Bolitho Novels
1 primary work • 28 total works
Book 27
It is February 1818, and Adam Bolitho longs for marriage and a safe personal harbour. But with so much of Britain's fleet redundant, he knows he is fortunate to be offered H.M.S. Onward, a new 38-gun frigate whose first mission is not war but diplomacy, as consort to the French frigate Nautilus.
Under the burning sun of North Africa, Bolitho is keenly aware of the envy and ambition among his officers, the troubled, restless spirits of his midshipmen, and the old enemy's proximity. It is only when Nautilus becomes a sacrificial offering on the altar of empire that every man discovers the brotherhood of the sea is more powerful than the bitter memories of an ocean of blood and decades of war.
With convoys from Canada and the Caribbean falling victim to American privateers, Sir Richard Bolitho returns to Halifax to pursue a war he knows will not be won, but which neither Britain nor the United States can afford to lose.
England's youngest admiral desires only peace. But peace will not be found in the icy Canadian waters, where a young, angry nation asserts its identity and men who share a common heritage die in close and bloody action. Nor will there be a peace for those who follow the Cross of St George: for the embittered Adam, mourning his lover and his ship, nor for Rear-Admiral Valentine Keen, who must confront both grief and responsibility. Nor will there be peace from those enemies who use this struggle between nations as an instrument of personal revenge.
Readers of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will love this sensational swashbuckling naval adventure from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent.
'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' - Sunday Times
'Shipwreck, survival...a spirited battle, a splendid yarn' - The Times
'A fantastic book - did not want to put it down' -- ***** Reader review
'Well written, nautically and historically excellent' -- ***** Reader review
'A fast moving, captivating, page turner - not recommended if you want to go to sleep right away' -- ***** Reader review
'A rollicking maritime yarn' -- ***** Reader review
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1789: NEW SOUTH WALES. Into Sydney, capital of Britain's infant colony, sails the frigate Tempest. She is one of His Majesty's ships employed in policing the new southern trade routes. Her captain is Richard Bolitho, who hopes to be ordered home to England.
Instead he is despatched on a mission to the islands of the Great South Sea, where he must face hazards of fickle winds, pirates and native islanders.
But he is menaced by deeper fears: the men of the Bounty have mutinied in these same waters and from distant Europe comes news of a revolution in France...
Bolitho's adventures continue in With All Despatch.
Fans of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will love this gripping, all-guns-blazing naval adventure from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent - full of passion and compassion, you'll won't be able to put this one down...!
'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' -- Sunday Times
'Shipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn'' -- The Times
'Another cracking yarn' -- ***** Reader review
'Leaves you breathless' -- ***** Reader review
'Yet another awesome tale from the master storyteller'-- ***** Reader review
'Draws you in and keeps you engaged the whole way'-- ***** Reader review
'Excellent book, you feel you are there in the middle of the fighting' -- ***** Reader review
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1802: Richard Bolitho is summoned to the Admiralty in London and given his orders for a difficult and, to him, distasteful task. Even an advanced promotion to vice-admiral does not compensate for his sudden and thankless mission. Bolitho and his wife are expecting their first child, and for once he is loath to quit the land for the demands of duty.
The Peace of Amiens, signed a few weeks earlier, is already showing signs of strain as the old enemies wrangle over the return of colonial possessions won and lost during the war. In the little sixty-four-gun AchatesBolitho sails West for Boston, and thence to the Caribbean where he must hand over the island of San Felipe to the French.
Bolitho discovers that to be a man of diplomacy is not enough, and as threat and counter-threat weave a web of intrigue around his lonely command, he balances success against the danger to the men who must follow him even to the cannon's mouth.
Fans of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will love this engrossing and enthralling naval adventure from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent. You'll be gripped from page one!
'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' -- Sunday Times
'As a former naval officer, Alexander Kent knows what it is like to be at sea' -- The Times
'Impossible to put down!' -- ***** Reader review
'Plenty of action and intrigue to keep you wanting to read just one more chapter' -- ***** Reader review
'As ever, the author keeps you totally involved. A true page turner.' -- ***** Reader review
'A jolly good read and difficult to put down' -- ***** Reader review
'Outstanding' -- ***** Reader review
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1794: as the year draws to a close Richard Bolitho, commanding the old Hyperion, leaves Plymouth to join a squadron blockading the rising power of Revolutionary France. After six months of repairs his ship is ready to fight again, but her company is mostly raw and untrained.
Unfortunately, Bolitho finds himself under a commodore who is no match for the French admiral, Lequiller, whose powerful squadron uses guile and ruthless determination to elude him and vanish into the Atlantic. Hyperion gives chase, the desperate voyage taking them from the Bay of Biscay's squall to the heat of the Caribbean - and for each mile sailed and every battle fought, Bolitho finds himself being forced into the ever more demanding role of strategist and squadron commander.
Is he up to the challenge?
Bolitho's adventures continue in The Flag Captain.
