, he is
to give him a vast inheri- driven to fight as a
tance – provided he can mercenary archer in
prove himself as an officer France, where he finds
in the King’s Dragoon two things he can love:
Guards. Racism and preju- his instincts as a fight-
dice are rife in Victorian ing man, and a girl in
society, and Hart struggles to come to terms with his trouble. Together they
identity. Forced to leave the army, he heads to South survive the notorious
Africa, and a fresh start. But soldiering is in his blood, massacre at Soissons,
and now he is caught between two fierce and unyielding an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options
forces as Britain drives towards war with the Zulus. left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture
means certain death. Instead he is discovered by the
UK HARDCOVER | 376 pages | $26.95 young King of England – Henry V himself – and by
royal command he takes up the longbow again and dons
Veil of Lies the cross of Saint George.
Hook returns to France as part of the superb army
By Jeri Westerson Henry leads in his quest to claim the French crown. But
Crispin Guest, disgraced after the English campaign suffers devastating early loss-
knight, has lost everything es, it becomes clear that Hook and his fellow archers are
and must live by his wits on their king’s last resort in a desperate fight against an
the streets of 12th-century enemy more daunting than they could ever have imag-
London, taking odd inves- ined.
tigative jobs. When his One of the most dramatic victories in British history,
client is murdered, Guest the battle of Agincourt – immortalized by Shakespeare
draws the unwanted atten- in Henry V – pitted undermanned and overwhelmed
tion of the Lord Sheriff of English forces against a French army determined to keep
London, who has a grudge their crown out of Henry’s hands. Bernard Cornwell res-
against him. Worse, the Veil urrects the legend of the battle and the “band of broth-
of Christ, a religious relic ers” who fought it on October 25, 1415. An epic of
that seems to hold all the redemption, Agincourt follows a commoner, a king, and
answers, is now missing. a nation’s entire army on an improbable mission to test
This genre is usually populated by monks and nuns, but the will of God and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Crispin is more Sam Spade than Brother Cadfael. This is Bernard Cornwell is at his best.

HARDCOVER | 288 PAGES | $22.95 HARDCOVER | 464 PAGES | $27.99

14 QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com

 RECENT ARRIVALS
Historical Fiction

The Killing Way Captain Rawson Series

By Tony Hays By Edward Marston
It is the time of Arthur, a Soldier of Fortune
young and powerful warrior
This is the first in an excit-
who some would say stands
ing new adventure series, set
on the brink of legend.
at the start of the eighteenth
Britain’s leaders have come
century and featuring
to elect a new supreme king,
Captain Daniel Rawson,
and Arthur is favored. But
soldier, spy, linguist and
when a young woman is
ladies' man. Whether he is
brutally murdered and the
extracting valuable intelli-
blame is placed at Merlin’s
gence from the wife of a
feet, Arthur’s reputation is at
French general or leading
stake. Arthur turns to
his men in a Forlorn Hope,
Malgwyn ap Cuneglas, a
Rawson is a man on whom
man whose knowledge of
the Duke of Marlborough
battle and keen insight into how the human mind
can always rely.
works has helped Arthur come to the brink of kingship.
Seething with intrigue and packed with swashbuckling
Malgwyn is also the man who hates Arthur.
heroics, the novel follows the Confederate army on the
long, perilous trek across Europe to meet the French
HARDCOVER | 343 PAGES | $24.95
and their allies at the ferocious battle of Blenheim.

Blood Rock MASS MARKET PAPERBACK | 413 PAGES | $15.95

By James Jackson
The legendary Hospitaller Drums of War
Knights of St John have Captain Rawson, deep
retreated to the small island inside the war-ravaged bor-
of Malta, fighting the tide of ders of Europe, fights along-
Islam around the side the brave and resolute
Mediterranean, and robbing Earl of Marlborough to
from rich traders to survive. defeat the “invincible”
But Ottoman Emperor French army. Yet victory is
Suleiman the Magnificent short-lived, blunted by the
now wants the Knights dissenting voices of the
wiped off the map altogeth- Dutch, who secretly seek to
er, and dispatches one of the wrestle the power and life
greatest armadas that ever from Marlborough.
set sail to annihilate them. In these hostile and insecure
The Order seems doomed until the extraordinary brav- times, Captain Rawson is
ery of one Englishman, Christian Hardy, attracts the called on to rescue a celebrated tapestry-maker turned
attention of the Grand Master himself. spy from inside the fortified Bastille.

PAPERBACK | 501 PAGES | $19.95 HARDCOVER | 310 PAGES | $29.95

QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com 15

 RECENT ARRIVALS
Historical Fiction

Oathsworn Novels
1 - The Whale Road 3 - The White Raven
Life is savage aboard a Orm, the leader of Oaths-
Viking raider. The Oaths- worn, is reluctant to leave
worn are a notorious crew the safety of their home-
selling their services to the stead. But the Oathsworn
highest bidder. Hired as are fighting men and so,
relic-hunters by rich mer- when their settlement is
chants, they search for a attacked by an old adver-
sword of untold value to the sary, they are more than
Christian religion. Their ready to return the favor.
quest will lead them toward The band of brothers is
the cursed treasure of Attila thirsty for action. When
the Hun – and to a challenge two of their number are
that will test the very bond taken hostage, the
that holds them together! Oathsworn are bound by
their oaths to each other to come to their rescue.
TRADE PAPERBACK | 343 PAGES | $15.95
HARDCOVER | 359 PAGES | $31.95
2 - The Wolf Sea
The Oathsworn, Viking warriors committed only to Naval Fiction
each other, find themselves
washed up in a hostile city, Under Enemy Colors
battle-weary and out of luck.
By S. Thomas Russell
The leader's legendary sword,
Rune Serpent, has been At the time of the French
stolen. The Oathsworn Revolution, one of
embark on a dangerous mis- Britain’s most skillful
sion to the Middle East to naval officers, Charles
reclaim the mighty Rune Saunders Hayden, is a
Serpent and are caught up in young lieutenant, the son
the treacherous battles of an English father and a
between the rulers of French mother. His abili-
Constantinople and the ties and his loyalty to the
Arabs. king of England are
beyond dispute, yet his
TRADE PAPERBACK | 366 PAGES | $15.95 career seems doomed.
Assigned to the aging
frigate Themis, under the
Robert Low is a Scottish journalist and historical novelist, command of Captain Josiah Hart – known as “Faint
with novels based on the Viking Age. He was a war corre-
spondent in Vietnam and also several other locations, Hart” throughout the service – Hayden finds himself
including Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo, until "common- caught between his superior and a mutinous crew.
sense, age and the concerns of my wife and daughter pre-
vailed." TRADE PAPERBACK | 497 PAGES | $17.00
16 QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com
 McBooks Press – Four Easy Ways to Order
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HISTORICAL FICTION
Billy Boyle World War II Mysteries
By James R. Benn

1 - Billy Boyle
Billy Boyle barely made detective back
in Boston when the U.S. entered
WWII. Nevertheless, he lands a job on
the staff of Eisenhower, who wants him
to investigate the Norwegian govern-
ment in exile. The invasion of Norway
is being planned, but Ike fears there’s a
German spy amongst the Norwegians.
Billy doubts his own abilities, but he’ll
have to pull out all the stops if he’s to
survive. Billy Boyle tells the story of the
beginning of Billy’s transformation
from a self-centered wise guy interested
only in his own survival, to a reluctantly heroic figure.
Typically American, Billy never loses his disdain for
authority or the cynicism of a city cop as he slowly 3 - Blood Alone
grows into his role as Ike’s secret investigator. The cli-
Billy Boyle awakens in a field hospital in Sicily with
matic scene of the story takes place in Nordland, along
amnesia. In his pocket is a yellow silk handkerchief
the rocky coastline and the rugged mountains of this
embroidered with the initial L. Gradually he remem-
northern-most province of Norway. Nordland becomes
bers: he has been sent ashore in advance of the troops
Billy’s land of legends, a distant place to which this
with this token from Lucky Luciano to contact the head
reluctant hero must journey to seek the truth, and
of the Sicilian Mafia. But he must also thwart a murder-
which reveals to him his true self, changing him forever.
ous band of counterfeiters of Army scrip led by Vito
Genovese.
TRADE PAPERBACK | 304 PAGES | $13.00
HARDCOVER | 320 PAGES | $24.00
2 - The First Wave
Billy must help arrange the surrender of the Vichy
French forces in Algeria. But dissension among the reg-
ular army, the militia, and DeGaulle’s Free French
allows black-marketeers in league with the enemy to
divert medical supplies to the Casbah, leading to multi- ID Booth Building
520 North Meadow Street
ple murders. Billy must find the killers while trying to Ithaca, NY 14850
rescue the girl he loves. The First Wave is a novel about
the ultimate choice that war can force on an individual,
and how one man struggles to make that choice an hon-
orable one. Billy Boyle tells his story in his unique
voice, a reluctant hero slowly coming to grips with the
moral and physical minefields of the Second World War.

TRADE PAPERBACK | 320 PAGES | $13.00

18 QUARTERDECK | MAY/JUNE 2009 | 1-888-266-5711 | www.mcbooks.com