The Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventures

The fifth book in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series of Naval Adventures is now available as an AUDIOBOOK

The release of the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures in audiobook format continues with the publication of the fifth in the series – The Cursed Fortress – which is now available from Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

Like books three and four, The Cursed Fortress is narrated by David Lane Pusey, who this time reads the story of Britain’s expedition to Louisbourg to clear the way for the invasion of French-owned Canada during the Seven Years War.

Louisbourg stood at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, massive and impregnable, a permanent provocation to the British colonies. It was Canada’s first line of defence, guarding the approaches to Quebec, from where all New France lay open to invasion. It had to fall before a British fleet could be sent up the St. Lawrence. Otherwise, there would be no resupply and no line of retreat; Canada would become the graveyard of George II’s navy. A failed attempt on Louisbourg in 1757 had only stiffened the government’s resolve; the Cursed Fortress must fall in 1758. Captain Carlisle’s frigate joins the blockade of Louisbourg before winter’s icy grip has eased. Battling fog, hail, rain, frost and snow, suffering scurvy and fevers, and with a constant worry about the wife he left behind in Virginia, Carlisle will face his greatest test of leadership and character yet.

The series follows Carlisle & Holbrooke through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.

You can find the audiobook edition of The Cursed Fortress (and the previous four books) on Amazon, Audible and iTunes; just search for the title of the book or my name – Chris Durbin. You can also find all thirteen of the Carlisle and Holbrooke series on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited editions.

And the plans for the rest of 2023? I hope that books fourteen and fifteen will be released in paperback and Kindle, and books six, seven and eight will be released as audiobooks.

You can also download a copy from your local Amazon marketplace (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA) by going directly to the appropriate website and searching for ‘The Cursed Fortress.’

And here’s a link to the Amazon UK site

Enjoy the adventures.

I may argue with my brother, but I fight beside my brother against my cousin, and with my cousin against a stranger.*

I’m pleased to announce that Cousins At Arms has been published in Paperback and Kindle and is also available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. This is the thirteenth in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series and it takes Edward Carlisle to Havana, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula in 1761 & 1762. It deals with the consequences of the Third Family Pact between the Bourbon cousins King Louis of France and King Charles of Spain which led to Spain’s disastrous entry into the Seven Years War. In this book Carlisle’s wife, Lady Chiara, makes an impact on events.

You can secure a copy of Cousins At Arms on any of the Amazon websites. For convenience, the links below will take you to the correct page on some of the most popular national sites:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon Canada

Amazon Australia

Amazon Germany

It can take a while for the all the Amazon sites to make the linkages with the other books in the series and to make the book available in all formats, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see the whole set of Carlisle & Holbrooke adventures advertised when you search for Cousins At Arms.

As always, if you would like a signed paperback copy, just use the CONTACT tab for this website (ensure your own email address is correctly inserted) or email me at: chris.durbin@outlook.com.

If you choose to read Cousins At Arms, I very much hope you enjoy the story.

And just a reminder, the first four books are available as AUDIOBOOK editions. I hope to publish book 5 in audiobook edition soon (in the next month or so), and then all the others in sequence at roughly two-or-three-month intervals until they catch up with the Kindle and Paperback editions. The audiobooks can be found on Amazon, Audible or iTunes.

*Old Arab Adage

The fourth book in the series is now available as an audiobook, again narrated by

David Lane Pusey

Holbrooke’s Tide is the first book where George Holbrooke features as a commanding officer in his own right.

It is 1758, and the Seven Years War is at its height. The Duke of Cumberland’s Hanoverian army has been pushed back to the river Elbe while the French are using the medieval fortified city of Emden to resupply their army and to anchor its left flank.

George Holbrooke has recently returned from the Jamaica Station in command of a sloop-of-war. He is under orders to survey and blockade the approaches to Emden in advance of the arrival of a British squadron. The French garrison and their Austrian allies are nervous. With their supply line cut, they are in danger of being isolated when the French army is forced to retreat in the face of the new Prussian-led army that is gathering on the Elbe. Can the French be bluffed out of Emden? Is this Holbrooke’s flood tide that will lead to his next promotion?

The Carlisle & Holbrooke series follows the exploits of the two men through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.

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Clicking the picture above will take you to the Amazon USA website.

You can also download a copy from your local Amazon marketplace (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK) by going directly to the appropriate website and searching for ‘Holbrooke’s Tide.’

And here’s a link to the Amazon UK site

The audiobooks are also available from Audible and iTunes.

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Look out for future audio book releases. I hope they will come at two-or-three-month intervals until they have caught up with the Kindle and paperback editions.

Great news! The third Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventure – The Jamaica Station – is now available as an Audiobook, narrated by the wonderful

David Lane Pusey

You can download a copy from:

Audible

Amazon

iTunes

I hope to release the remaining volumes as audiobooks at two-or-three-month intervals until I catch up with the Kindle and Paperback versions

I hope you enjoy the adventure!

I’m a couple of weeks late, but here is a rare photograph of a gathering of four naval fiction authors. The occasion was the annual dinner of the Society for Nautical Research on board the restored HMS Warrior in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Left to right: Chris & Lucia Durbin (The Carlisle & Holbrooke series, set in the Seven Years War), Kitty & Alaric Bond (The Fighting Sail series set in the Napoleonic Wars), Jan & Philip K. Allan (the Alexander Clay Napoleonic War series and the Wolves WW2 series) and Antoine Vanner (The Dawlish Chronicles, set in the Victorian era).

It was great getting together, here’s hoping for a repeat in future.

I’m pleased to report that Treacherous Moon has been published in Paperback and Kindle and is also available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. This is the twelfth in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series and it takes George Holbrooke to the expedition against the French island of Belle Isle in 1761. It’s a darker tale than the first eleven books, dealing with espionage and betrayal and the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with years of warfare. The book cover offers a foretaste of the subject.

You can secure a copy of Treacherous Moon on any of the Amazon websites but for convenience the following links will take you to some of the most popular national sites:

Treacherous Moon on Amazon UK

Treacherous Moon on Amazon USA

Treacherous Moon on Amazon Canada

Treacherous Moon on Amazon Australia

Treacherous Moon on Amazon Germany

It can take a week for the all the Amazon sites to make the linkages with the other books in the series and to make the book available in all formats, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see the whole set of Carlisle & Holbrooke adventures advertised when you search for Treacherous Moon.

As always, if you would like a signed paperback copy, just contact me by replying to this post.

If you choose to read Treacherous Moon, I very much hope you enjoy the story.

*Falstaff explaining his nocturnal behaviour. William Shakespeare, Henry IV Part I

Falconer’s Marine Dictionary is the most used reference book in my study. It was first published in 1769, so it’s contemporary with the era of the Carlisle & Holbrooke series. Falconer fills 328 pages with English terms, followed by a further 83 pages of French translations. It’s a monumental work, and it helps me add technical authenticity to my writing.

There has always been a link to an online version of this book on my website and in each of the books of the series, but the edition that it was linked to didn’t have the excellent diagrams that Falconer must have spent years creating. Yesterday a reader of the series kindly sent me a link to a first (1769) edition of Falconer, complete with all the diagrams. You can find it by following the link below, and I’ll include it in all future Carlisle & Holbrooke books.

https://archive.org/details/universaldiction00will/page/n17/mode/2up

My thanks to Colonel Gary R. Hovatter, United States Army (Retired) who found the online book and drew it to my attention.

The first copy of the paperback had just arrived. My friend Bob Payne painted the image of a fourth rate ship-of-the-line and an armed cutter, with the Pitons of St. Lucia in the background. I particularly like the way the full moon shines on the surface of the sea. It’s called a ‘Moonglade,‘ I understand. Very lyrical. Thanks, Bob.

I’m delighted to announce that the eleventh book in the series is now available.

CARLISLE’S DUTY is set in the Caribbean but ranges as far as New England and Virginia

North America’s French and Indian War may be over, but at the end of 1760, the wider Seven Years War is still raging in Europe and across the seas of the world. Nevertheless, the New England merchants are growing restless at the restrictions on their trade with the French islands, and one Rhode Island company is determined to defy the law and bring home a cargo of contraband molasses.

Edward Carlisle’s ship Dartmouth is assigned to the Leeward Islands Squadron, tasked with blockading the remaining French Caribbean sugar islands. When he intercepts a New England ship suspected of trading with the enemy, he is left with a dilemma between his duty to his king and his loyalty to the colonies where he was born. What should be an open-and-shut case in the admiralty courts proves to be nothing of the sort.

Meanwhile, the French navy can still influence events, as Carlisle discovers when he is confronted by an enemy battle squadron with only a frigate to support him.

Carlisle’s Duty is the eleventh Carlisle and Holbrooke novel.  The series follows the two sea officers through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies prior to their bid for independence.

This is something of a landmark. 10 books published, 100,000 copies sold, 1,000,000 words written. We’ll be celebrating!

Nor’west By North

By late 1759 it is clear that France is losing the Seven Years War. In a desperate gamble, the French Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets combine to dominate the Channel and cover a landing in the south of England, but they are annihilated by Admiral Hawke at Quiberon Bay.  Meanwhile, a diversionary landing is planned in the north of Britain, and it sails from Dunkirk before news of the disaster at Quiberon Bay can reach its commander. The ill-fated expedition sets out to circumnavigate Britain in an attempt to salvage something from the failed strategy.

George Holbrooke, newly promoted to post-captain and commanding the frigate Argonaut, joins a squadron sent to intercept the French expedition. The quest takes him to Sweden, the Faroes, the Western Isles of Scotland and then to Ireland and the Isle of Man. The final act is played out at a secluded anchorage in the Bristol Channel.

Nor’west by North is the tenth Carlisle and Holbrooke novel.  The series follows Carlisle and his protégé Holbrooke through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies prior to their bid for independence.