Quarterdeck Historical Fiction Newsletter - July / August 2009

Qu arte rd eck Author Interviews: Peter Smalley Julian Stockwin

July/August 2009

CONTENTS July/August 2009

DEPARTMENTS 3

Scuttlebutt The latest in news about authors and forthcoming titles in nautical and historical fiction.

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By George! Bookshelf The Gathering Storm by Peter Smalley.

FEATURES 6

Peter Smalley Australian-born author Peter Smalley discusses the development of his William Rennie and James Hayter stories, including his new novel, The Gathering Storm.

11 Julian Stockwin English author Julian Stockwin reveals the story behind his shift to maritime nonfiction with the release of Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany.

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Summertime Blues

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Captains Contentious by Louis Arthur Norton The King’s Rifle by Biyi Bandele The Gettysburg Companion by Mark Adkin The Waterloo Companion by Mark Adkin The Tide of War by Seth Hunter Warrior by Allan Mallinson The Dakota Cipher by William Dietrich Mercenaries by Jack Ludlow The Glory Boys by Douglas Reeman

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Cover: Detail from a painting of USS Constitution by English marine artist Geoffrey Huband.

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SCUTTLEBUTT JAMES L. NELSON George Washington’s Secret Navy by James L. Nelson has been selected as the 2009 recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for excellence in naval James L. Nelson literature. The award is presented annually by the Naval Order of the United States to the author “who by his published writings has made a substantial contribution to the preservation of the history and traditions of the United States Navy.”

ALLAN MALLINSON Allan Mallinson, author of the Matthew Hervey novels, will take a step away from fiction for his next book by providing a timely history of the British Army from the seventeenth century to the present day. The Making of the British Army (above) will be published in September 2009. It is the author’s second military history, following Light Dragoons: The Making of a Regiment, which was published in 2006. BERNARD CORNWELL The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell, the latest in his bestselling Alfred series will be published in the United Kingdom in early Bernard October. In the Cornwell last years of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth.

MICHAEL AYE The SeaHorse by Michael Aye will be launched in the near future. It follows Barracuda, and is the fourth title in the Fighting Anthonys series. Check this space for details.

N EW B OO K P UB LI C ATI O N D ATES 2009 - 2010 US (United States) UK (United Kingdom) PB (Paperback) TPB (Trade Paperback) HC (Hardcover)

July Mercenaries (UKHC) by Jack Ludlow The Gathering Storm (UKHC) by Peter Smalley Julian Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany (UKHC) by Julian Stockwin September

Michael Aye

GEOFFREY HUBAND English marine artist Geoffrey Huband recently completed a new painting entitled “Collecting the Despatches,” which features the Geoffrey Huband 74-gun man-ofwar HMS Majestic and a naval cutter. The painting will be displayed at the 30th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition at Mystic Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport, CT, from September 26 - November 15.

The Making of the British Army (UKHC) by Allan Mallinson October The Burning Land (UKHC) by Bernard Cornwell Invasion (USHC) by Julian Stockwin The Privateer’s Revenge (USTPB) by Julian Stockwin 2010 In the King’s Name (USHC) by Alexander Kent

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BY GEORGE!

Summertime Blues! I

medals and ribbons, and, best of all, official AAF reports detailing actions of the P-399. After meeting on the first day of fifth grade, Al and I were inseparable, sharing a common interest in the naval planes and ships of the recent war. During summer vacations, we spent many lazy, hazy days building aircraft and naval ship models. Over fifty years later, a brief whiff of model glue or paint still sends me back to that innocent time in our lives. One afternoon a week during the summer, the public library bookmobile stopped at a local elementary school. We pestered the staff until they allowed us to sign out war histories and related picture books from the “adult” section. This further inspired our interest in naval history. On occasion, our family station wagon would pass an airport with an old warbird parked on the runway, and dad would name the plane and describe how it was used in the war. During that same period, Al and I became aware of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration team (now a “flight U.S. Navy Blue Angels F/A-18s solo aircraft. demonstration squadron”). By the early (Official U.S. Navy Photo) 1960s, the “Blues” were appearing in air shows in the region, but they were too far western Michigan. away for us to travel by bike. So we looked at Our summers were a time of high adventure in the decade following the end of World photos and dreamed of seeing them fly in person one day. War II, fueled by television documentaries – One late spring day, I had read in the Victory at Sea and Crusade in the Pacific, in newspaper that the Blue Angels were schedparticular – movies and early histories that began appearing in book shops and the local uled to fly at a festival on the Lake Michigan shore at Benton Harbor, and would be based library. at the Air National Guard base in nearby It was a peaceful time for Tom Brokaw’s Battle Creek. On that Saturday morning, I Greatest Generation. The war was seldom stationed myself on the front lawn, hoping to mentioned in our homes, but an antique catch a glimpse of them en route to Benton trunk tucked away in our basement was a window into those years. It concealed a treas- Harbor. I was rewarded when I heard a faint roar of jet engines approaching. Looking skyure trove for a curious boy: black-and-white photos from my father’s service in the Pacific ward, I spotted a loose formation of dark aboard a 63-foot Army Air Force crash boat, t was a warm June morning at the 2009 Quad City Air Show in eastern Iowa. The sky was a brilliant blue, with wisps of white clouds on the horizon.The aroma of high-octane airplane fuel was in the air, along with the menacing growl of a World War II U.S. Navy TBM Avenger as it flew down the flight line. My lifelong pal, Al Stamberg, and I were celebrating a friendship that had begun when we were boys during the mid-1950s in south-

CONTINUED

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ON PAGE

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BOOKSHELF

The Gathering Storm By Peter Smalley “Once aboard a frigate, Peter Smalley can be guaranteed to hold his reader a willing captive ...” Diana Athill

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pring 1791 ... Though deeply disturbed by a terrible incident during his previous commission, James Hayter is nevertheless on the verge of taking command of HMS Sloop Eglantine as master and commander when personal tragedy shatters his life. The twin blows convince Hayter that he is not fit to command and he must turn his back on the sea forever. Even the intervention of his friend and former captain, William Rennie, cannot dissuade him from abandoning his duty. Hayter’s career in the Royal Navy appears to be over until the intervention of an agent, Mr Brough Mappin, working for Hayter’s old nemesis, the British Secret Service Fund. Mappin’s plan offers Hayter a chance to revive his career on a special mission, with the promise of reinstatement in the Royal Naval List if he is successful. But it is also the single most dangerous mission of his life. He must sail for France with Rennie in HMS Expedient and there rescue some persons of interest from the grasp of the French Revolutionary forces searching for them. What no one mentions is that the res-

cue will bring to bear on Expedient and her crew a force so fierce and mighty that, if it can, it will wipe all trace of the incident, Hayter and the ship from the memory of everyone involved in the forthcoming struggle. This time the adventures of William Rennie and James Hayter take the younger man ashore for much of the time, testing him almost to the breaking point. Smalley’s ability to engage the reader is just as strong on land as it is at sea. He is a most powerful storyteller. Under Smalley’s pen, eighteenth century England, as well as life in the Royal Navy, comes alive. And though Rennie and Hayter sail during the welldocumented time of Nelson, the storylines take a refreshing tack into uncharted waters. HARDCOVER | 304 PAGES | $38.95

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PETER SMALLEY

Nautical Fiction Niche “When I set out to write these stories, I felt that the period often covered by nautical fiction – the Napoleonic Wars – had been so thoroughly canvassed by others that it would help me greatly to avoid it.”

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ustralian-born author Peter Smalley has managed to carve out a unique and engaging niche in the nautical fiction genre for his main characters, William Rennie and James Hayter, both of the late eighteenth century Royal Navy. Once again sailing aboard the British frigate HMS Expedient, the duo returns this summer in The Gathering Storm, the fifth title in Smalley’s naval adventure series. The author discussed his approach to developing the Rennie and Hayter stories in this recent interview with Quarterdeck: How have you managed to keep the plots fresh and out of the mainstream of nautical fiction? When I set out to write these stories, I felt that the period often covered by nautical fiction – the Napoleonic Wars – had been so thoroughly canvassed by others that it would help me greatly to avoid it. Accordingly, I set the first book [HMS Expedient] well before, in 1786, and in each succeeding book in succeeding years – 1787, 1788, and so on. The Peter Smalley two main characters could be sent anywhere in the world in their ship, HMS Expedient, on individual commissions that would never disturb historical fact. I was free to explore, imagine, invent virtually anything I liked – provided it could plausibly take place aboard a 36-gun frigate, and in the places she visited. I found this freedom exhilarating, and still do. 6

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PETER SMALLEY In The Gathering Storm , you look into the personal world of James Hayter. How did you approach this sensitive task? In earlier books, I had examined William Rennie’s life ashore – his widowhood after a first short marriage, and his subsequent second marriage – and I had also sketched in various details of James Hayter’s domestic life, but had not attempted anything very ambitious. In The Gathering Storm, I wanted to write not just a good sea story, but a story with real emotional depth. Life for these men is not just lived dramatically afloat. It is lived intensely – sometimes even more intensely – on land. The old maxim of the sailor – “Anything may happen at sea” – could equally apply to life on land in the eighteenth century. And in The Gathering Storm, James Hayter’s troubled private world becomes a strong central strand of the story. I don’t really want to give away any more than that.

he is an intelligent, devious, scheming, ruthless arsehole, and therefore wonderful to write. Dr Thomas Wing, Expedient’s surgeon, is prickly, intuitive, and strong, and wary of the world’s opinion because he is very small in stature. He is small in no other way, and I like him very much. Rennie can be perverse, and occasionally irksome. Hayter can be rash. They are human, and fallible. How important is historical credibility in creating engaging fiction? What matters, I think, is to get the

Do you visit locations in which your stories take place? I do sometimes visit locations, but not always. Last year I went with my wife to Norway by sea, and visited several fjords, because I wanted to see and photograph spectacular settings for my new book (working title Pursuit). In an earlier book, Expedient sailed far into the ice of the Southern Ocean, and far into the remote Pacific. I did not go to those places. Would you have liked to have lived during the period in which your novels take place?

“Life in eighteenth century England was for most people harsh, unforgiving, and brutally short. Life expectancy was about 40 years ...”

Which of your characters have been the most difficult to write about? I expect it depends on what difficult means. All my characters must be real in their own way, in the sense that they live and breathe. Are they troublesome to live with, so to say? Of course I like some of them more than others, and a few of them not at all. Sir Robert Greer, the master spy, is – bluntly – an arsehole. But

background right. If my ship sails to a certain place in, say, 1789, I need to have a good general idea what the place was like at that time. The architecture, customs, dress – how people lived, looked, and behaved. As to the immediate, day-to-day, routine life of a ship of war of the eighteenth century Royal Navy, that must be as nearly correct in every detail as possible, so that readers feel they are actually aboard the ship, sitting in the great cabin with Captain Rennie as he talks, sucks down a mouthful of wine, and then is called on deck, up into the smashing spray and the wind as the ship pitches creaking and groaning through a sudden trough.

No. Life in eighteenth century England was for most people harsh, unforgiving, and brutally short. Life expectancy was about 40 years, if you survived infancy. Even for the very well-to-do, illness often meant a nasty, painful death. Medical care was primitive. There were no drains, so outbreaks of cholera and other diseases were common. Towns and cities stank. Life aboard ship in the Royal Navy was hard. Even the officers lived cramped, unlovely lives. For ordinary jacks, their one real solace was strong drink, half a pint of 80-proof rum per day, watered down and served as grog. The dialogue in your Rennie/Hayter novels lends a feeling of authenticity for the time and the world in which they lived. How have you achieved this?

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PETER SMALLEY Largely by trying to think in their voices, if that makes sense. During my research for these stories I read an enormous anount of contemporaneous material – diaries, letters, journals, and official documents – and then reread Jane Austen and some Fielding, and one or two other novelists of the period. By accustoming my inner ear to the language of the time I was able to “hear” my characters, and then to start thinking and talking as they did. Of course it can only be an approximation of eighteenth century speech, but at least it is reasonably consistent, I think. Do you find inspiration for your writing in marine art? Who are your favorite artists? Yes, very much. A fine marine artist – and there are many down the years – can give you a strong sense of ships at sea, particularly in heavy weather, and in battle. I go frequently to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich in London, where there is a great collection of marine paintings, and at home I have many books of reproductions. There are too many to list in detail, but of the earlier Dutch painters I like William van Diest. Another artist with a Dutch name, who was born in England, Cornelis van de Velde. John Clevely (particularly for his paintings of Deptford). J.M.W. Turner. Nicholas Pocock, Dominic Serres, George Chambers. The superb etchings of Jean-Jerome Baugean. Among living artists the great Geoff Hunt. Have you planned the series beyond The Gathering Storm? 8

I am at present writing book six of the series, with the working title Pursuit. James Hayter’s domestic life is again in turmoil, and he determines to set himself up as a merchant master in a small brig. When this venture collapses, his loyal friend Captain William Rennie RN comes to his aid. The pursuit involves Rennie and his newly appointed Pursuit Officer James Hayter, again aboard Expedient, as they chase a fast, weatherly ship sloop, Terces, from England north to Norway and the intricacies and dangers of the fjords, and beyond. Expedient suffers severe damage, but the pursuit continues into the North Atlantic. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? I usually plan my stories one at a

time, and through the series have at least twice embarked on research for a new book, only to find that the plot I had devised was too wildly improbable to be a success. On one of these false starts I had planned to send Expedient to the struggling early penal colony at New South Wales in Australia. When I began detailed research into the very early days of the colony, it became clear that had my ship – any ship – turned up there in that desperate year, the entire history of early Australia would have been altered, so I abandoned that idea altogether. Telling a good story is one thing, rewriting history is quite another. HMS Expedient never existed as a commissioned ship in the Royal Navy, but I want readers to believe she did, and does, as she weighs and sets sail each time, finds the wind and heads into the open sea.

Rennie-Hayter Novels 1 - HMS Expedient $18.95 | Trade Paperback 2 - Port Royal $18.95 | Trade Paperback 3 - Barbary Coast $18.95 | Trade Paperback 4 - The Hawk $19.95 | Trade Paperback 5 - The Gathering Storm $38.95 | Hardcover (See page 5) Peter Smalley was born in Melbourne, Australia, and hails from a seafaring family. After an early career in advertising, he became a screenwriter, broadcaster, and novelist. He lives in London with his wife, Clytie.

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JULIAN STOCKWIN

Sailing on a NEW TACK “... last year Kathy and my agent Carole Blake suggested I turn my hand to writing a nonfiction book ...”

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nglish novelist Julian Stockwin, creator of the Thomas Kydd Sea Adventures, has tacked in a new direction with the launch of his first nonfiction book, Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany: A Ditty Bag of Wonders from the Golden Age of Sail. Stockwin revealed the story behind this turn in his writing career in a recent interview with Quarterdeck: How and when was the idea for Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany born?

Julian Stockwin

In the course of research for the nine Thomas Kydd books that have been published to date (and the ones that are in the works) I found I had gathered a huge amount of fascinating details and maritime lore that did not fit into the plots. I squirreled all this surplus-torequirements material away, together with other maritime snippets that I came across in the course of reading or talking to various experts. All this was really just for my own personal enlightenment and delight, but then last year Kathy and my agent Carole Blake suggested I turn my hand to writing a nonfiction book based on this vast reservoir of material. One would be a rash man indeed to go against those two strong-willed ladies. And it sounded like fun! Carole soon had the enthusiasm of the leading publisher of general nonfiction books in the UK, Ebury Press, and their Publishing Director Carey Smith, who was very keen

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JULIAN STOCKWIN on the idea of a miscellany about the Golden Age of Sail. A meeting in London with Carey followed and the Miscellany project was born. I must say it’s been a juggling act writing both my annual Kydd installment and the Miscellany in one year, but it’s been hugely enjoyable, especially the hunt for additional information on some arcane fact or another that I had salted away. The caption under the main title is “a ditty bag of wonders from the Golden Age of Sail.” Please explain what a ditty bag is for our readers. A ditty bag is a small bag that was used by seamen in the days of old to store small items and personal treasures. I wanted to convey that the Miscellany was a collection of sea lore from the Golden Age of Sail that most spoke to me. Each sailor’s ditty bag differed from his messmates’ ones so it seemed an appropriate description for my eclectic collection.

and her assistant editor Vicky Orchard there were some additions that they felt would be useful to readers – a short introduction to each of the five sections of the book and a foreword by me. They also felt it would be helpful to list my pick of the 25 top maritime museums and historic ships – and a few other additions were agreed along the way. Who do you see your Miscellany particularly appealing to? I hope both nautical novices and old salts will find it enjoyable. It’s the kind of book you can flick open and

vision for the book. Is the material all from your rich store of sea resources? A lot is, yes, but I also did extensive reading to supplement what I had in my personal library. I probably have 500 books on the period now, and a vast database in which I record information from other sources such as visits to libraries and archives. Were you responsible for sourcing the delightful illustrations in the book? Kathy and I sourced several hundred we liked and Ebury’s designer then chose the ones he felt worked best. We are very pleased with the finished product. I particularly wanted to include an illustration of explorer Matthew Flinders’s cat Trim, which was done by the Australian artist Annette Onslow. She very kindly gave permission to reproduce the illustration in the book, but the painting was in an art exhibition in Sydney at the time, and she had to arrange for it to be taken down after hours and scanned for me.

“A ditty bag is a small bag that was used by seamen in the days of old to store small items and personal treasures ...”

Did the initial concept change much as you’ve gone on? My original idea for the book was a compilation of facts, feats, superstitions and maritime misfortunes. I also thought it would be nice to intersperse these with 50 salty sayings, phrases inherited from the sea and very much in use today, such as “high and dry” and “first rate.” In discussions with Carey Smith 10

find something you didn’t know or be reminded of something you had forgotten. Or, of course, you can read it cover to cover. And I hope that some of my huge admiration for those iron men in wooden ships is transmitted along the way. Did you have much influence on the book design and layout? From the start I felt the book should have black and white illustration, contemporary to the times if possible. We were consulted at each stage of the design, but I have to say I felt it all came together from the start thanks to our publisher Ebury’s

What has your wife and literary partner Kathy’s role been? As usual, Kathy has been a true partner for this book. Her main role, apart from keeping me on course with deadlines and helping source illustrations, has been on the

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JULIAN STOCKWIN editorial side, polishing the manuscript before I sent it to Ebury. A good test of the appeal of a potential item in the book was often over a gin and tonic at the end of the day – I’d say to her “Did you know that ...” and if it brought a smile to her face or an expression of amazement I knew it was right for inclusion in the book. And I have her to thank for suggesting the book’s dedication: “But this learned I from my dear mother – The kiss of a seaman’s worth two of another” It was written in the seventeenth century and seemed so right for the Miscellany. Putting you on the spot, please pick three favorite items from the book. That’s hard, because by the nature of the book all the items are incidents or facts that personally to me exemplified the spirit of the Golden Age of Sail. But if I had to pick three it would be Richard Grenville’s Revenge, Drake’s wedding, and the L’Orient coffin. Grenville probably holds the record for battling against overwhelming odds, 53:1. Despite this, his little ship Revenge, separated from the rest of the English fleet off the Azores in 1591, stood and fought for two days. The twist in the tail is that shortly after the Spanish captured Revenge and put a 200-man prize crew aboard her, she sank with the loss of all hands, thus living up to her name. The L’Orient coffin was fashioned from timber from the mast of the French flagship that blew up at the

NAUTICAL NONFICTION

Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany By Julian Stockwin

Lt. Cdr. Julian Stockwin shares his love and knowledge of the sea in this entertaining collection of maritime stories and little-known trivia. Featuring nautical facts and feats, and focusing on the glory days of tall ships, Stockwin explores marine myths and unearths the truths behind the legends, such as whether Lord Nelson’s body was really pickled in rum to transport it back to England after his death at Trafalgar. Included are references to superstitions at sea, the history of animals aboard ship, and diverting anecdotes (how did the inventor of the umbrella help recruit for the Royal Navy?). Interspersed throughout are salty sayings showing the modern words and phrases that originate from the mariners of old – “cut of his jib,” “high and dry,” “the coast is clear,” “first rate” and “slush fund.” Accompanied by nostalgic black and white line drawings, Stockwin’s Maritime Miscellany is a charming giftbook guaranteed to appeal to the sailing enthusiast, but also amuse and will inform even the staunchest landlubber. UK HARDCOVER | 224 PAGES | $29.95

Battle of the Nile. It was presented to Admiral Nelson by one of his famous Band of Brothers, Captain Hallowell, with a covering note saying “when you are tired of this life may you be buried in one of your own trophies ...” Was there ever such a macabre gift? Nelson’s officers were horrified, but he, however, took it in great part, and had it standing upright against the bulk-

head of his cabin, behind the chair he sat on for dinner. The life of the great Elizabethan mariner Francis Drake generated a wealth of fact and fable and one of my favourite Drake legends is the one about his fiancée. While he was harrying Hispanic ships, she, fearing him dead, gave her hand to another. As the wedding party entered the church, a cannonball fell just short

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JULIAN STOCKWIN two aspects of a certain topic which I felt really stood out or which illustrated a particular characteristic of the period. This was quite a challenge when dealing with some of the great men of the Golden Age of Sail like Cook, Nelson, and Sidney Smith. Many books have been written on each of them alone!

of the building, like a shot across the bows of the bridegroom warning him that Drake was very much alive. The shocked bride called off the wedding and in due course married Drake. How different has work ing on the Miscellany been from writing about Kydd ? In some ways, chalk and cheese. With a novel of 100,000 words you have quite a bit of scope to develop plot and characters, etc. With the Miscellany I was limited to no more than a few hundred words for each item, so I had to select one or

Is there a sequel in the works?

Julian Stockwin aboard the sailing vessel Earl of Pembroke on a voyage in the Irish Sea.

Not yet, but I’ve enjoyed working on this Miscellany so much that I would love to do more books in this format. There’s certainly no shortage of material!

Thomas Kydd Naval Adventures By Julian Stockwin

1 - Kydd TRADE PAPERBACK | 272 PAGES | $15.00

2 - Artemis TRADE PAPERBACK | 336 PAGES | $15.00

3 - Seaflower TRADE PAPERBACK | 352 PAGES | $15.00

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6 - Tenacious TRADE PAPERBACK | 336 PAGES | $14.00

7 - Command TRADE PAPERBACK | 320 PAGES | $14.00

8 - The Admiral’s Daughter TRADE PAPERBACK | 324 PAGES | $16.00

9 - The Privateer’s Revenge HARDCOVER | 318 PAGES | $24.00

10 - Invasion COMING IN OCTOBER 2009.

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NEW RELEASES Erast Fandorin Mysteries

7 - The Coronation

Genghis Khan Novels

3 - Bones of the Hills

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From the fierce cold plains of Mongolia to the Korean Peninsula, Genghis’s brothers, sons, and commanders have made emperors bow, slaughtering vast armies of fighting men. But as Genghis enters a strange new land of towering mountains and arid desert, he stirs an enemy greater than any he has met before. Under his command, Shah Ala-ud-Din Mohammed has thousands of fierce Arab warriors, teeming cavalry, and terrifying armored elephants. When Genghis strikes, the Arabs prove their mettle. On the verge of defeat, Genghis is forced to leave his own vast encampment, and the women and children in it, in the path of an enraged, savage enemy. While the Mongols – men, women, and children – defend themselves and secret assassins are sent into the night, a terrible internal battle is taking shape. Two of Genghis’s sons, Jochi and Chagatai, are steeped in enmity. Warriors choose between them, and a murderer commits an unspeakable crime. Soon the most powerful man in the world, who has brought devastation to this land, must choose a successor. And when he does, it will touch off the most bitter conflict of all.

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NEW RELEASES Naval History

World War II Fiction

Captains Contentious

The King’s Rifle

By Louis Arthur Norton

By Biyi Bandele

In Captains Contentious, accomplished maritime historian Louis Arthur Norton observes that many of the captains of the Continental Navy were quite obstinate as compared to their British counterparts. Norton surveys the lives and military accomplishments of five captains in the nascent Continental Navy, investigating how their personality flaws both hindered their careers and enhanced their heroics in Revolutionary War combat. This psychohistorical approach brings to life the idiosyncratic personalities of John Manley, Silas Talbot, Dudley Saltonstall, Joshua Barney, and that most quarrelsome of characters, John Paul Jones. Norton’s fastpaced account of intertwining naval actions also serves as a maritime history of the war as experienced by these men. Norton draws from a wealth of primary and secondary sources to present biographical sketches that illustrate the five captains’ reckless bravado and frequent antagonism toward their fellow officers. Representing different colonies and originating from diverse social and economic backgrounds, this dysfunctional band of fractious mariners shared a common lust for glory and a penchant for infighting as they pursued favor and rank.

It’s winter 1944 and the Second World War is entering its most crucial state. A few months ago, Ali Banana was a blacksmith’s apprentice in his rural hometown in West Africa. Now he’s trekking through the Burmese jungle. He is fourteen years old. Led by the unforgettably charismatic Sergeant Damisa, the unit has been ordered to go behind enemy lines and wreak havoc. But Japanese snipers lurk behind every tree – and if they manage to escape the Japanese, infection and disease lie in waiting. As torrential rains turn the landscape into a muddy death trap, the losses mount up. Homesick and weary, the men of D-Section Thunder Brigade refuse to give up. The King’s Rifle is the first novel to depict the experiences of black African soldiers in the Second World War. This is a story of real life battles, of the men who made the legend of the Chindits, the unconventional, quick strike division of the British Army in India. Horrific and always brilliantly executed, this vividly realized account details the madness, the sacrifice and the dark humor of that war’s most vicious battleground. It is also the moving story of a boy trying to live long enough to become a man.

HARDCOVER | 192 PAGES | $29.95

TRADE PAPERBACK | 224 pages | $13.99

A native of the old seaport of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Louis Arthur Norton is a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut. Norton writes frequently on maritime history topics, and was awarded the 2002 and 2006 Gerald E. Morris Prizes in maritime historiography for articles published in the Log of Mystic Seaport. His previous books are Joshua Barney: Hero of the Revolution and 1812, Sailors’ Folk Art under Glass: A Story of Ships-inBottles, and the children's book New England's Stormalong.

Biyi Bandele was born to Yoruba parents in Kafanchan, northern Nigeria, in 1967. His father was a veteran of the Burma Campaign while Nigeria was still part of the British Empire. Bandele spent the first eighteen years of his life in the northern part of the country. Later on, he moved to Lagos, then studied drama at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife-Ife, and finally left for London in 1990. As a playwright, Bandele has worked with the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as writing radio drama and screenplays for television.

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NEW RELEASES NATHAN PEAKE NOVELS

MILITARY HISTORY

The Gettysburg Companion

The Tide of War

By Mark Adkin

By Seth Hunter

British historian Mark Adkin has explicated some of history’s most significant battles: Waterloo, Trafalgar, the Charge of the Light Brigade. He brings the same clear, comprehensive approach to his newest work, The Gettysburg Companion. This handsome, generously illustrated volume draws on a panoply of resources, including eyewitness accounts, photographs, and charts. Short of a visit to that rolling, southern Pennsylvania farmland, this book may be the best way to understand the complexities of those three costly and heroic days in July, 1863. HARDCOVER | 544 PAGES | $69.95

The Waterloo Companion By Mark Adkin

There have been many books about Waterloo, but never one to rival this in scale or authority. The text, based upon extensive research, describes both the battle and the campaign that preceded it in detail, drawing upon the first-hand accounts of participants on all sides in order to give the reader a vivid feeling for the experiences of those who fought upon this most celebrated of all battlefields. The many full-color maps and the numerous diagrams and photographs, the majority in color, as well as sixteen pages of original paintings, make the book a feast for the eyes and a collector's dream. HARDCOVER | 448 PAGES | $59.95

Newly-promoted Captain Nathan Peake is dispatched to the Caribbean to take command of the British navy’s latest frigate, the 32gun Unicorn. But the Unicorn already has a tragic history of mutiny – and murder. And her previous captain has washed up in New Orleans with his throat cut. Meanwhile the Revolutionary authorities in Paris have sent the best frigate in the French fleet, the 44-gun Virginie, on a secret mission to spread war, rebellion and mayhem from the shores of Cuba to the swamps of the Mississippi Delta. While the Unicorn embarks on her epic duel with the Virginie, Nathan confronts the seductive charms of Sabine Delatour, witch queen of the Army of Lucumi, and the intrigues of the American agent Gilbert Imlay. HARDCOVER | 352 PAGES | $39.95

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1 - The Time of Terror TRADE PAPERBACK | 439 PAGES | $17.95

Seth Hunter is the pseudonym of the author of a number of highly acclaimed novels. He has written and and directed many historical dramas for television, radio, and the theatre, and has adapted and directed films by playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Mikhail Bulgakov.

Visit McBooks Press online at www.mcbooks.com for a complete selection of our offerings.

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RECENT RELEASES Matthew Hervey Novels

Ethan Gage Novels

10 - Warrior

3 - The Dakota Cipher

By Allan Mallinson

By William Dietrich

1828 ... Matthew Hervey of the 6th Light Dragoons has been urgently recalled to Africa. The stability of the Cape Colony has been threatened by Xhosa tribesmen who are making incursions across the borders. And when Hervey is told by his friend Sir Eyre Somervile that the Zulu warrior king Shaka is about to make war on neighboring tribes in the east of the country, he knows that matters are perilous indeed. TRADE PAPERBACK | 480 PAGES | $19.95

Also available in The Matthew Hervey Novels ... (Trade paperbacks priced at $19.95 each.)

1 - A Close Run Thing 2 - The Nizam’s Daughters 3 - The Regimental Affair 4 - A Call to Arms

Ethan Gage just wants to enjoy the fruits of victory after helping Napoleon win the Battle of Marengo and end an undeclared naval war with the United States. But a foolish tryst with Bonaparte’s married sister and the improbable schemes of a grizzled Norwegian named Magnus Bloodhammer soon send Ethan on a new treasure hunt on America’s frontier that will have him dodging scheming aristocrats and hostile Indians. In 1801 newly elected president Thomas Jefferson, taking office in the burgeoning capital of Washington, D.C., convinces Ethan and Magnus to go on a scouting expedition to investigate reports of woolly mammoths and blue-eyed Indians. The pair have their own motive, however, which they neglect to share with the president: a search for the mythical hammer of the Norse god Thor, allegedly brought by fugitive Norsemen to the center of North America 150 years before Columbus. Ethan’s journey takes him across the Great Lakes to country no white man has seen, but not before he becomes entangled with a British temptress, a comely captive, a French voyageur, and a landscape as breathtaking as it is perilous. Ancient Norse runes will lead him to his most fantastic discovery yet.

5 - The Sabre’s Edge

HARDCOVER | 368 PAGES | $26.99

6 - Rumours of War

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7 - An Act of Courage

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8- Company of Spears 9- Man of War 16

2 - The Rosetta Key HARDCOVER | 342 PAGES | $6.50

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By Jack Ludlow

1033 ... Normandy. It will be 30 years before William, Duke of Normandy sails to England and does battle at Hastings, but the events that lead up to that epic moment are already taking shape. The twelve sons of Tancred de Hauteville are forced out of their native region of Normandy and take service as mercenaries in Italy – their swords, like those of the confreres who had preceded them, for hire to anyone who would pay. HARDCOVER | 288 PAGES | $00.00

WORLD WAR II NAVAL FICTION

The Glory Boys By Douglas Reeman

They are called The Glory Boys by those who regard their exploits with envy or contempt. Bob Kearton is one of them. Already a veteran and survivor of the close action in the English Channel and North Sea, in January of 1943 he is ordered to the Mediterranean and beleaguered Malta, a mere sixty miles from occupied Sicily. Unexpectedly promoted to lieutenantcommander, he is given charge of a newly formed and as yet incomplete flotilla of motor torpedo boats. The tide of defeat is thought to be turning, the enemy no longer advancing along the North African coast with Egypt and India as final objectives, and Kearton’s is a new war of stealth, subterfuge, and daring. TRADE PAPERBACK | 312 PAGES | $17.95

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United States Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier hovering in front of us in June. (Photo by Allan Stamberg)

blue Grumman F11F-1 Tiger fighters that looked to my young eyes like a swarm of menacing hornets. The formation seemed to hang in the sky as it passed. I can still see and hear those planes today. Through our teenage years and into college, Al and I remained close and continued to share an interest in things naval. In 1968, he was selected for the Navy’s Officer Candidate School, and once commissioned was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10), which was thrilling for both of us. As his career progressed, I received letters from various parts of the world. Now and then, he would mention seeing the Blues perform at his duty stations, while I caught them at regional air shows. Although we corresponded regularly, we didn’t see each other for several years as our careers and families grew. Then in 1993, Amy and I moved to eastern Iowa, just eighty miles from Al and his wife, Judy. Soon after, we were spending time together again. These days our eyes sparkle as shared memories from long ago are recalled. And when the Blues appear at the Quad City Air Show in Mount Joy, Iowa – as they did in June – we’re right there on the flight line. By mid-afternoon, thousands of folks had packed the site, oohing and aahing as a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and a Marine AV-8 Harrier roared through their maneuvers, a daredevil wing-walker reminded us of barnstormers in the 1920s and 1930s, and the U.S. Army Golden Knights Black Team soared downward from above. Finally, six tiny dots appeared in the distance, and Captain Allan J. Stamberg, USNR (Ret.), stood tall next to me as we awaited our Blues in their striking blue-and-gold F/A-18 Hornets. We were boys again. George Jepson

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