Quarterdeck

Praise for Julian Stockwin’s

Q

$24.00

Kydd series

ua

In the course of four short years, Thomas

“Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life Kydd, former wig maker from Guildford, on ship and shore in Britain’s oceanic empire is A

has gone from pressed man to master’s engrossing. He writes evocatively of shipboard Ky

r

mate—but can he make the near-impossible routine, the panic and confusion of combat, d

step to lieutenant on the quarterdeck?

d

t

and the terrifying approach of a storm at sea, S

e

e

and he knows how to stage enthralling action

Qua

uart

r erde

d ck

In this fi fth adventure in Julian Stockwin’s a Ad

r

scenes.”

A Kydd Sea Adventure

popular series, Kydd must pass a tough

—Publishers Weekly

examination to confi rm the lieutenancy ve

d

awarded him at the bloody battle of Camper-nt
e

“Likable Tom and his shipmates make a snug down. But aboard the 64-gun
Tenacious
he ur
c

fit in that page-turning Forester and O’Brian faces a more daunting challenge—matching tradition—thanks to retired Royal Navy author e
k

up to the high-born offi cers, who have spent Stockwin.”

Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of four-

a lifetime learning to be gentlemen. With

—Kirkus Reviews

teen to TS
Indefatigable,
a tough sea-training the help of his enigmatic friend Renzi, Kydd school. He joined the British Navy at fi fteen, transferred to the Australian Navy when his
J

struggles to conform to his new world but

“The vantage point of the common sailor gives
ulian St

soon discovers it’s easier to swing a cutlass the nautical novel a fresh twist. In Stockwin’s family emigrated there, and saw active service in close quarters than negotiate the brutal hands . . . the sea story will continue to in Vietnam. He became a teacher and an edu-minefi elds of upper-class society. Relief entrance readers across the world.”

cational psychologist. Later he was commis-comes his way when
Tenacious
reaches the

—The Guardian

sioned into the Royal Naval Reserve and was colonies and he is unwittingly caught up in awarded the MBE. Retired from the RNR with the danger and intrigue surrounding the

“I was soon turning over the pages almost the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he now birth of the American Navy. There, in un-indecently fast . . . Roll on, the promised lives in Devon, England. Visit him on the web charted waters, Kydd fi nds that quick wits adventures of Kydd and Renzi.”

at www.julianstockwin.com.

o

and superior seamanship once again make

—Independent

c

the difference between life and death.

“The appeal of the story is in the telling, which
kw

With a sure hand, Stockwin brings his usual is atmospheric, authentic and disclosed from meticulous research and historical accuracy the unusual perspective of the ordinary sailor
in

to this latest Kydd adventure. Kydd, Renzi working his way up the ranks . . . the author and the men of
Tenacious
struggle to do had a long career in the Royal Nav y, which their duty as King’s men, but as Kydd fi nds McBooks Press, Inc.

adds to his prose that extra dash of salty ISBN-13: 978-1-59013-115-2

out, life in the colonies brings a freedom few Ithaca, New York

52400

realism.”

Mc

Pr

Julian St

ulian Stockw

kwin

in

in English society have ever known.

—Publishing News

B

ess o

www.mcbooks.com

ok

s

9 781590 131152

Praise for Julian Stockwin’s

Q

$24.00

Kydd series

ua

In the course of four short years, Thomas

“Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life Kydd, former wig maker from Guildford, on ship and shore in Britain’s oceanic empire is A

has gone from pressed man to master’s engrossing. He writes evocatively of shipboard Ky

r

mate—but can he make the near-impossible routine, the panic and confusion of combat, d

step to lieutenant on the quarterdeck?

d

t

and the terrifying approach of a storm at sea, S

e

e

and he knows how to stage enthralling action

Qua

uart

r erde

d ck

In this fi fth adventure in Julian Stockwin’s a Ad

r

scenes.”

A Kydd Sea Adventure

popular series, Kydd must pass a tough

—Publishers Weekly

examination to confi rm the lieutenancy ve

d

awarded him at the bloody battle of Camper-nt
e

“Likable Tom and his shipmates make a snug down. But aboard the 64-gun
Tenacious
he ur
c

fit in that page-turning Forester and O’Brian faces a more daunting challenge—matching tradition—thanks to retired Royal Navy author e
k

up to the high-born offi cers, who have spent Stockwin.”

Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of four-

a lifetime learning to be gentlemen. With

—Kirkus Reviews

teen to TS
Indefatigable,
a tough sea-training the help of his enigmatic friend Renzi, Kydd school. He joined the British Navy at fi fteen, transferred to the Australian Navy when his
J

struggles to conform to his new world but

“The vantage point of the common sailor gives
ulian St

soon discovers it’s easier to swing a cutlass the nautical novel a fresh twist. In Stockwin’s family emigrated there, and saw active service in close quarters than negotiate the brutal hands . . . the sea story will continue to in Vietnam. He became a teacher and an edu-minefi elds of upper-class society. Relief entrance readers across the world.”

cational psychologist. Later he was commis-comes his way when
Tenacious
reaches the

—The Guardian

sioned into the Royal Naval Reserve and was colonies and he is unwittingly caught up in awarded the MBE. Retired from the RNR with the danger and intrigue surrounding the

“I was soon turning over the pages almost the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he now birth of the American Navy. There, in un-indecently fast . . . Roll on, the promised lives in Devon, England. Visit him on the web charted waters, Kydd fi nds that quick wits adventures of Kydd and Renzi.”

at www.julianstockwin.com.

o

and superior seamanship once again make

—Independent

c

the difference between life and death.

“The appeal of the story is in the telling, which
kw

With a sure hand, Stockwin brings his usual is atmospheric, authentic and disclosed from meticulous research and historical accuracy the unusual perspective of the ordinary sailor
in

to this latest Kydd adventure. Kydd, Renzi working his way up the ranks . . . the author and the men of
Tenacious
struggle to do had a long career in the Royal Nav y, which their duty as King’s men, but as Kydd fi nds McBooks Press, Inc.

adds to his prose that extra dash of salty ISBN-13: 978-1-59013-115-2

out, life in the colonies brings a freedom few Ithaca, New York

52400

realism.”

Mc

Pr

Julian St

ulian Stockw

kwin

in

in English society have ever known.

—Publishing News

B

ess o

www.mcbooks.com

ok

s

9 781590 131152

Quarterdeck

A Kydd Sea Adventure

The Kydd Sea Adventures
,
by Julian Stockwin
Kydd

Artemis

Seaf lower

Mutiny

Quarterdeck

Tenacious

Command

The Admiral’s Daughter

Julian Stockwin

Quarterdeck

A Kydd Sea Adventure

McBooks Press, Inc.

Ithaca, New York

Published by McBooks Press 2005

Copyright © 2004 by Julian Stockwin

First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Hodder and Stoughton A division of Hodder Headline

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to McBooks Press, Inc., ID Booth Building, 520 North Meadow St., Ithaca, NY 14850.

Cover painting by Geoff Hunt

Cover and interior designed by Panda Musgrove Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stockwin, Julian.

Quarterdeck : a Kydd sea adventure / by Julian Stockwin.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-59013-115-0 (hc. : alk. paper) 978-1-59013-128-2, 1-59013-128-2 (trade pbk : alk. paper) 1. Kydd, Thomas (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History, Naval—18th century—Fiction. 3. Seafaring life—Fiction. 4. Sailors—Fiction. I.

Title.

PR6119.T66Q37 2005

823’.92—dc22 2005010741

Visit the McBooks Press website at www.mcbooks.com.

Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

In recent memory of Lieutenant Chris Walklett, RN

A true heart of oak

Prologue

A clock ticked loudly in the silence. The three commissioners, experienced sea captains all, stared implacably at the candidate, waiting for his answer.