J. D. Davies Book order

1666. The Four Days' Battle. Once again Captain Quinton finds himself in the thick of the action, fighting the Dutch in one of the epic encounters of the age of sail. But the battle is a disaster: the fleet is mysteriously divided, with part of it sent to meet a French threat that never materialises, while thousands are slaughtered by the Dutch. As popular fury turns violent, the King decides heads must roll, and Quinton is sent to rebellious, pirate-infested Plymouth to root out the source of the false intelligence that cost so many British lives. It is an unenviable role -- especially when all the evidence seems to point towards an old friend and boon companion. Then Quinton receives an urgent message from his wife, the usually level-headed Cornelia, begging him to come home to London at once...

1665. The land is at war and plague stalks London, but conspiracies against King Charles II are rife. Captain Matthew Quinton finds himself thrust unexpectedly into the midst of the deadliest of them when he is given command of a vast and ancient man-of-war. Forced to contend with scheming ministers of state, a raw, rebellious crew and an alleged curse on his ship, Quinton sails against the might of the Dutch fleet. The shattering climax sees captain and crew fight for their lives at the heart of the Battle of Lowestoft, one of the greatest sea-fights in the entire age of sail, before Matthew returns home to face the disturbing truth about his own and his family’s past.