David Donachie

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A Close Run Thing

A Close Run Thing

John Pearce is hiding in Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known to him as Oliphant. Although they find a crew willing to take them back to England, they learn on the journey that Pearce’s old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on...

A Divided Command

A Divided Command

Unbeknown to John Pearce, the private letter he is delivering on behalf of the prime minister carries the dismissal of the very man he is sailing to see. The need for a government majority to pursue the war with France means John Pearce must step down...

A Flag of Truce

A Flag of Truce

Firebrand John Pearce has been promoted to lieutenant and is in a position of command on board HMS Faron when he returns to Toulon from his successful mission in Corsica. But although he returns with a prize in tow, he receives a mixed welcome from...

A Game of Bones

A Game of Bones

1796…The long-awaited return of the Bucephalas to the safety of Cinque Ports if interrupted by a disastrous engagement in the Channel. The looming shape of a merchantman becalmed in fog presents an almost irresistible allure. But for Harry Ludlow and...

A Hanging Matter

A Hanging Matter

1794...Returning to England, Harry and James become embroiled in a vicious struggle between rival smugglers played out in the English Channel. Witnesses to a bloody confrontation, they flee to Deal – only to find that, behind its picturesque facade,...

A Lawless Place

A Lawless Place

Edward Brazier is enlisted by Prime Minister William Pitt to assist his investigation into smuggling activity in Deal. However, with his love Betsy now locked into a loveless marriage with Harry Spafford, a useless drunk, and living as a prisoner,...

A Sea of Troubles

A Sea of Troubles

1794. In the wake of the Glorious First of June, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood, track down midshipman Toby Burns, and placate Emily Barclay. Meanwhile smugglers whose...

A Treacherous Coast

A Treacherous Coast

1796. Pearce and his wife Emily are in living in Bath when Minister of War Henry Dundas turns up and suggests a second mission to the Vendée, this time as a liaison between the French emigres intending to land in Brittany and the British naval and...

A Troubled Course

A Troubled Course

John Pearce discovers that Madrid plans to desert the British-led coalition and join the enemy. In company with Lord Langholm, he has taken a Spanish treasure ship but is forced into a deep bay overlooked by Spaniards who have a cannon aimed at the...

An Awkward Commission

An Awkward Commission

John Pearce’s recent promotion means that he is finally free to follow his own wishes – but the same can’t be said for his trio of closest friends. Whilst Pearce is indulging himself in London, they are shipped off to the Mediteranean. Riddled with...

An Element of Chance

An Element of Chance

1795…As war spreads across the globe, Harry Ludlow joins the struggle for the richest trade in the world. When half his crew is illegally pressed into the Royal Navy by the vicious Captain Toner, Harry sets off in pursuit. Toner’s ship reaches the...

It is 1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are going home - to gain their freedom and put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. Emily Barclay discovers Pearce has papers that would ruin her husband’s career and her future security. And then...

1787. Captain Edward Brazier is wounded and in desperate need of medical attention, but those from whom he could seek help have no idea where he is – although neither do his enemies. With his beloved Betsey currently imprisoned by her brother Henry,...

Blown Off Course

Blown Off Course

Lieutenant John Pearce is in London seeking protection for his friends, the Pelicans, from a reluctant Admiralty. Sitting in the tavern where they were first press ganged, Pearce considers his future. Lacking the evidence of perjury he once had to...

Breaking the Line

Breaking the Line

1799. Having evacuated the King and Queen of Naples ahead of Napoleon’s advancing army, Nelson must now await developments in Sicily. In the meantime, he and Emma savour their passionate affair, and when Nelson travels back to Britain with the...

By the Mast Divided

By the Mast Divided

London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on her way to war. In the first few days, Pearce discovers the Navy is a...

Droits of the Crown

Droits of the Crown

John Pearce faces a court martial, but will a cowardly chief witness stand up to questioning? With the matter unresolved, HMS Hazard is put under the command of Horatio Nelson. In London, the government denies prize money for the cargo of silver...

Enemies at Every Turn

Enemies at Every Turn

1794. Free from jail, John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole. While lying low, Pearce soon has other pressing concerns on his mind. Granted a commission by William Pitt, John Pearce evades his pursuers by undertaking a...

1796. John Pearce is stuck with a difficult mission, a crew of Quota Men forced to enlist in the Royal Navy, four new midshipmen as well as Samuel Oliphant, companion-cum-spy, whom he finds a constant irritant. In his favour he commands HMS Hazard, a...

Honour be Damned

Honour be Damned

The French Revolution is turning in on itself even as the war with the English drags on. As the armies move towards Italy, George Markham and his Marines find themselves assigned to the sloop Sylphide under the impetuous Captain Germain. Set ashore in...

Honour Redeemed

Honour Redeemed

With his fiery Irish blood and well-known reputation for trouble, Lieutenant George Markham leads his embattled Royal Marines against the French in Corsica. His mission: to seize the island. Markham ventures across the island to persuade the veteran...

On a Making Tide

On a Making Tide

On a Making Tide chronicles the fascinating early years of Horatio Nelson and Emma Lyon. Both determined to rise from obscurity, they set about making their ways through the world with corresponding recklessness and precocious ambition. Nelson enters...

On a Particular Service

On a Particular Service

John Pearce is going home. But he has to avoid capture by an Algerine warship, having his Pelicans pressed into a British frigate and that's before they are at risk of being hanged for desertion once home. Then there is the problem of Emily Barclay...

It’s 1784 and Nelson is sent to the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While there, he marries Franny Nisbet. Ordered next to the Mediterranean, he engages in a string of spectacular naval battles. The ravages of war take their physical...

The Admirals' Game

The Admirals' Game

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce is caught between a feuding trio of admirals. One puts him in a position of danger while another asks him to undertake a hazardous commission in order to protect his friends, the Pelicans. Meanwhile, Pearce is also trying...