Nautical novelist Richard Woodman arrives in New World ports with the first three of 14 installments in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, previously released in the U.K. between 1981 and 1983 and compared by critics there to C. S. Forester's Hornblower saga. An Eye of the Fleet, A King's Cutter, and A Brig of War are set in the late 18th century and find hero Drinkwater caught up in revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic. Those looking for high seas action and historical intrigue are in luck but these are strictly for devotees of the genre.
Description
It is 1792 and Nathaniel Drinkwater is back in the Royal Navy, this time appointed to the 12-gun cutter Kestrel, commanded by the inscrutable Madoc Griffiths. With the gathering menace of the French Revolution, he is involved in secret and dangerous operations off the French Coast, including the rescue of émigrés and the landing of agents.
As Europe plunges deeper into war, Kestrel takes part in the struggle for supremacy in the Channel and Drinkwater has some sinister encounters with Edouard Santhonax, a man who is stirring up interest with British government agents.
Through Drinkwater’s initiative the network of intrigue is discovered, but the Royal Navy is paralyzed by mutiny. Will Kestrel have to stand alone between the Dutch Fleet and disaster? Events come to a climax at Camperdown, and in the aftermath of the bloody battle Drinkwater and his opponent come face to face.
Reviews
Packed with exciting incident worthy of wide appeal to those who love thrilling nautical encounters and the sea.
There is no doubt that Nathaniel Drinkwater rates up there with the best of the nautical world.
Rich in detail, historically accurate, and displaying a masterly knowledge of the technical aspects of ships under sail, Woodman's novel is comparable to sea fiction by masters such as C.S. Forester and Alexander Kent in its evocation of the past age of wooden ships and iron men. Highly recommended for public libraries.
