Bøger af Richard Woodman

During the last four years of the Second World War, the Western Allies secured Russian defences against Germany by supplying vital food and arms. This work presents the story of the long-suffering merchant ships without which Russia would almost certainly have fallen to Nazi Germany.

England, 1659. Captain Kit Faulkner's house is prospering; his eldest son, Nathaniel, has recently returned from a profitable trip to Jamaica in the good ship Faithful, and his daughter, Hannah, has made a suitable match with a young sailor. But the resignation of the Lord Protector, Richard Cromwell, throws England into uncertainty. Will the republic flourish, or will a King return to the throne? Kit is content to let matters take their natural course, but his younger son, Henry, is an idealist with political ambitions. It soon becomes clear that Henry is in much deeper than Kit first realised, and Henry's actions may threaten everything that Kit holds dear . . .

'A powerful, compelling yarn in the tradition of Joseph Conrad.' Matthew Willis When four old friends, three of whom are retired ship's captains, meet for a few days' sailing and reminiscing, one of them, Mitchell, asks 'did any of you run across Claude Bastable?' Early in his seafaring life Mitchell had experienced more of the world than his friends. He had not only been ship-mate with Bastable but had found his life more entangled with Bastable's than he cared for. Finding the others know nothing of the man, Mitchell goes on to reveal the terrible story of Bastable's life, from his birth as the son of a naval hero to the appalling act he had committed and of which he was found guilty, and of what followed afterwards. But, they find themselves asking, was there anything that could explain Bastable's perfidious conduct that led him to effectively murder a score of people by an act of gross professional misconduct? Based on real events, bestselling author Richard Woodman skilfully weaves together fact and fiction to create an engrossing narrative which proves difficult to put down. A novella not just for those who enjoy a tale of men, ships and the sea, but those interested in human motivation, the consequences of human frailty and violent events. Praise for Richard Woodman: 'In The Judgment of his Peers, Richard Woodman once again combines the seductive style and absolute authenticity of Joseph Conrad's Marlow narratives like The Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim with the powerful story-telling of Alaistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses and Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea.' Peter Tonkin 'This series could develop into something very special. Richard Woodman knows how to tell a story, but has a healthy respect for history... Compulsive reading.' Saul David'Brings medieval Europe to life. The well-crafted action and historical insights enthral and entertain.' Richard Foreman, author of Band of Brothers'If Neptune's Trident sets the standard for what is to follow - we can at least rest assured that there is a series that truly does justice to our proud merchant maritime past.' Nautilus UK Telegraph'Richard Woodman tells many a good tale in this first volume and it is fascinating to read. If the rest of the series is as good as this one, they should all be on the bookshelves of those studying the history of Britain, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.' Open HistoryCaptain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian. He is the author of the series 'A History of the British Merchant Navy' and the Sword of State trilogy, which recreates the true story of George Monck

"Richard Woodman has written an original, compelling and brilliantly imagined blend of fact and fiction with all the skill of a novelist at the height of his powers." Frank McLynnA tale of deception, corruption, courage and adventure, Beyond Madagascar: A Bold & Consequential Voyage is at once a history, a novel - and a polemical work of some force.Set during the first half of the seventeenth century it tells the story of a long forgotten episode buried under the subsequent trauma of the English Civil War - the proposed colonisation of the island of Madagascar and what, in its failure, followed from it: the first mercantile voyage made by a British ship to China.The author skilfully weaves the lives of a number of historical figures - ranging from Shakespeare to King Charles I - and reasserts Captain John Weddell's place in Great British maritime history.'The Madagascar Project' was an ill-starred commercial venture conceived by William D'Avenant, Shakespeare's godson and - possibly, for so the man himself contested, his bastard. As the Project implodes Captain John Weddell turns his sights towards China. While following Weddell on his naval adventure, Woodman addresses some of the key issues of the time - and highlights the consequences of British opening up trade with China.Beyond Madagascar is an enthralling work by a masterful author, renowned for various bestselling fiction and non-fiction naval titles, that tells an extraordinary story in an original fashion.Praise for Richard Woodman: "The general reader will be engrossed in the narrative, while students of the era will admire Woodman's accurate eye for historical detail and vocabulary and his incisive reveals of the customs and attitudes of the time." - Paul Bannister"If Neptune's Trident sets the standard for what is to follow - we can at least rest assured that there is a series that truly does justice to our proud merchant maritime past." - Nautilus UK Telegraph"Richard Woodman tells many a good tale in this first volume and it is fascinating to read. I highly recommend this first volume in the Neptune s Trident for anyone with an interest in the early modern period. If the rest of the series is as good as this one, they should all be on the bookshelves of those studying the history of Britain, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries." - Open HistoryRichard Woodman is an acclaimed and bestselling author of both fiction and non-fiction titles. Among other books he is the author of A History of the Merchant Navy and a series of novels on the life of William Marshal, England's Greatest Knight.

"It is with the accurate capturing of detail and the sensitive recalling of a long-gone way of life that Woodman enhances and enriches his sea-tales." Captain Joshua Garner. Captain John Sanford is the Master of the British steamship Da Feng of Hong Kong, plying her trade in the mid-1950s on the China coast. It is a difficult and dangerous time for British seafarers, with a recently victorious Communist regime consolidating its hold on the vast country. Born in Shanghai with a deep interest in China, the young Sanford is a highly respected shipmaster. He and his ship have become something of an institution on the coast, where Sanford warily treads the ill-defined line between politics and commerce until one day, in a port in northern China, he is ordered by a sinister Colonel in the People's Liberation Army to embark a passenger. The person consigned to his care is 'An Enemy of the People, ' and in the few days that follow, Captain Sanford's carefully regulated world collapses round him as he finds his own life is threatened and he is subject to appalling consequences. In an ironic twist, Sanford's fate is to be forced to confront a reality that turned on ill luck and an absence of imagination.Captain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian. He is the author of the series 'A History of the British Merchant Navy' and the Sword of State trilogy, which recreates the true story of George Monck. Praise for Richard Woodman: 'A powerful, compelling yarn in the tradition of Joseph Conrad.' Matthew Willis'In The Judgment of his Peers, Richard Woodman once again combines the seductive style and absolute authenticity of Joseph Conrad's Marlow narratives like The Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim with the powerful story-telling of Alaistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses and Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea.' Peter Tonkin'This series could develop into something very special. Richard Woodman knows how to tell a story, but has a healthy respect for history... Compulsive reading.' Saul David'Brings medieval Europe to life. The well-crafted action and historical insights enthral and entertain.' Richard Foreman, author of Band of Brothers'If Neptune's Trident sets the standard for what is to follow - we can at least rest assured that there is a series that truly does justice to our proud merchant maritime past.' Nautilus UK Telegraph'Richard Woodman tells many a good tale in this first volume and it is fascinating to read. If the rest of the series is as good as this one, they should all be on the bookshelves of those studying the history of Britain, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.' Open History

Winter 1644, the Tower of London.Colonel George Monck is confined to his prison chamber in St Thomas's tower, charged with high treason.A brilliant soldier, admiral and military governor, Monck joined the King's men in besieging Nantwich.But the Parliamentary side's more disciplined army successfully routed them, and Monck was thrown in jail.Brooding and despondent, Monck's troubles look to intensify when he starts an affair with Anne Ratsford, a married woman who is caring for him in The Tower.In an age when adultery is not only a mortal sin, but a capital offence, Monck is not only risking his reputation, but his life.But then his fortunes begin to change.Word of his prowess has reached Parliament, and he is offered a position within their army.All that stands in his way is his honour...In The Forging, the first book in the Sword of the State trilogy, award-winning author Richard Woodman recreates the true story of George Monck, a giant of the 17th Century. Monck is all but forgotten today, yet his legacy is nothing less than the British monarchy and a famous regiment - the Coldstream Guards.Captain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian who retired in 1997 from a 37 year nautical career, mainly working for Trinity House, to write full-time. His main work is 14 volumes about the career of Nathaniel Drinkwater, and shorter series about James Dunbar and William Kite, but he also written a range of factual books about 18th century and WW2 history.

Cold Truth'A tense, atmospheric nautical thriller, filled to the gunwales with Woodman's trademark authenticity. The Cold Truth is a chilling journey into the heart of a dark, Arctic mystery.' Matthew Willis, author of BastionShortly after the carnage of the First World War, an advertisement in a newspaper, The Courier, sets merchant naval officer Edward Adams on a strange voyage to the Arctic to discover the fate of a lost Swedish polar expedition.Funded by The Courier's owner in an attempt to uncover the truth, the voyage aboard the Alert is also conceived as a philanthropic gesture to the Swedes, who regard the lost members of the expedition as national heroes.But the Alert's expedition fails to achieve anything - and the details of what happened aboard the vessel remain a mystery for many years.It is only during the worst weeks of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1943, that Adams unwillingly reveals the cold truth to the daughter of his old employer.The Judgement of his PeersWhen four old friends, three of whom are retired ship's captains, meet for a few days' sailing and reminiscing, one of them, Mitchell, asks 'did any of you run across Claude Bastable?'Early in his seafaring life Mitchell had experienced more of the world than his friends. He had not only been ship-mate with Bastable but had found his life more entangled with Bastable's than he cared for.Finding the others know nothing of the man, Mitchell goes on to reveal the terrible story of Bastable's life, from his birth as the son of a naval hero to the appalling act he had committed and of which he was found guilty, and of what followed afterwards.But, they find themselves asking, was there anything that could explain Bastable's perfidious conduct that led him to effectively murder a score of people by an act of gross professional misconduct?Based on real events, bestselling author Richard Woodman skilfully weaves together fact and fiction to create an engrossing narrative which proves difficult to put down.A novella not just for those who enjoy a tale of men, ships and the sea, but those interested in human motivation, the consequences of human frailty and violent events.An Absence of Imagination: A Tale of the China coastCaptain John Sanford is the Master of the British steamship Da Feng of Hong Kong, plying her trade in the mid-1950s on the China coast. It is a difficult and dangerous time for British seafarers, with a recently victorious Communist regime consolidating its hold on the vast country.Born in Shanghai with a deep interest in China, the young Sanford is a highly respected shipmaster. He and his ship have become something of an institution on the coast, where Sanford warily treads the ill-defined line between politics and commerce until one day, in a port in northern China, he is ordered by a sinister Colonel in the People's Liberation Army to embark a passenger.The person consigned to his care is 'An Enemy of the People, ' and in the few days that follow, Captain Sanford's carefully regulated world collapses round him as he finds his own life is threatened and he is subject to appalling consequences.In an ironic twist, Sanford's fate is to be forced to confront a reality that turned on ill luck and an absence of imagination.Captain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian. He is the author of the series 'A History of the British Merchant Navy' and the Sword of State trilogy, which recreates the true story of George Monck, a giant of the 17th Century

In the tradition of C.S. Forester, ex-sailor Richard Woodman brings history to life in a rousing tale of daring deeds and clashing cutlasses. it is the summer of 1804 and Napoleon is massing his vast army for the invasion of England. His powerful Combined Fleet is preparing to meet Admiral Nelsons British Fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar. In the annals of history this battle completely decimated the Combined Fleet, ranking second in destructiveness only to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater, newly appointed commander of the frigate Antigone, is preparing for battle off the French coast, as part of Admiral Nelsons highly effective blockade. As the fleets draw together, Drinkwater is unprepared for the irregular role destiny deals him when he becomes a prisoner of the French and takes the brunt of the British bombardment in the orlop of an enemy ship.

Amid the internationally acrimonious atmosphere of 1811, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater stumbles upon a bold conspiracy by which the U.S. could defeat the Royal Navy, collapse the British government and utterly destroy the British cause.

A young captain Nathaniel Drinkwater is given command of an old ship, the Virago, to be sent to the Baltic as a bomb vessel. Drinkwater's ambition is to turn the Virago back into a fighting ship, but his plans are thwarted. At the same time, Drinkwater's brother appeals for help in his desperate attempt to escape the gallows. As Sir Hyde Parker's fleet approaches the Danish coast, the Virago joins the battle. Amid gales and ice, Drinkwater strives to save his ship and his brother.It is 1801 and Napoleon is reaching supreme power in France and has allied himself with Tsar Paul of Russia. Against this hazardous backdrop, Drinkwater's actions in the complex and bloody battle of Copenhagen are crucial.

The frozen splendor of the Arctic Ocean and the absorbing drama of a nineteenth-century whale hunt unfold in The Corvette.Rewarded by promotion for his services at the Battle of Copenhagen, Commander Drinkwater is dispatched in haste to replace the captain of the Melusine, who has been shot in a duel. The ship sails as an escort to a whaling fleet on its annual expedition to the Greenland Sea in pursuit of right whales.During the whale hunt, the loss of one of the vessels sets off a chain of misfortune. Disaster, death, and treachery result. To repair his ship, Drinkwater seeks shelter off the Greenland coast and finds more hazards than the Arctic alone can produce. It is here that Drinkwater makes the most difficult decision of his career.

Drinkwater, in his fight to bring a half-armed ship safely to the Cape of Good Hope, is beset with personal enmity, the activity of the French and the violence of the sea.

It is 1792 and Nathaniel Drinkwater is back in the Royal Navy. He is involved in secret adn dangerous operations off the French Coast including the rescue of emigres and the landing of agents.

The Year is 1813. Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater succeeds Lord Dungarth as head of the Royal Navy's Secret Department. While the Grand Army of Napoleon faces defeat on the battlefields of Germany, the discovery of a secret treaty with America leads Drinkwater into the forbidding fjords of Norway, and one of the most desperate missions of his career.Increasingly isolated and affected by the long war with France and her allies, Drinkwater pursues his personal odyssey against often daunting odds. In a compelling narrative the author brings vividly to life conditions at sea during the Napoleonic wars. The fate of one of Napoleon's most charismatic marshals is linked with American privateers, escaped prisoners and the Danish Navy resulting in a violent confrontation set beneath the aurora.

Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater brings the frigate Patrician to the Pearl River on the China coast and finds himself caught up in bizarre events.

At one time British ships carried half of world's trade, transporting every conceivable freight from and to all four corners of the globe - and in times of crisis its tremendous merchant fleet has also offered military assistance. This title relates the Merchant Navy's colourful history and brings to life the day-to-day experiences of the seamen.

Furious and bloody: 400 years of shipboard rebellion

*Fact and Fiction are combined to produce a fascinating recreation of a bygone world at war. * The fifth omnibus of a successful adventure series featuring Nathaniel Drinkwater.

* Fact and fiction are combined to produce a fascinating recreation of a bygone world at war. *The first omnibus of a successful adventure series featuring Nathaniel Drinkwater.

* Fact and fiction are combined to produce a fascinating recreation of a bygone world at war. *The second omnibus of a successful adventure series featuring Nathaniel Drinkwater.