Author Picture: Allan House
Julian Stockwin, author of the Golden Age of Sail-set KYDD novels, which have charted the rise of Thomas Kydd from conscripted sailor to decorated Admiral in Nelson’s navy, has announced that the series will come to an end after more than twenty years with the latest novel ADMIRAL. This 27th and final novel in the series will be published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton on 10 October 2024, with an American edition following on 7 January 2025.
“Since I was a young boy I read the great sea novelists – Forester, O’Brian and many others and the sea fever set in. At 15 I enlisted in the Royal Navy. I rose through the ranks and served in the Royal Australian Navy in the Far East, Antarctic waters and the South Seas. I was active in rescuing survivors at the collision of HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Voyager, Australia's largest peacetime naval disaster. Eventually on return to Britain I became a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. Much later, my wife Kathy suggested I try turning my experiences at sea into novel form.
It had to be Nelson’s Navy I’d write about. I was particularly inspired by the stories of those couple of hundred common seamen who became officers and thereby turned themselves into gentlemen. Some became captains of their own ships; even more remarkably, some became admirals. How could it be so? Just what kind of men were they? So, the story of Kydd, a conscripted man who rose to admiral, was born…
Kydd has taken Kathy and me around the world on location research – Australia, United States, Canada, Europe and more... We have lived with a parallel universe of Kydd, Renzi, Persephone, Cecilia, Stirk and all the other characters for over 20 years! They had become very real to us and we would discuss them as we would real friends. When I pushed the ‘send’ button to deliver the manuscript of ADMIRAL to Hodder I think both Kathy and I held back a tear, not of regret, but sadness at the passing of something that had become so much a part of our being. But life moves on and one of the lessons I have learned is that you cannot force something beyond a natural conclusion.” – Julian Stockwin
Since the first book in the series, KYDD, appeared in 2001, the series has sold over 1.25 million copies in all formats, including translated editions in six languages, with Hodder and Stoughton leading the way as the UK publisher of the series for all 23 years of its existence. In addition, the series regularly appears in the top 3% of all library borrowings, with a quarter of a million in the last five years according to Public Lending Right statistics.
Oliver Johnson, Julian’s editor, comments: ‘Julian’s novels have stood out for their unmatched authenticity, drama, action, nuanced characterisation, an inimitable capture of naval jargon and historical detail. Having been the series editor, and a serial fan, the news that Kydd’s story was ending came as a profound jolt. But what a book to end with. A triumph!’
‘Julian Stockwin’s brilliant storytelling has brought Thomas Kydd and his comrades and adversaries to such vivid life in this classic series, now spanning more than two decades,’ added Isobel Dixon, Julian’s agent at Blake Friedmann. ‘I remember so clearly when the late great Carole Blake (Julian’s first agent) was so captivated by the young hero Kydd, and I have been so honoured to be part of the continuing adventure since. ADMIRAL is indeed a very fine and fitting conclusion – and though it’s with a bit of a pang and a lump in the throat, I take great pleasure in thinking of the treat that Kydd followers have ahead of them, and all that new readers have yet to discover.’
ADMIRAL is the twenty seventh and last of the adventures of Captain Sir Thomas Kydd, whose story began in the year 1793 and tells for the first time in fiction how a pressed man through his bravery and ingenuity progresses to the quarterdeck of his own ship, and here, in the final book of the series, the command of a fleet with an admiral's pennant.
April 1814: Napoleon is deposed and exiled after defeat by a resurgent allied collation. Saddled with huge war debts, the British government has no choice but to place many of its naval ships in reserve. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is one of the lucky officers not to be put on half pay. Instead, in the realisation of his life's ambition, he is offered an admiral's flag, but the station is West Africa and with it comes anti-slavery operations set in fever-ridden swamps. Despite the obvious dangers and hardships, Kydd readies for sea with his beloved Thunderer as his flagship.
But before he can set sail comes the electrifying news – the tyrant has escaped from Elba and is marching on Paris, the citizens flocking to join him. Napoleon's invasion fleet is still in being and if the French navy declares for him they can sail from the ports now free of blockade and make the invasion of England a reality. What's more, the entire Channel Fleet has been stood down, its ships in various stages of repair.
There's one man in active service who happens to be on the spot – Admiral Sir Thomas Kydd. With frantic haste he's appointed temporary commander-in-chief to sail with all the men-o'-war that can be scraped together to stand athwart the French. Waterloo is coming but before then Kydd must use all his legendary subterfuge and daring to save England from her peril.
About Julian Stockwin
Julian Stockwin is the greatest living author of historical naval fiction, creator of the Thomas Kydd novels, a series of 27 volumes in which Kydd rises through the decks and his adventures take him around the world. Atmospheric, page-turning narrative, rich with action and great characterisation, this is the first series to highlight the common seaman in the greatest age of fighting sail.
At 14 Stockwin joined a tough sea-training school, followed by the Royal Navy, transferring to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated. He saw active service in the Far East, the Antarctic, the South Seas and Vietnam, and was on board the Melbourne at the time of its disastrous peace time collision with the Voyager. Later he worked for NATO on the strategic deployment of merchant shipping.
Stockwin is also author of two novels in the Moments of History series, depicting important turning points in history. The first, THE SILK TREE, tells the dramatic story of how the secret of silk was brought from China to the West. This was followed by POWDER OF DEATH, which shows how the nature of warfare was changed forever by the discovery of gunpowder.
Praise for Julian Stockwin and the KYDD series
‘Very readable and enjoyable. I recommend that you go out, beg, borrow or buy, and enjoy.’ – Bernard Cornwell
‘For me, there is nothing like the British nautical battles of Horatio Nelson in the early 19th century. He led them to enormous sea victories like the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen and most famously, Trafalgar. Stockwin really knows early British navy lore, with masts, spars, rigging, sails, cannons, frigates, and ships of the line. In Thomas Kydd, the author has a created a wonderful daring-do British commander. Kydd knows his job as captain standing proudly on the deck of his ship of the line. He’s never out-thought or outmaneuvered. Exciting stuff!’ – Mel Brooks, The New York Times
‘The preeminent living historical naval fiction writer on either side of the Atlantic.’ – Quarterdeck
‘In his hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world.’ – The Guardian
‘Vivid descriptions of life on board ship, getting those ships up limited navigable channels to avoid the many bars and mud flats of the River Plate, and the politics of the various factions of those on land all keep the reader glued to the pages. A book to be enjoyed.’ – Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice
Visit Julian’s official website