Douglas Edward Reeman, writing as Alexander Kent, crafts gripping historical fiction centered on the Royal Navy, primarily during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II. Drawing from his own extensive naval service, Reeman brings a profound authenticity to his narratives of maritime conflict and the lives of sailors. His storytelling is renowned for its vivid depictions of naval warfare and its deep exploration of the human experience at sea. He masterfully captures the spirit and challenges of naval life across different historical eras.
It's Malta 1941. To most people HMS Saracen is just an ugly, obsolete ship with an equally ugly recent history: her last commander is due for court-martial after shelling the troops he was sent to protect. But to Captain Richard Chesnaye she brings back memories.
1941. To the residents and defence forces of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong, the war in Europe remains remote. Even the massive build-up of Japanese forces on the Chinese border cannot dent their carefree optimism. Yet one man suspects the truth. Lieutenant Commander Esmond Brooke, captain of HMS Serpent and a veteran of the cruet Atlantic, sees all too clearly the folly and incompetence of Hong Kong' s colonial administration. But, in war, there will always be some who attempt the impossible, even in the face of death.
As 1794 draws to a close Richard Bolitho, commanding the old seventy-four-gun ship of the line Hyperion, leaves Plymouth to join a squadron blockading the rising power of Revolutionary France. After six months of repairs his ship is ready to fight again, but her company is mostly raw and untrained. Unfortunately, Bolitho finds himself under a commodore who is no match for the French admiral, Lequiller, whose powerful squadron uses guile and ruthless determination to elude him and vanish into the Atlantic. Hyperion, as part of a small British force, gives chase, the desperate voyage taking them from the Bay of Biscay's squall to the heat of the Caribbean - and for each mile sailed and every battle fought Bolitho finds himself being forced into the ever more demanding role of strategist and squadron commander.
It is December 1917, Germany opens the final, bitter round of the war with a new and deadly weapon in the struggle for the seas -- the Vulcan sails from Kiel Harbour. To all appearances she is a harmless merchant vessel. But her peaceful lines conceal a merciless firepower; guns, mines and torpedoes that can be brought into play instantly. The Vulcan is a commerce raider. And under crack commander Felix von Steiger her mission is to bring chaos to the seaways.
Set against the backdrop of January 1944, the story follows Rudolf Steiger, a legendary U-boat commander grappling with the shifting tides of war. As he leads the U-boat flotilla Meteor into perilous Atlantic waters, he confronts not only external enemies but also his inner turmoil and doubts about Germany's fate. Steiger's journey explores themes of honor, duty, and the haunting possibility of a heroic death as he navigates the harsh realities of warfare and his own psyche.
HISTORICAL FICTION. Colours Aloft!, the sixteenth Richard Bolitho novel, bears all the hallmarks of its best-selling predecessors. September 1803 Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho finds himself the new master of the Argonaute, a French flagship taken in battle. With the Peace of Armiens in ruins, he must leave the safety of Falmouth. What lies ahead is the grim reality of war at close quarters - where Bolitho who will be called upon to anticipate the overall intention of the French fleet. But the battle has also become a personal vendetta between himself and the French admiral who formerly sailed the Argonaute. Bolitho and his men are driven to a final rendezvous where no quarter is asked or given.
Newly appointed Rear Admiral Richard Bolitho soon realizes that his experience, gained in the line of battle, has ill-prepared him for the intricate manoeuvers of politics during the hardship of blockade duty in the Baltic.
It is 1784, and His Majesty's frigate "Undine" sets sail from Spithead for India. Europe may be at peace, but in colonial waters the promises of statesmen count for little and the bloody struggle for supremacy goes on. Richard Bolitho undertakes a task that would be better handled by a squadron.
June 1793, Gibraltar : The gathering might of revolutionary France prepares to engulf Europe in another bloody war. As in the past, Britain will stand or fall by the fighting power of her fleet. For Richard Bolitho, the renewal of hostilities means a fresh command and the chance of action after long months of inactivity. However, his mission to support Lord Hood in the monarchist-inspired occupation of Toulon has gone awry. Bolitho and the crew of the Hyperion are trapped by the French near a dry Mediterranean island. The great ship-of-the-line's battered hull begins to groan as her sails snap in the hot wind.
Three generations of Blackwoods have served the Royal Marines with distinction. Now it is the turn of young Jonathan Blackwood to take up arms. In 1915, he fights from the sea, supported by the Royal Navy in the battlefields of the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, helpless to save either himself or his men. Two years later in Flandrs, Blackwood finds that Hell can get worse as he and his men fight on the horrific Western Front
