FICTION / Historical

The 8th Cutler Family Chronicles novel is set in Massachusetts and the Far East in the early 1850s as the influx of opium into New England endangers the very fabric of America. Family loyalties, morals, and passions are woven into a plot that threatens to undo not only the prosperity of the seafaring Cutler family, but also those of American society.

Volume #9 in the thrilling adventure series featuring Nathan Peake, British naval officer and spy. The British government sends Peake on a dangerous mission to the eastern seaboard of the United States, where a French delegation is headed with the hopes of forging an alliance with the pro-slavery Southern states and establishing powerful naval bases to attack British interests in the western Atlantic. And as the 1806 Battle of the Atlantic reaches the mouth of the Chesapeake, the Eastern Seaboard is about to be hit by one of the worst hurricanes in history.

Drawn from the Hornblower series as well as from Parkinson's knowledge of the Royal Navy, this classic biography of the popular fictional hero is as entertaining as the C. S. Forester novels themselves.

Captain John Mackinnon and his ship, the Matthew Flinders, are embarking on their last voyage. Both endangered species, they symbolize the irreversible, quiet decline of the British merchant fleet. But this journey to Hong Kong will prove to be anything but quiet, with unrest among the crew, a deadly typhoon, and a daring rescue of a boatload of Vietnamese refugees. Mackinnon faces an explosive chain of events that will lead to mutiny, confrontation with authorities, and the greatest challenge of his career.

Originally published in 1949, Portsmouth Point is a captivating look into the British naval experience during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Parkinson, a naval historian, uses excerpts from the writings of real Age of Sail officers, midshipmen, and crew to create a semi-fictitious collection of naval stories covering all aspects of life aboard England’s “wooden walls.”

Volume #17 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd returns to take up command of his ship Tyger and finds himself called to be part of a great armada on a mission of the utmost urgency: to secure Britain’s position with neutral Denmark. Soon after, Kydd finds himself witness to the poignant sight of the entire surrendered Danish fleet sailing out of Copenhagen harbor.

Volume #15 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series featuring naval hero Thomas Kydd. Word has come from the British ambassador that the neutral Turks are being wooed by the French. If the ancient city of Constantinople falls into their hands, Napoleon's route to India will be unrestricted and his plans for world domination made a reality. Kydd returns to sea to assist and must also find a way to free Renzi from a Turkish prison.

Volume #16 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series featuring naval hero Thomas Kydd. When Kydd finds himself in hot water with the Admiralty, he is punished for his indiscretion by being given command of a mutiny ship, Tyger. On board, he faces challenges from a hostile and dejected crew as they voyage to the far north and the Baltic. The measure of his success will ultimately be tested in battle against three Prussian frigates.

Volume #13 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series featuring naval hero Thomas Kydd. Navigating the treacherous bars and mud flats of the River Plate in Buenos Aires, the British invasion force takes the capital and a hoard of Spanish silver. When Kydd's men must face resistance and the betrayal of their closest allies, can they save themselves and their prize?

Volume #14 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series. Naval hero Thomas Kydd is claimed by the Leeward Islands station, exchanging the harsh situation in South America for the delights of the Caribbean. Meanwhile in Europe, Napoleon is triumphant on land and finds a way to take revenge for Trafalgar. When Kydd is accused of murder, an element from his past may just provide him the means to clear his name.

In 1964, during the Far Eastern war euphemistically called ‘Confrontation,’ British Royal Marine Lieutenant Charles Kirton makes a most extraordinary discovery amid the dense mangrove swamps bordering a river in Borneo. From this highly charged opening sequence, the story flashes back a century to 1867, revealing the truth behind this strange event, when young Henry Kirton, second officer of the auxiliary steamship River Tay, is dumped ashore in Singapore, badly injured by a fall from the rigging of his ship.

Volume #18 in the John Pearce Adventures. When Pearce is sent on a mission to collect fleeing members of the Corsican government, he seeks the aid of a local clan chief, inadvertently putting himself, his crew, and his rescued charges in jeopardy.

Volume #1 in the John Pearce Adventures. London, 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican Tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. Shipboard life is hard, brutal, and dangerous—that anyone chooses it suggests that life ashore is even worse. But Pearce is not alone; he is drawn to a disparate group of men pressed alongside him who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader.

Volume #13 in the John Pearce Adventures. Winter 1795: Aboard HMS Flirt as part of the squadron led by Horatio Nelson, Lieutenant John Pearce and his Pelicans soon join them on a reconnaissance which results in the destruction of a key French battery. In raids ashore, split loyalties, and bloody sea fights, Pearce must show bravery and resourcefulness to ensure his survival and return to his beloved Emily. But the headstrong lieutenant is faced with immense danger—not only from the enemy but also from his own captain.

Volume #14 in the John Pearce Adventures. John Pearce is going home. But he has to avoid capture by an Algerine warship and having his Pelicans pressed into a British frigate, and that's before they are at risk of being hanged for desertion once home. Then there is the problem of his relationship with Emily Barclay. Through cunning and bluff he can protect his friends, but not his troubled love life. In a whirlwind of action, there are forged wills, devious trades, contrived murders, and dangerous spy missions, with so much deceit that Pearce does not know whom to trust. All he can hope to do is survive.

Volume #15 in the John Pearce Adventures. 1796: Lieutenant John Pearce is hiding in the smugglers’ hub of Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known only to him as Oliphant, trapped in French territory with no way out. Although they find a crew willing to take them to England, they discover on the journey that Pearce’s old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on the route.

Volume #1 in The Contraband Shore trilogy. Recently paid off from his frigate and comfortably off with prize money, Captain Edward Brazier heads to Deal to propose marriage to young widow Betsey Langridge. But all does not go well; between Betsy’s brother and guardian, Henry Tulkington, prohibiting the match and Brazier marked out for trouble by a local smuggling gang, his plans fall into disarray.

Volume #2 in The Contraband Shore trilogy. Edward Brazier is enlisted by Prime Minister William Pitt to assist his smuggling investigation. But with his love Betsey locked into a loveless marriage, Brazier is distracted. Only his ingenuity and cunning subterfuge will allow him to infiltrate Deal’s smuggling gangs and unmask the ringleaders. But can Brazier survive long enough to bring them to justice?

Volume #3 in The Contraband Shore trilogy. 1787: Captain Edward Brazier is wounded and in desperate need of medical attention, but those from whom he could seek help have no idea where he is—although neither do his enemies. With his beloved Betsey currently imprisoned by her brother Henry, time is running out for Brazier to rescue her and end the tyranny of the local smuggling ring of Deal once and for all.

Volume #11 in the popular high-seas nautical adventure series featuring naval hero Thomas Kydd. When convoluted political machinations in England lead to the impeachment of the head of the Navy, Kydd is forced to choose sides. Eager to take on the real enemy, Kydd decides to join Admiral Horatio Nelson's squadron just before the Battle of Trafalgar, the greatest sea encounter of all time.