David Donachie: 30 books

The long-awaited return of the Bucephalas to the safety of the Cinque Ports is 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 his battle-weary crew, the pursuit of one last easy...

The Mediterranean is proving dangerous waters for John Pearce and his Pelicans. Having left his lover Emily, who is also the wife of his mortal enemy Ralph Barclay, in the Tuscan port of Leghorn, Pearce is detained in Naples. When he unknowingly delivers a letter promoting the shady and incompetent...

Faced with a ship in need of repair, enemy attacks and the threat of wily Admiral Hotham, John Pearce is sailing into danger.Meanwhile Ralph Barclay is on his way to the Mediterranean. Thinking his wife still with Pearce and that he can repair his marriage by rescuing her, he sails in pursuit, Hotham...

In the wake of the Glorious First of June, an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against the French Revolutionary forces, 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...

John Pearce and his Pelicans are homeward bound, determined to put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. But first they must evacuate Toulon where the Republican Army and the threat of the guillotine wreak havoc. Pearce must keep his wits about him in order to survive. Barclay and his...

Winter 1795. Lieutenant John Pearce, reckoning to have finally ditched his old enemy, Admiral Hotham, has found a new one in Henry Digby, previously a friend. Meanwhile, Pearce’s pregnant and recently widowed lover is adamant they cannot be seen together for the sake of their unborn child as she...

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally press-ganged from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In his first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group...

‘Compelling ... For lovers of a sea-yarn there’s plenty of salty business, both aship and ashore’ Historical Novels Review Lieutenant John Pearce is heading home aboard a hospital ship crammed with human cargo, yet the journey is far from plain sailing. Evading capture by an Algerine warship,...

The second part of an epic trilogy that chronicles the private lives and dangerous times of England’s greatest naval hero and his legendary mistress. It is 1784 and Nelson is sent to the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While there, he marries Fanny Nisbet but it isn’t long...

The concluding chapter in the epic trilogy that chronicles the private lives dangerous times of England’s greatest naval hero and his legendary mistress. Having evacuated the King and Queen of Naples ahead of Napoleon’s advancing army, Nelson must now await developments in Sicily. In the...

It wasn't quite the homecoming ex-privateer Harry Ludlow had anticipated. Having cheated death and made a handsome profit into the bargain, Harry and his brother James expected their return home to be quiet - until they become embroiled in a fierce contest between smugglers in the English Channel.

Part naval swashbuckler, part mystery story, "The Dying Trade" tells the story of smuggling and death in the Mediterranean at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Harry Ludlow and his brother James find themselves in Genoa where Harry is commissioned to investigate a British officer's death..

Lieutenant John Pearce is hiding in the smugglers’ hub of Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known only to him as Oliphant, trapped in French territory with no way out. Although they find a crew willing to take them to England, they discover on the journey that Pearce’s old enemies, the Tolland...

Captain Edward Brazier is on a mission: recently paid off from his frigate and comfortable with prize money, he is headed to Deal to propose marriage to the young and lovely widow Betsey Langridge. He must navigate the bustle of the town’s narrow streets that are busy with illicit and depraved business...