The winter edition of Quarterdeck magazine is out! As always, it’s full of exciting articles about maritime literature and history.
See page 5 for a hint about my latest writing project and page 37 for a synopsis of book 16 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, Debatable Lands.
Phillip K. Alan’s masterful piece about figureheads on page 28 is well worth reading.
You can download Quarterdeck here:
The Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures are being published in audio format, one book at a time, and the first ten are already out there and being enjoyed. Meanwhile, David Lane Pusey has completed his narration of the eleventh Book, Carlisle’s Duty, and it’s now available from the usual places (Amazon, Audible, iTunes).
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.
For those of you who prefer the printed word, Book 16 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, Debatable Lands, has been published in Kindle and Paperback formats, and is available from Amazon.
The sixteenth book in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series of naval adventures is now available. It’s titled Debatable Lands, which refers to the contested territory between the Portuguese Viceroyalty of Brazil and the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. This was the scene of a little-known incident in 1762 when a Portuguese force, escorted by British ships, sailed to the River Plate intending to settle the dispute by evicting the Spanish. Debatable Lands tells the story of that ill-conceived expedition.
Debatable Lands features Captain George Holbrooke in command of the frigate Argonaut. The ship and its captain have fought through the Seven Years War and are now looking for some well-earned rest, but instead must sail six thousand miles from home and deal with the self-destructive obsessions of a Spanish captain and his powerful ship. And then there’s the governor of Buenos Aires, an eighteenth-century tactical genius for whom the ownership of the northern bank of the River Plate is not at all in debate.
Debatable Lands was published today in Kindle and Paperback formats, but it might take a few days to be available in your regional Amazon store.
This sixteenth book in the series concludes the story of the Royal Navy in the Seven Years War. Carlisle and Holbrooke will return during the short interval of peace before the American War of Independence.
AUDIO EDITIONS
David Lane Pusey is narrating the whole series, book-by-book, and producing them in audio format. He’s presently working on #11 Carlisle’s Duty which I hope will be available before Christmas. The audio book of Debatable Lands will follow in its due sequence.
The Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures are being published in audio format, one book at a time, and the first nine are already out there and being enjoyed. Meanwhile, David Lane Pusey has completed his narration of the tenth Book, Nor’west By North, and it’s now available from the usual places (Amazon, Audible, iTunes).
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.
For those of you who prefer the printed word, Book 16 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series (no name yet) is in production and (if the stars align and the tide is high) will be published in Kindle and paperback before the end of the year.
The summer 2024 edition of Quarterdeck magazine is now available, and George Jepson, the editor and publisher, was kind enough to write a generous review of my latest book, Old Bahama Straits. You can read it on page 33 of the magazine alongside a host of other articles on all sorts of nautical fiction and non-fiction. The magazine is free to download, follow the link below:
Summer-2024-Quarterdeck.pdf (dhjhkxawhe8q4.cloudfront.net)
The fifteenth book in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series of naval adventures is now available. It’s titled Old Bahama Straits, which is the name of the channel between the north coast of Cuba and the islands of the Bahamas. It’s an easy passage in the twenty-first century, with the help of satellite navigation, echo sounders and digital charts, but in the eighteenth century it was considered dangerous for substantial vessels, and unthinkable for large groups of ships. Nevertheless, it was attempted by a British naval squadron and an invasion fleet, intent on taking the war to the Spanish Empire in the West Indies. Old Bahama Straits tells the dramatic story of one of the century’s most remarkable feats of navigation, and one of the final acts of the Seven Years War.
Old Bahama Straits features Captain Edward Carlisle in command of the fourth rate ship-of-the-line Dartmouth. Both ship and captain have fought through seven years of war, and each is in need of rest and refit, but there’s none of either to be found when empires clash in the turquoise waters of the Old Bahama Straits.
You’ll also find a true account of a hero of the Spanish Navy whose conduct in the face of overwhelming odds is an inspiration to all military people, regardless of their nationality.
Old Bahama Straits was published yesterday in Kindle and Paperback formats, but it might take a few days to be available in your regional Amazon store.
AUDIO EDITIONS
David Lane Pusey is narrating the whole series, book-by-book, and producing them in audio format. He’s presently working on #10 Nor’west By North which given a fair wind will be available towards the end of the summer. The audio book of Old Bahama Straits will follow in its due sequence.
The Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures are being published in audio format, one book at a time, and the first eight are already out there and being enjoyed. Meanwhile, David Lane Pusey has completed his narration of the ninth Book, Ligurian Mission, and it’s now available from the usual places (Amazon, Audible, iTunes).
It’s the summer of 1760 and the British navy reigns supreme on the oceans of the world; only in the Mediterranean is its mastery still seriously challenged. Admiral Saunders is sent with a squadron of ships-of-the-line to remind those nations that are still neutral of the consequences of siding with the French.
Edward Carlisle’s ship Dartmouth is sent to the Ligurian Sea. His mission: to carry the British envoy to the Kingdom of Sardinia back to its capital, Turin, then to investigate the ships being built in Genoa for the French.
He soon finds that the game of diplomacy is played for high stakes, and the countries bordering the Ligurian Sea are hotbeds of intrigue and treachery, where family loyalties count for little.
Carlisle must contend with the arrogance of the envoy, the Angelini family’s duplicity and a vastly superior French seventy-four-gun ship whose captain is determined to bring the Genoa ships safely to Toulon.
Ligurian Mission is the ninth 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.
For those of you who prefer the printed word, Book 15 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series ‘Old Bahama Straits’ will be published in Kindle and paperback in May 2024.
Now here’s a thought for the New Year. David Lane Pusey has completed his narration of Niagara Squadron, and it’s now available from all the usual places (Amazon, Audible, iTunes).
Fort Niagara is the key to the American continent. Whoever owns that lonely outpost at the edge of civilisation controls the entire Great Lakes region.
Pitt’s grand strategy for 1759 is to launch a three-pronged attack on Canada. One army will move north from Lake Champlain, a second will sail up the St Lawrence to capture Quebec, and a third force will strike across the wilderness to Lake Ontario and French-held Fort Niagara.
Commander George Holbrooke is seconded to command the six hundred boats to carry the army through the rivers and across Lake Ontario. That’s the easy part; he also has to deal with two powerful brigs and two schooners that guarantee French naval superiority on the lake.
Holbrooke knows time is running out to be posted as captain before the war ends and promotions dry up; his rank is the stumbling block to his marriage to Ann, waiting for him in his hometown of Wickham Hampshire.
Niagara Squadron is the eighth Carlisle and Holbrooke novel. The series (fourteen books so far) follows Carlisle and his protégé Holbrooke through the Seven Years War and will continue into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760’s.
Edward Carlisle & George Holbrooke wish you a happy and peaceful New Year
My family is both British and American, so we celebrate Thanksgiving even though were at the far side of the world (almost). It has to be on the Saturday after, because the Thursday isn’t a holiday here, so I can’t show our table for this year but here’s a picture from 2022. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
It’s been a long time coming but yesterday I published Book 14 in Kindle and Paperback. It’s called An Upright Man; I won’t spoil it be telling you the meaning of the title. What I can say is that it’s set in the dying days of the Seven Years War when the French King wanted to put pressure on Britain in advance of peace negotiations. He needed a rapid success and he’d already found that land operations couldn’t achieve that. His chosen target was a small but economically significant colony of Britain, and he sent his boldest naval commander to capture it, destroy its infrastructure, and depart before the already stretched British navy could react. The story reveals how far the strategy succeeded, and the part that Captain George Holbrooke of His Britannic Majesty’s frigate Argonaut played in this drama, and if you yearn for a true French naval hero then you’ll find him in this book.
An Upright Man is available in Kindle and Paperback formats in all of the regional Amazon markets.
David Lane Pusey is working hard to narrate the whole series and I’m presently reviewing Book 8 Niagara Squadron which given a fair wind will be available before Christmas. The audio book of An Upright Man will follow in due course
