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Entries preceded by a '*' are reviewed on my Nautical Book Reviews page

Entries preceded by a '+' are available electronically, see the separate Electronic Nautical Books List




Styles, Showell 1908- (As a Lt. Commander in the RNR he was torpedoed off
  Tobruk during WW II and spent four hours in the water before being picked
  up. An avid mountain climber, and author of two standard works on
  mountaineering.)
     Septimus Quinn series: (For young readers.)
       Midshipman Quinn, 1957
       Quinn of the FURY, 1961
       Midshipman Quinn and Denise the Spy, 1961
       Quinn at Trafalgar, 1965
     Mr. Fitton series: (Inspired by the adventures of an actual RN officer)
       A Sword For Mr. Fitton, 1975 ("Acting Lieutenant Michael Fitton, a
         sailor of Nelson's day, launched himself on a second career--piracy!
         His intention was to attract the attention of the Lords of the
         Admiralty with a view to winning a long-delayed promotion. He fought
         in the Caribbean with a handful of men in small ships, one of them an
         open long boat, and was secretly subsidised by a consortium of his
         brother officers who needed to augment their meagre pay." [from
         bookjacket blurb])
       Mr. Fitton's Commission, 1977 (Lt. Fitton incurs the enmity of his
         admiral, in spite of which he achieves great success in the West
         Indies in 1803-05, but is then dismissed the service.)
       Mr. Fitton's Prize, 1993 (HMS FORTITUDE takes a French ship and Fitton
         is appointed prize-master. He comes under the influence of a
         beautiful French Royalist and is persuaded to disobey his captain's
         orders and try and help her cause.)
       Lt. Fitton
       Mr. Fitton and the Black Legion
       Mr. Fitton at the Helm
       Mr. Fitton in Command
     The Frigate Captain, 1956 (Fictionalized biography of Thomas Lord
       Cochrane, from entering the Royal Navy as a midshipman through his
       stock fraud conviction in 1814. Cochrane was the model for Patrick
       O'Brian's Jack Aubrey.)
     Mr. Nelsons Ladies, 1953 (The author uses fiction to give substance to
       Nelson's female acquaintances who were part of his life prior to his
       marriage.)
     The Admiral's Fancy, 1956 (Fictionalized biography of Ben Hallowell,
       revolving around an uneasy relationship with Emma Hamilton.)
     The Sea Officer, 1961 (Fictionalized biography of Edward Pellew.)
     Number Two-Ninety, 1966 (Fictional account of the Confederate raider
       ALABAMA.)
     Indestructable Jones, 1967 (David "Indestructable" Jones's adventures
       in the Royal Navy during the first two years of WW II. He starts out a
       pacifist volunteer, and progresses through a collection of
       misadventures, shipwrecks, and survivals to gain a reputation as a
       fearless, intrepid, and indestructable young officer. Seems to be the
       first in a series.)
     Sea Road to Camperdown, 1968 (A novel relating the story of Admiral
       Duncan, a hulking great man, the opposite of Nelson. He was both 6 foot
       6 and 66 years old when he led his motley fleet against the Dutch at
       the Battle of Camperdown into what was to become the bloodiest sea
       fight of the Napoleonic era. The battle was fought very shortly after
       the infamous RN fleet mutinies in 1797. The book includes an account of
       Duncan grabbing one of the mutineers by the lapels and shaking him over
       the ship's side!)
     Vincey Joe at Quiberon, 1971 ("Vincey Joe" was her sailors affectionate
       nickname for the small brig HMS VENCEJO, captained by Commander John
       Wesley Wright, who ran secret agents into Revolutionary and Napoleonic
       France. Based on fact, the book tells of her last cruise in 1804 off
       the coast of Brittany and in particular amongst the islands in
       Quiberon Bay. HMS VENCEJO was a small quarterdeck brig with an elm tree
       wash pump, does that remind anyone of any other ship in the world of
       nautical fiction?)
     Admiral of England, 1973 (Novel about Admiral Clowdisley Shovell, ending
       with his drowning in 1707 when his fleet went aground in the Scilly
       Isles.)
     The Malta Frigate, 1983 (A British frigate in action against the French
       during the siege of Malta (following the Nile))
     The Quarterdeck Ladder, 1989
     Nelson'S Midshipman, 1991 (A dramatised account of Sir William Hoste's
       naval career from a midshipman in the 64 gun ship AGAMEMNON, commanded
       by his patron Captain Horatio Nelson, through to his own masterly
       handling of his squadron of four frigates off Lissa in March 1811 where
       he defeated a French and Venetian fleet of superior force.)
     HMS Cracker
     Gun-Brig Captain
     The Lee Shore
     Stella and the Fireships
     Mutiny in the Caribbean
     Seven Gun Broadside
     The Baltic Convoy
     A Kiss for Captain Hardy
     Centurion Comes Home

Suthren, Victor (Curator of the Canadian War Museum and yachtsman.)
     Paul Gallant series: (18th century French Canadian naval officer.)
       The Black Cockade: Paul Gallant's Louisbourg Command, 1977 (Based on
         the siege and capture of the French fortress of Louisburg in Nova
         Scotia during 1745 by a small force of British colonials supported
         by a fleet of merchantmen.)
       A King's Ransom, 1981 (Gallant is sent to find a bejewelled statuette
         being sent to France by the Spanish to seal their alliance, and now
         lost. "Was LA NUESTRA SENORA DE LA CONCEPCION captured by the
         British? Was she lost in a storm? Or has she fallen prey to marauding
         pirates? Gallant's search leads him from the high seas to a British
         dungeon in Fort Louisbourg, from the arms of a beautiful Micmac squaw
         into a pitched battle with his greatest enemies. The fearless captain
         of the ECHO must overcome the treacherous waters of Louisbourg and
         match wits with the Royal Navy in his quest to retrieve the golden
         virgin. He is a brave and courageous navigator, but this is his
         greatest challenge. Whoever finds the statue rules the seas." [from
         bookjacket blurb])
       In Perilous Seas, 1983 (It's 1747 and Gallant is now captain of a
         frigate assigned to shepherd a convoy of merchantmen from the West
         Indies to France. "...evading privateers and the British Navy and
         guarding the person and dowry of Marianne de Poitrincourt, Marquise
         de Bezy. There is treachery in high and low places, and Marianne and
         dowry are taken hostage... Gallant once again lives up to his name,
         and against terrific odds (including a nasty Spanish noble, a vicious
         Dutch pirate, a British warship and the Carolina waters) [from
         bookjacket blurb])
     Edward Mainwaring series: (Colonial serving in the British navy during
     the 18th century)
       Royal Yankee, 1987 (Edward Mainwaring, a provincial lieutenant in the
         Royal Navy, commands the six gun British schooner ATHENA in the
         Caribbean during Admiral Vernon's attack on Porto Bello in 1739.)
       The Golden Galleon, 1989 (Edward Mainwaring's adventures in 1741, as he
         takes a the sloop of war DIANA around Cape Horn chasing Spanish
         privateers and finds the fabled Manila Galleon.)
       Admiral of Fear, 1991 (Edward Mainwaring is sent to Toulon harbor to
         storm a French fortress.)
       Captain Monsoon, 1993 (Mainwaring as a captain in 1744. In command of
         the 44-gun ship PALLAS in action against the French off Mauritius. He
         is taken prisoner, but escapes and steals a flotilla of bizarre ships
         and attacks the enemy.)

Szilagye, Robert J. and Monroe, Stanley C.
     Mediterranean Manuever, 1984 (The old carrier CORAL SEA is called back
       into action to help carry out a daring raid to steal secret electronic
       stuff from Rooskies.)

Talbot, Michael 1932-
     To the Ends of the Earth, 1986 (Carrying convicts to Botany bay,
       Australia, one step ahead of France in a battle for dominion over the
       South Pacific in the 1780s.)

Tanner, Mack
     Target: Subic Bay, 1992 (A bloody coup in the Philippines threatens a USN
       base at Subic Bay. The base commander, shunned by the Pentagon,
       partners up with a Soviet fleet for a counterattack.)

Tanner, Tony (Editor)
     The Oxford Book of Sea Stories, 1995 (Stories by Melville, Conrad,
       Stephen Crane, Kipling, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Peter Ustinov and others)

Taylor, Charles D.
     Show of Force, 1980 (Update of James Fenimore Cooper's tale, THE TWO
       ADMIRALS. Here, U.S. and Russian admirals and their fleets square off
       over a missile base in the Indian Ocean.)
     The Sunset Patriots, 1982 (Why is a US-Soviet fleet steaming into the
       East China Sea? Inquiring Chinese want to know. A US admiral also wants
       to know why the 7th fleet is visiting Vladivostock, biggest navy base
       in the USSR.)
     First Salvo, 1985 (Strange incidents in Long Island Sound and the Sea of
       Japan say the Soviets are up to something... like WW III! Should we
       strike first?)
     War Ship, 1989 (Russian agents sieze USS GETTYSBURG, sail her to Cam Ranh
       Bay in Viet Nam. Seals go to the rescue.)
     Boomer, 1990 (20 years ago, KGB planted an agent in the USN; now he's
       skipper of a nuclear attack sub. The plot thickens.)
     Deep Sting, 1991 (Russian spies with mini-subs seeks to destroy the
       Trident sub base in Bangor, Washington. Navy Seals are in pursuit.)

Taylor, J. E.
     At Close Quarters, 1949 (Spells out sympathetically the reason why the
       USA felt it necessary to go to war in 1812 against Britain's arrogance
       at sea. Broadbank with the privateer AVENGER joins in the war from the
       beginning but gets off to a poor start and loses the ship and an arm.
       He is a shorebound spectator to the SHANNON-CHESAPEAKE fight and in the
       confusion is able to escape his captors and rejoin the British and go
       on to organise at Lake Champlain a small but tactically important
       mini-fleet that prevents the Americans from invading Canada.)
     By Force of Arms ("This stirring sea story of the Napoleonic Wars
       follows the fortunes of Captain Broadbank, and his privateer schooner
       the AVENGER, his life, his aims, and the love that came to him so
       strangely, told against a broad exciting background of the lives and
       conditions of ships and seamen of that great maritime era." [from the
       bookjacket of AT CLOSE QUARTERS.)

Taylor, Theodore 1921-
     The Cay, 1969 (When the freighter on which they are traveling is
       torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white
       boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on
       a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision,
       courage, and love from his old companion.)
     Cape Hatteras trilogy:
       Teetoncey, 1974 (Eleven-year-old Ben rescues an English girl from a
         shipwreck off the Outer Banks of North Carolina; and, though she
         becomes part of his family, she never speaks.)
       Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal, 1975 (When the English girl Ben saved from a
         shipwreck recovers her memory and speech and reveals to him that two
         chests full of silver went down with the ship, Ben and his friends try
         to recover them without arousing suspicions.)
       The Odyssey of Ben O'Neal, 1977 (The further adventures of Ben and
         Teetoncey as they take to the sea-- he, to find his brother, and she
         to escape a forced return to England.)
     To Kill the Leopard, 1993 (WW II. Twice torpedoed merchant captain,
       now commanding a Q ship, hunts the U-boat that sank him.)
     Timothy of the Cay, 1993 (Sequel to THE CAY. Having survived being blinded
       and shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island with the old black man
       Timothy, twelve-year-old white Phillip is rescued and hopes to regain
       his sight with an operation. Alternate chapters follow the life of
       Timothy from his days as a young cabin boy.)

Taylor, Tom
     The Sin Bearer, 1986 (Novelization of a biblical adventure and love
       story, told in Acts 27:1-28:11, about a merchant ship that is
       commandeered by the Romans to take prisoners to Rome.)

Tennyson, Alfred, Lord 1809-1892
     The Kraken, 1830 (Short poem about the hideous beast.)
     The Revenge, 1880 ("In Flores in the Azores, Sir Richard Grenville lay...
       dum de dum de dum..." classic narrative poem, stirring stuff. In 1591
       Grenville bravely tried to fight his undermanned ship, the REVENGE,
       through a powerful Spanish fleet, being defeated only after 15 hour
       of battle!)
     Crossing the Bar, 1889 (Death as an ocean voyage, classic short poem.)

Terman, Douglas 1933-
     Enemy Territory, 1989 (Hi-tech, hi-seas clash between ex Vietnam War POW,
       now skippering a charterboat in Caribbean, and the Commie who
       brainwashed and tortured him, with sabotage of an SDI trial at stake.)

Terrill, Rogers (Editor)
     The Argosy Book of Sea Stories, 1953 (A collection of fairly light-weight
       adventure stories published in the magazine between 1943 and 1953.)

Thomas, Craig
     Emerald Decision, 1980 (A 40-year-old covert mine field in the Irish Sea
       contains a shattering secret that investigators must dig out of old
       WW II records and witnesses.)
     The Sea Leopard, 1981 (British nuclear sub with sonar "cloaking device.")

Thompson, Earl (Former merchant seaman)
     Caldo Largo, 1977 (Mystery novel set in Brownsville, Texas, upper Mexican
       coast aboard a shrimper. Tough, rough, a little raw sex.)

Thompson, Ernest Victor 1931-
     The Restless Sea, 1983 (Fishing and smuggling off the Cornish coast
       occupy prizefighter Nathan Jugo. Set about 1810.)

Thorndyke, Arthur Russell 1885-
     Doctor Syn series: (After his wife is kidnapped by pirates, an English
     cleric takes to the high seas in pursuit of them. In the process, he
     assumes the persona of a pirate, Captain Clegg. He eventually hunts the
     pirates down only to learn that his wife is dead and that a price has
     been placed on his head by King George. After some years, and two books,
     of high seas adventures, he returns to rural England to shed his past and
     assume a posting as vicar of Dymchurch. He is accompanied, however, by
     his former ship's carpenter, Mr. Mipps, who quickly becomes involved in
     the local smuggling ring. Dr. Syn, fearing for the life of his friend and
     others, decides to bring the ragtag group of smugglers together by
     becoming their masked leader, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. The
     remaining books in the series address his adventures as leader of this
     group, and the Crown's efforts to capture and kill him. "Great
     swashbuckling stories!" [KF])
       Doctor Syn, 1915
       Dr. Syn Returns, 1935
       The Scarecrow Rides, 1935
       Further Adventures of Dr. Syn, 1936
       Dr.Syn on the High Seas, 1936
       Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn
       Courageous Exploits of Dr. Syn
       Shadow of Doctor Syn

Thorndyke, Arthur Russell 1885-? and Buck, William Ray, 1930-
     Doctor Syn series:
       Christopher Syn, 1960

Thorne, Anthony
     I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1943 (Fictionalised but obviously
       autobiographical account of service on the lower deck of the Royal Navy
       as a "Y" Scheme entrant in the early days of WW II. His messmates are
       vividly brought to life in this enjoyable tale of the hardships and
       boredom of war in an armed merchant cruiser. Service on the lower deck
       was the norm for "Y" Scheme entrants prior to being selected for
       officer training. It is interesting to see that the book is bound in
       light navy blue cloth and along the edges of the top board are three
       white stripes making it look like a matelot's collar. All this under the
       Book Production War Economy Standard!)

Thorne, John
     The Secret Service Submarine: A story of the present war, 1915 (The story
       involves a teacher, unable to join the services because of a leg
       damaged playing rugby at university, who reluctantly settles down to
       seeing the war out at a boys school on England’s east coast. Things are
       not as quiet as they seem - he suspects his headmaster is a spy - his
       brother commands a submarine - all a good Boy’s Own adventure complete
       with maps, secret codes etc.!)

Tier, Alexander
     Britannia Rules the Waves, 1944 (The author and another Lieutenant, RNVR,
       Charles Page, who was responsible for the delightful illustrations, had
       their work serialised in THE FLEET, the journal of the British Navy,
       prior to its publication in book form. In this story of an alternative
       war-time Royal Navy, The WRENS make up the crew of HMS ARDENT, a
       battleship, much to the disgust of the squadron's other battleship's
       Captain the Hon. Aloysius Waldemar Fitz-Urse who is the bete noire of
       ARDENT's Commandant Sneeryng-Robarts. The Marines are also women,
       Marinettes in fact.... They do meet the enemy and amazingly, the
       Germans are written up, particularly bearing in mind the time, as only
       human...  A lighthearted and affectionate send-up.)

Tillman, Barrett
     The Sixth Battle, 1991 (Rear Admiral Chuck Gideon served his country in
       Vietnam and in the Gulf-- but he faces his greatest challenge as the
       commander of a task force in the Indian Ocean, off the South African
       coast, where a geopolitical time bomb is primed and ready to explode.
       In a new era of instability the Soviet Union has become the Union of
       Eurasian Republics, South Africa is prey to UER-sponsored invaders, and
       the former policeman to the world, Uncle Sam,is called out of
       "retirement" to bring his most potent air, sea, and land power to bear
       on a crisis in the making. At the point of the spear thrust for freedom
       is Admiral Gideon, who orders his flyers into action off an aging
       aircraft carrier and into the annals of military heroism.)
     Dauntless, A Novel of Midway and Guadacanal, 1992 (Marine and naval
       aviators -- both USN and IJN -- at war during the battle of Midway and
       the battles for Guadacanal. Emphasis on sea warfare and the customs of
       the sea.)

Tilsley, Frank
     HMS Defiant, 1958 (Mutiny in UK. Story of a mutiny on British frigate in
     1796. Filmed as DAMN THE DEFIANT! in 1962 starring Alec Guiness.)

Toner, Raymond John
     Midshipman Davy Jones; being the log of his adventures aboard divers
       frigates; sloops of war; and other fighting craft of the United States
       Navy; together with an account of his captivity in, and escape from, the
       islands of the Bermudas, during the late war with Great Britain,
       1812-1815. Wherein may be discovered to those of a nautical mind, sundry
       time-honored naval customs, and the routine observed aboard United
       States men of war. To the adventurous, a recounting of gallant deeds of
       iron men in wooden ships, 1938 (For young readers.)
     Meeheevee; being an account of the commerce-raiding cruise of the United
       States frigate ESSEX into the South Pacific seas under command of
       Captain David Porter, U. S. Navy, anno 1812-14, 1940 (Fictional account
       of the famous voyage.)
     Gamble of the Marines, 1963 (A US Marine accompanies the frigate ESSEX on
       her raiding expedition to the Pacific during the War of 1812. For young
       readers.)

Tonkin, Peter
     The Coffin Ship, 1989 (The VLCC PROMETHEUS is plagued by mysterious
       accidents before sailing from the Persian Gulf with 250,000 tons of
       crude. Will she make it?)
     The Fire Ship, 1990 (A sea thriller in which three separate incidents of
       terrorism, seas apart, are linked to one group, led by a madman. The
       action begins aboard the trial voyage of a high-tech multihull in the
       Indian Ocean.)

Topol, Edward1938-
     Submarine U-137, 1983 (In 1981 Soviet submarine U-137 ran aground off
       the Swedish coast near a major Swedish naval base. The Soviets claimed
       faulty navigation equipment ...But was it??)

Torrey, Michelle
     Bottles of Eight & Pieces of Rum, 199? (Kip attempts to fake his class
       assignment, an oral report on pirates, by using his grandfather's
       tales. The plan backfires and he turns to his grandfather for help.
       Unable to believe the story his grandfather tells, Kip follows
       his instructions and takes out a bottle from a chest in the attic.
       Instantly he is being fished out of the sea by pirates and learns about
       their life by becoming one. Adventures follow, of course, but startling
       surprises as well as Kip uses his modern skills in the age of wooden
       ships. For 9 to 12 year olds.)

Tracy, Don 1905-
     Crimson is the Eastern Shore, 1953 (A romantic tale of strong-minded men
       and women on Maryland's Eastern Shore during the tumultuous events of
       1812.)
     Carolina Corsair, 1955 (The year is 1717 and Edward Teach -- Blackbeard
       the Pirate -- is plaguing the American coast in an alchoholic haze.
       Novel that makes Blackbeard's irrational behavior a consequence of
       alcoholism.)

Tracy, Louis 1863-1928
     The Captain of the Kansas, 1907 (Gallant captain of the KANSAS, on a run
       from Chile to England, with the help of assorted more or less useful
       passengers, overcomes sabotage, Indian attacks, and the stormy sea and
       finally gets the girl to boot. It's a pretty good look at the racial
       stereotyping of the day, but holds up pretty well after 90 years.)

Traven, B. 1890-1969
     The Death Ship: the Story of an American Sailor, 1934 (Black comedy about
       the black gang of a doomed freighter by the mysterious author of THE
       TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.)

Treece, Henry 1911-1966
     Viking's Dawn, 1956 (Tells the story of the earliest Vikings, before they
       were the kings of the sea.)
     The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1958

Trelawny, Edward John 1792-1881 (Served in the Royal Navy 1805-1812, including
  several years in the Indian Ocean and East Indies against native pirates and
  French naval vessels and privateers. Later became friendly with the poets
  Shelley and Byron, and imbued with high Romantic ideas, travelled to Italy,
  rranged cremation for Shelley who drowned 1822, then to Greece with Byron
  for revolution against Turks.)
     Adventures of a Younger Son, 1831 (RN midshipman deserts in India because
       of harsh treatment, joins an American privateer sailing under French
       letter of marque, has various adventures in the Indian Ocean and East
       Indies. He's indignant about the ill treatment of the natives by
       foreign intruders, but behaves just as callously himself. Some episodes
       (e.g. ship overrun by man-hungry naked Malay women) were omitted from
       the original edition, because of protests by Trelawny's friend Mary
       Shelley, but are restored in the Oxford English Novels edition, 1974,
       which also has useful notes.)

Trevor, Elleston (Author of FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX)
     The Big Pick-Up; a novel of Dunkirk, 1955
     Gale Force, 1956 ("A shattering story of a [steam]ship's fight for
       survival in the Atlantic gone mad." [from bookjacket blurb])

Trew, Antony 1906-
     Two Hours to Darkness, 1962 (Captain of a British Polaris submarine goes
       mad during a patrol in the Baltic Sea in 1960s. He plans to launch
       Polaris missiles at the USSR, while his exec, learning of the plot is
       determined "to keep his yardarm clear," and not endanger his own
       chances of promotion.)
     The White Schooner, 1969 (Mystery and revenge in the Balearics.)
     The Moonraker mutiny, 1972 (Crew mutinies and abandons freighter on way to
       Australia.)
     Kleber's convoy, 1973 (Johan Kleber commands a wolf pack hunting a
       Murmansk bound convoy, while an old friend commands its destroyer
       escort.)
     The Zhukov briefing, 1975 (Soviet sub runs aground off Norway.)
     Death of a Supertanker, 1978 (A supertanker runs aground on the African
       coast, leaving behind dead sailors and a massive insurance bill.
       Someone on board had sabotaged its navigation gear. Suspects range from
       a crewman up to the captain.)
     The Antonov project, 1979 (US and UK intelligence want to know what's
       with Russia's new class of bulk carrier ships that never take on
       cargo.)
     Sea Fever, 1980 (During a single-handed round trip race to the Azores
       from Britain our hero finds stowaway aboard his small ketch. Her
       presence will disqualify him, but only if she is discovered. Is
       winning worth throwing her overboard?)
     Running wild, 1983  (Anti-apartheid activists escape S. Africa in a
       ketch.)
     Bannister's Chart, 1984 (Mystery and suspense as a cruise ship get
       battered by a cyclone and diverted on a treasure hunt.)
     Yashimoto's Last Dive, 1987 (Japanese submarine commander and British
       destroyer captain in a duel on the Indian ocean during WW II.)
     The Chalk Circle, 1989 (Spy thriller set in Mozambique. Survivors of a
       wrecked big game fishing boat and a small aircraft are drawn into an
       intrigue.)

Trimble, Hugh J. 1924-
     Return from the Deep, 1958 (A US sub skipper sinks a Japanese ship, finds
       out later that it contained US prisoners of war, including his best
       friend. Based on an actual incident during WW II.)

Tucker, George F.
     The Boy Whaleman, 1924 (Whaling voyage to the Pacific and Arctic.)

Turnbull, Archibald Douglas
     Cochrane the Unconquerable, 1929 (Novel based on the adventures of RN
       hero Thomas Cochrane. "Since man first pushed out upon blue water,
       there has been only one Thomas Cochrane. Because the Golden Age of
       Sailors is dead, there can never be another quite like him, asking no
       odds in weather or war. Alike against political double-dealing and
       naval corruption ashore, or against overwhelming gales and roaring
       broadsides afloat, he set a straight course and steered it with a high
       heart. From a downfall that must have killed a lesser man, he rose to
       new and greater heights. The spars of this tale are history; it's
       sails, romance. Who must, may hunt out the robands bending sails to
       spars")

Tute, Warren (Royal Navy officer 1932-1946.)
     The Cruiser, 1955 (Life-history of LEANDER class cruiser ANTIGONE from
       the peace-time Caribbean to WW II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.)
     The Rock, 1957 (Gibraltar at war during WW II. Lots of sea action.)
     The Leviathan, 1959 (Life story of LEVIATHAN, a ship patterned on the
       QUEEN MARY -- the crew's pub even has the same name as that on the QM
       -- from its launch through peacetime and wartime service until it is
       sunk in WW II.)
     The Admiral, 1963 (The career of Mark Hamerlock, RN, from entry as a
       midshipman 1897, through service in China and at Jutland, to
       retirement as an admiral in 1942. Not terribly original, but a lot of
       good period detail.)

Unsworth, Barry 1930- (Editor)
     Classic Sea Stories, 1994 (Huge 616 page book has 80 classic tales,
       accounts of great navigators, fierce sea battles, legends, sea gods and
       lost islands. Authors include Homer, Conrad, Melville, H. C. Anderson,
       Poe, Washington Irving, Defoe and Jules Verne.)

Vail, Philip, 1914-1988 (Noel B. Gerson)
     The Sea Panther, 1962 (William Bainbridge's exploits, from 1797 through
       his capture of the JAVA in 1812, interpreted in fiction of dubious
       accuracy. Bainbridge is given the capabilities of a comic book
       superhero -- regularly besting Royal Navy warships with a merchantman.
       Additionally, all American frigates are 44s -- including PHILADELPHIA,
       ESSEX, and CONSTELLATION -- and the Royal Navy frigate JAVA is
       transformed into a 64-gun ship of the line.)

Van der Post, Laurens
     The Hunter and the Whale, 1967 (Big game hunter and whaling captain trade
       pot shots at an elephant and a whale.)

Van Zwienen, John
     Pivot, 1980  (Germans mount an effort to hit the Empire State Building
       with a V-2 launched from a U-Boat. The expedition experiences
       difficulties due to production bottlenecks, denial of reality by the
       senior leaders in 1944-45, cronyism, and mysticism -- a combination
       which makes allied forces trivial by comparison.)
     China Clipper, 1983 (Potboiler set in the 1840s-1860s centering on the
       exploits of an American seafaring and shipbuilding family, a renegade
       Englishman, and a nymphomaniac who starts out the novel as the wife of
       a clipper captain, then becomes acting captain when her husband falls
       ill. Between bedroom scenes, the story has lots of seagoing action
       examining the impact of the introduction of the clipper and the
       steamship in commercial shipping.)

Vaughan, Carter A. 1914-1988 (Noel B. Gerson)
     The Yankee Brig, 1960 (Seven Years War adventure. Boston skipper takes a
       brig to sea as a privateer fighting the French while facing the
       opposition of the Royal Navy commodore in command in Boston.)
     Dragon Cove, 1979 (Probably written earlier. A band of Providence, RI,
       rebels led by Captain Jonathan Sherwood, strike at the British from
       their secret base in Dragon Cove. Among other adventures, they blow up
       a British 74 in port, steal a merchantman, use that as springboard to
       steal a British sloop-of-war, then take to the seas around Providence
       to give the British grief.)

Vercel, Roger 1894-1957
     Tides of Mont St. Michel, 1938

Verne, Jules 1828-1905
    +Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, 1869 (A new translation (1993,
       Naval Institute Press) corrects the many errors, mistranslations, and
       bogus additions of the English version previously available and restores
       nearly a quarter of Verne's original text that was cut from that version
       of the adventures of Captain Nemo and his marvelous submarine NAUTILUS.
       The Signet Classic and Bantam paperbacks are also said to be good
       translations.)
     The Mysterious Island, 1870 (Desert island story.)
     Captain Grant's Children (Lord Glenarvan, Scots aristocrat, liberal and
       owner of the big steam/sail yacht DUNCAN, finds in the sea a bottle
       with a document telling about a shipwreck that mentions the name of the
       ship's captain - Grant. Unfortunately, part of information related to
       the location of shipwreck was destroyed by the sea water and Glenarvan
       only could get the latitude: 37 degrees and some minutes. He also knew
       that it was the Southern Hemisphere. He gets familiar with the two
       children of the captain and decides to search their father, having many
       adventures on the way, including meeting a character who later plays a
       part in Verne's MYSTERIOUS ISLAND.)
     The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
     The Blockade Runners

Verril, Alpheus Hyatt 1871-?
     The Deep Sea Hunters, 1922 (The old derelict sailing ship HECTOR is
       repaired and fitted out for a voyage to South Shetlands to obtain
       sea-elephant oil for the WW I war effort.)

Villiers, Alan 1903-1982 (Born in Melbourne, wrote much nautical non-fiction
  based on his many adventures in sailing ships, and several childrens sea
  stories)
     Whalers of the Midnight Sun, 1934 (Children's sea story)
     A Seaman's Collection of Great Sea Stories, 1953 (Editor. Stories by de
       Hartog, Slocum, Shackleton, McFee, Roberts, Bisset and more. Fiction
       and non-fiction.)

Vignoles, Keith
     Young persons adventure stories set nearly two hundred years ago but
     with plenty of local interest particularly for those who know the
     Hampshire-Sussex borders of Southern England adjacent to the French
     coast:
       Dick Burgess of Bosham, 1976 (Young Dick works for his father who mixes
         a bit of smuggling in with his fishing. They are ambushed by Custom
         officers but Dick manages to evade capture. French agents assisted by
         some locals are preparing for Napoleon's imminent invasion and Dick,
         at great risk, is able to help in unmasking traitors amongst the
         local community in 1803.)
       A Prisoner of Portchester, 1977 (Two French POWs escape from
         Portchester Castle (situated at the north end of Portsmouth Harbour)
         in 1808 and hope to use the long established escape route to return
         to France. Two young lads become involved when they discover a
         wounded man near their home.)
       Portsmouth Point, 1984 (A naval adventure set in 1814 with plenty of
         local interest thrown in - a young lad has no future ashore in
         Portsmouth and finds himself aboard a Royal Navy schooner, Dick
         Burgess (from the first novel) is a leading hand, and they are
         involved in an action against an American schooner off Ireland.)

Vollmann, William T.
     The Rifles (Fictionalized recreation of the disastrous last voyage of Sir
       John Franklin with the bomb ketches EREBUS and TERROR in 1845 searching
       for the Northwest Passage.)

Wallace, Willard Mosher 1911-
     East to Bagaduce, 1963 (Based on a true event. US Navy lays siege to
       Maine town during the Revolutionary War, but effort ends in humiliating
       disaster. Not for sunshine patriots.)
     Jonathan Dearborn; a novel of the War of 1812, 1967 (American privateers.)
     The Raiders: a novel of the Civil War at sea, 1970 (Cruise of the
       Confederate raider ALABAMA, as seen by Lieutenant Scott Pettigrew from
       Maine.)

Wallop, Douglass 1920- (Best known for writing THE YEAR THE YANKEES LOST THE
  PENNANT, later turned into the musical DAMN YANKEES.)
     Regatta, 1981 (A crack international yachtsman steps down in class to race
       his fifty-eight foot yacht against ordinary weekend sailors in a thirty
       mile, 150-boat sailing race on Chesapeake bay. His chief adversary, in a
       much smaller sloop, gives him all he can handle.)

Walmsley, Leo
     Three Fevers, 1932 (The struggles of the "Lunns" and the "Fosdyks", rival
       inshore fisherman in North Yorkshire coastal village of "Bramblewick".
       The book is actually semi-autobiographical, and is based around real
       families who lived in the early part of this century at Robin Hood's
       Bay. Leo Walmsley wrote several such books, mainly based around his
       experiences in Robin Hood's Bay, and also the time he spent living in
       Fowey, Cornwall, where he eventually died. The book was adapted into
       the first film made by Arthur Rank, and was released as TURN OF THE
       TIDE.)

Walsh, Joseph Patrick
     King's Arrow, 1951 (English medical sudent, in hiding after a duel, gets
     pressed into the Royal Navy. Escaping with a Nantucket sailor and a
     Native American, he becomes involved in smuggling goods to the Colonies
     in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Meanwhile, his
     ladylove emigrates to the Colonies after the death of her father. The
     collapse of his shipping business impoverishes her. She marries a Yankee
     loyalist, who is a businessman and a former ship owner. Sparks fly when
     the patriot smuggler and the Loyalist women encounter each other once
     again in Providence, Rhode Island. Despite anachronisms, a rollicking
     good tale.)

Wambaugh, Joseph
     Floaters, 1996 (Set in San Diego's Mission Bay during America's Cup '95,
       water cops Mickey Fortney and his partner Leeds are on the trail of Cup
       saboteurs. This one is worth reading just for the commentary on the Cup
       scene. Fast paced & funny.)

Copyright © John Kohnen 1999
Commercial reproduction prohibited without written consent


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