Julian Stockwin
Julian Stockwin (born 1944 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) is an author of historical action-adventure fiction. As well as the Kydd Series he has written two standalone novels The Silk Tree and The Powder of Death.
Julian Stockwin | |
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Born | 1944 (age 75–76) Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |
Occupation | Novelist |
Genre | Historical action-adventure |
Notable works | Kydd, Artemis, Seaflower, Mutiny, Quarterdeck, Tenacious, Command, The Admiral's Daughter, Treachery, Invasion, Victory, Conquest, Betrayal, Pasha, The Silk Tree, Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany |
Website | |
www |
Biography
Born in 1944, Stockwin soon developed a love for the sea, having an uncle, Tom Clay, who was a seaman in square-rigged ships and had sailed around Cape Horn in the Cutty Sark.[1]
After grammar school, his father sent him to sea-training school at Indefatigable at age 14. He joined the Royal Navy at 15 and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated.[2] Stockwin served eight years, and was eventually rated petty officer.
Stockwin attended the University of Tasmania to read Far Eastern studies and psychology. He did post-graduate work in cross-cultural psychology. He got involved in the manufacture and design of computers and software development. Returning to the navy and the Royal Navy Reserve, Stockwin was honoured with an MBE and retired as lieutenant commander.[1]
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1990 and started to write in 1996. He currently resides in Ivybridge, Devon.
Works
Thomas Kydd series
# | Title [3] | Publisher | Publication Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kydd 1793 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2001 | |
A wig maker from Guildford, Thomas Kydd finds himself pressed into the service of the Crown as a landsman. His first berth is aboard HMS Duke William, where he befriends Nicholas Renzi. | ||||
2 | Artemis 1794 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2002 | |
Now berthed in Artemis, Kydd journeys to the Pacific and China. | ||||
3 | Seaflower | Hodder & Stoughton | 2003 | |
Kydd and Renzi are shipped to the Caribbean. There they join the cutter Seaflower. | ||||
4 | Mutiny 1797 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2004 | |
Mutiny off the Nore finds Kydd with split loyalties – between his duty and his shipmates. | ||||
5 | Quarterdeck 1798 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2005 | |
After being promoted to Lieutenant after the Nore Mutiny, Thomas Kydd joins Tenacious serving in Canada. | ||||
6 | Tenacious 1798 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2005 | |
Kydd's ship Tenacious takes part in the Battle of the Nile. | ||||
7 | Command | Hodder & Stoughton | 2006 | |
Kydd is assigned as Commander of Teazer, patrolling the waters around Malta and the Mediterranean. When peace is declared he resigns his commission and sails to the antipodes as captain of a merchant ship. | ||||
8 | The Admiral's Daughter 1803 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2007 | |
War with France resumes. Again in command of Teazer, Kydd has challenges both naval and relational as he encounters an Admiral's daughter, the sophisticated Persephone Lockwood. | ||||
9 | Treachery (aka The Privateer's Revenge in the USA) | Hodder & Stoughton | 2008 | |
Kydd is disgraced and leaves naval service. However he takes to the sea again as a privateer. | ||||
10 | Invasion | Hodder & Stoughton | 2009 | |
Exonerated and back in Naval service, Kydd encounters the rocket inventor Robert Fulton. | ||||
11 | Victory 1805 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2010 | |
Our hero takes part in the build-up to and the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. | ||||
12 | Conquest 1806 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2011 | |
Cape Town, a Dutch colony, is to be taken; Kydd joins a joint expedition of land- and sea-based forces. | ||||
13 | Betrayal 1806 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2012 | |
Kydd travels from South Africa to Buenos Aires to take part in Commodore Popham's audacious attack. | ||||
14 | Caribbee | Hodder & Stoughton | 2013 | |
The sugar trade, vital to British interests, is threatened. Kydd must respond. | ||||
15 | Pasha | Hodder & Stoughton | 2014 | |
Istanbul and the Dardanelles are the setting for conflict and intrigues. Kydd’s 'particular friend' Renzi is right at the heart of things. | ||||
16 | Tyger | Hodder & Stoughton | 2015 | |
Kydd gains command of HMS Tyger at a critical moment in his career. | ||||
17 | Inferno 1807 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2016 | |
The Danish fleet is the focus of British and French attention; with Napoleon's forces rapidly approaching Copenhagen diplomacy is vital. | ||||
18 | Persephone 1807 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2017 | |
Kydd, now a celebrated hero, takes HMS Tyger to Lisbon and meets his old flame Persephone Lockwood. | ||||
19 | The Baltic Prize 1808 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2017 | |
At short notice Tyger is called to join a newly assembled fleet and sent to the Baltic and the only remaining continental ally to Great Britain, the kingdom of Sweden. Kydd finds he is to serve under Sir James Saumarez, a Vice-Admiral whom he has encountered before. | ||||
20 | The Iberian Flame 1808 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2018 | |
The Iberian peninsula is in ferment and Bonaparte seeks to carve up Portugal and install his brother Joseph as King of Spain. Renzi is sent to incite opposition to France's intentions in Spain. Kydd becomes embroiled in support of the British expeditionary force in northwestern Spain. | ||||
21 | A Sea of Gold 1809 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2018 | |
Back in London after Corunna, Kydd is again the hero. Soon, thrust into the forefront of the action at the insistence of Lord Thomas Cochrane, the Basque Roads are the scene of his next encounter with the French. In addition financial ruin beckons. | ||||
22 | To the Eastern Seas 1810 | Hodder & Stoughton | 2019 | |
23 | Balkan Glory | Hodder & Stoughton | forthcoming October 2020 |
Other Historical fiction
- The Silk Tree (2014) A fictional account of the bringing silkworm eggs to the Byzantine Empire from China.
- The Powder of Death (2016) A fictional account of how gunpowder came to England and its use in cannons.
Non-fiction works
- Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany (2009)
Footnotes
- Stockwin, Julian. "Stockwin's official biography". julianstockwin.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- Blake (agent), Carole. "Agent's page". blakefriedmann. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- "Julian Stockwin". Historic Naval Fiction. Retrieved 27 Mar 2018.