Mutiny: A Kydd Novel (Kydd Novels) [Hardcover]

Julian Stockwin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kydd Novels | Publication Date: June 1, 2004

In the grand tradition of Patrick O'Brian, this new installment in Julian Stockwin's epic Napoleonic-era naval adventure series re-creates one of history's most notorious naval insurrections.

With all the wind-whipped passion and salty authenticity that only a veteran naval lieutenant commander could bring to the fiction table, bestselling author Julian Stockwin continues the acclaimed saga of seaman Thomas Paine Kydd as he takes on the most perilous venture of his career.

The year is 1797. Kydd has been at sea four long, hard years, ever since he was pressed into service. Despite that inauspicious start to his naval career, he has learned to love his life aboard ship. It's in his blood. It's in his soul.

Having now risen to the rate of master's mate, Kydd volunteers to join the crew of the frigate Bacchante in a mission to rescue a British diplomat mired in the hostilities of Napoleon's siege of Venice. The city is surrounded. It will soon fall to Napoleon, and the diplomat will be trapped unless Kydd and the men from Bacchante can help him escape.

Stockwin's rousing narrative follows Kydd and his mysterious seafaring mate Nicholas Renzi across the Mediterranean to a rendezvous with danger, and then back toward an even greater challenge -- a harrowing fleet mutiny.

As the king's loyal servant, Kydd must decide whether to join his shipmates in their uprising. The cause is just -- sailors' pay has not been raised for a century and a half! But to mutiny is to commit the ultimate treason against king and country. Will Kydd honor his pledge to his sovereign lord, or will he stand by his friends?

Kydd faces the most difficult decision of his life in this richly nuanced novel from a master storyteller whose naval expertise and love for the sea shine through on every page.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Based on little-known historical fact, but the appeal of the story is in the telling, which is atmospheric, authentic and disclosed from the unusual perspective of the ordinary sailor working his way up the ranks. Genre fiction at its best ... The author had a long career in the Royal Navy, which adds to his prose that extra dash of salty realism.' - Publishing News 'Julian Stockwin tells his sea story with a proper amount of salt and nice attention to historical detail. His hero Tom Kydd takes us inside the action at two of the defining events of 1797 - the Nore Mutiny and the Battle of Camperdown - for a thrilling read.' - Tyrone G. Martin 'Leaves the reader almost tasting the sea-salt on the wind and wanting to search out the previous books ... Long live Kydd' -- Good Book Guide 'Breath-stopping detail ... An engaging sea yarn.' -- Kirkus Reviews 'A storming sea story that should carry a force nine warning.' The Northern Echo -- The Northern Echo Praise for Julian Stockwin's previous books: 'I was soon turning over the pages almost indecently fast ... Roll on, the promised adventures of Kydd and Renzi.' - Independent Gripping ... Rich in action and full of interesting characters, this thrilling novel leaves you in awe of the 18th-century seaman.' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph 'The vantage point of the common sailor gives the nautical novel a fresh twist. In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world.' -- Guardian 'Stockwin paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line... the harsh naval discipline, the rancid food, and the skill of the common sailor are all skilfully evoked.' -- Daily Express --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

To my surprise when I started research for this book I found that little had actually been written about the Mutiny at the Nore. Given the nature of the rebellion, and what could have happened had it been successful, this took me somewhat aback. Piecing together the main elements – and the key historical figures was a fascinating exercise and I found myself in strong sympathy with Tom Kydd’s stand. Later, like many of the mutineers, he was swept along in events beyond his control. Obviously I could not let Tom be hung at the yardarm for his part in the mutiny – or the series would have ended there – so I had to find a credible way of saving him that would not ruin his chances for further progression in the Navy. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743258002
• ISBN-13: 978-0743258005
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I wanted to go to sea ever since I can remember. My mother says that as a toddler I went up to sailors on the street, and on one occasion dragged home a dead seabird because it smelled of the sea! I was entranced when my great uncle Tom Clay, a seaman in square-rigged ships who had sailed around the Horn in the "Cutty Sark", took me over this ship. As a young boy I read everything about the sea and I was especially terrified by a description of a great storm, but longed to go to sea to experience one.
I won a scholarship to a grammar school, but my mind was captivated by seeing low grey shapes far out to sea, outward bound to who knew where. I passed this sight every day on my way to school; my scholastic performance suffered!
In the hope of having the nonsense knocked out of me, my father sent me to a tough sea-training school. This only strengthened my resolve for a life at sea and at fifteen I joined the Royal Navy.
After leaving the Navy (rated Petty Officer) I practised as an educational psychologist. I worked for some time in Hong Kong, where I was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve.
I now live in Devon with my wife and literary partner, Kathy - and two Siamese cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting book!, April 14, 2006

By 

Dr J (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mutiny: A Kydd Sea Adventure (Kydd Sea Adventures) (Paperback)

Book four in the Kydd series is fantastic! (see my reviews of _Kydd_ , _Artemis_ and _Seaflower_) Kydd helps an Italian nobleman escape Italy before the arrival of the French. Later, Kydd becomes embroiled in the fleet mutiny at the Nore where he must decide whether his loyalty to the navy or his mates is stronger (no spoilers here!). His decision is not as obvious as it might seem. How he gets extricated from the mutiny reads like a thriller! Lots of good intrigue. The book ends with Kydd taking charge of a gundeck at the battle of Camperdown. The description of the battle is fantastic. Stockwin puts the reader right in the thick of the action. The imagery is amazing:

p. 316 Renzi saw a midshipman, then the signal lieutenant drop in their tracks, and over at a disabled nine-pounder a corpse exuded blood that made tracks on the deck as the ship rolled and heaved.

Also, Stockwin's writing style is a real joy to read:

p. 318 Her guns opened again with a thunderous broadside, which was answered with equal venom by their opponent-but having practiced over long weeks at sea the English guns spoke faster and truer.

Not only has this series grown on me, but I have come to appreciate Mr. Stockwin's writing. His knowledge of ships and sea, languages, dialects, history and other things is impressive. A tremendous amount of research has gone into these books. The series was slow for me at first, but it has become interesting and exciting. Taken as a whole, it's a great story. At first, Mr. Stockwin set the table; now I'm feasting. I look forward to the next book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets better with each book., February 22, 2005

By 

A. J. Watson "Bones" (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mutiny: A Kydd Novel (Kydd Novels) (Hardcover)

The pairing of down-to-earth Kydd with the intellectual Renzi continues to lift this series above the run-of-the-mill (although Kydd has lost most of his gaucheness by now).

Promotion within the ranks has come to both, as a result of the Caribbean experience in 'Seaflower', and they are part of the Mediterranean Fleet - although in different ships.
While Renzi is 'enjoying' the battle at Cape St.Vincent, Kydd is stuck in Gibraltar 'suffering' the attentions of the Town Major's wife. His new confidante Cockburn tries to warn him off - to no avail, so Renzi drags him off to Venice, where they are trapped by Boney's invading forces. They escape, thanks to an 'ex' of Renzi's, but a tough decision by Renzi seems to signal an end to the friendship as they return to Blighty - and the Nore mutiny. Kydd is in the forefront, but miraculously earns a pardon (thanks to Renzi), then finds himself in the thick of the bloody battle at Camperdown.

Altogether a seeming mish-mash of events ... but after all, this is exactly what a seaman's life would be like: no plan; no greater purpose; no battle tactics; no 'story'; just go where the Admiralty sends the ship and do what the captain commands ... This is what the author is trying to convey in this series - the story is in life's little details.

And very good detail it is; the author's personal research into the locations produces a highly-believable account of little-known events in the most volatile period in British naval history. There follows a taster of the next book 'Quarterdeck', and, as we have come to expect in this genre, his sources of the facts behind the fiction.

This is the most in-depth depiction of the infamous mutiny that I've read, as - for the last time - through Kydd's eyes we see more of the behind-the-scenes machinations than if he were an Aubrey or Hornblower. *****

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoyed O'Brian..., October 21, 2004

By 

William B. Krones "wbrad" (Seminole, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mutiny: A Kydd Novel (Kydd Novels) (Hardcover)

If you enjoyed reading the fabulous Jack Aubrey series of naval adventure novels from the late Patrick O'Brian, then you will love the Kydd Series by Julian Stockwin. Nothing can replace O'Brian, of course, but these come surprisingly close in some ways. The strength of this series is the sailor's dialogue, as created by Stockwin, a former officer in Her Majesty's Navy. Picture this scene: The press gang has just busted into a busy tavern and the leader of the group has to shout to get the attention of the befuddled customers...Stockwin's dialogue can be very funny..."So, who's fer a life on the rollin' seas?" That's from memory--it had me laughing for a day or two--but you get the idea. I have read all of Forester, Kent, Cornwell, and a few of the others, and the Kydd series is right up there with the best of them. In my opinion, the dialogue is a match for O'Brian, or even superior, although, in total, O'Brian's work remains the best that has ever been published in this genre. Moreover, Stockwin's knowledge and descriptions of the technical details of running a King's ship at the end of the 18th century is absolutely on a par with O'Brian, in my opinion.