British Naval Fiction - Age of Sail
Explore the best British naval fiction set in the Age of Sail. Discover thrilling tales of adventure, battles, and life at sea with our curated list of must-read books.
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Master and Commander (Vol. Book 1) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)
by Patrick O'Brian
The beginning of the sweeping Aubrey-Maturin series. "The best sea story I have ever read."—Sir Francis Chichester This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of a life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the roar of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.
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His Majesty's Ship
by Alaric Bond
A powerful ship, a questionable crew, and a mission that must succeed. In the spring of 1795 HMS Vigilant, a 64 gun ship-of-the-line, is about to leave Spithead as senior escort to a small, seemingly innocent, convoy. The crew is a jumble of trained seamen, volunteers, and the sweepings of the press; yet, somehow, the officers have to mold them into an effective fighting unit before the French discover the convoy's true significance. Based on historical fact, His Majesty's Ship will take you into the world of Nelson's Navy, and captivate you all the way to it's gripping conclusion. "Bond has an extraordinary talent for describing the sights and sounds of an 18th Century man-of-war. When you finish this book you genuinely feel like you have been there-and no novel can receive higher praise than that." The First Book in the Fighting Sail Series
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Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
The year is 1772, and Richard Bolitho is a sixteen-year-old midshipman about to undergo a severe initiation into the game of seamanship. The book follows young Bolitho's adventures as he intercepts and destroys a band of vicious pirates and then is swept away on a dangerous mission through the treacherous stamping ground of smugglers, wreckers, and murderers.
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A Matter of Honor
by William C. Hammond
The dramatic account of one young man's coming of age in the time of the American Revolution. It tells the story of Richard Cutler - a Massachusetts boy with strong family ties to England - as he sets sail to avenge the death of his brother, who was flogged to death by the Royal Navy for striking an officer. On the high seas, in England and in France, on the sugar islands of the Caribbean, and in battle, Cutler proves his mettle time after time and wins the love of a beautiful English rose - from the arms of Horatio Nelson himself.