Customer Reviews

Quarterdeck

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thomas Kydd has survived the Battle of Camperdown, arriving back home as an acting lieutenant. In wartime, men could advance by their abilities. The novel opens with Kydd being examined for a commission. He does have a champion on the examining board. Having obtained his step up to lieutenant, he is taken in hand by his friend Renzi for training to be a gentlemen. In that regard, his sister Cecilia, now a companion of Lady Stanhope, takes a hand. But when Thomas reports back aboard ship, he finds that the captain is an upperclass prig who does not want tarpaulin lieutenants on "his ship." (That upperclass attitude is reflected in the novels of Frederick Marryat, written in the early 19th century, and did exist in the Royal Navy). The captain attempts to have him removed without success (one can wonder what is left unsaid; was the captain told, perhaps, that Thomas was a friend of Lord Stanhope and known to Admiral Onslow?). In any case, Thomas stays on board, for better or for worse.

Action proceeds, and Thomas finds he can no longer be "one of the guys" before the mast and, at the same time, he does not fit in well with the "gentlemen" officers, having no small talk about foxhunting, society, etc. Thomas makes a few gaffes, getting some unwanted attention from the Admiral, but also distinguishes himself in some detached duties.

He finds himself seconded as a naval observer to the fledgling United States Navy, and making some acquaintances that may show up in the future. Returning to the squadron in Halifax, he obtains some detached duty doing a hydrographic survey, and makes a chance acquaintance with a mysterious, very beautiful young woman whom he invites as his companion to a state function in Halifax which he must attend. That leads to some unexpected results and a sudden rise in social status.

We will have to wait for the sequels to see what further adventures the author has in mind for Thomas.

The novel is generally well researched. My main complaint is that the author seems to have Thomas zipping about at a time when transportation was notoriously slow. Perhaps a few too many adventures in too short a time. The late Patrick O'Brien seemed to have that problem in his novels, but perhaps we can give the author a little literary license. Richard Woodman is generally the best in defining the passage of time in his Drinkwater novels. The present novel might have been aided by the inclusion of a couple or three maps of the areas of action.

Julian Stockwin has grown in his Kydd series and I was most happy to read his latest offering. Although it is not to the high standard that the late Patrick O'Brien has set, it was certainly an enjoyable read. The plot sometimes seems improbable and contrived, but the humanity of Kydd shines through and I found myself rooting for the character throughout. Kydd has a particularly American appeal as a commoner among the gentry triumphing in spite of his humble beginnings, but shines through as an unmistakably British stout heart of oak. I look forward to the next installment.

I ordered this title after finishing Mutiny, the previous book of the series. I consider that title one the better Stockwin novels in the way it integrated the hero, Thomas Kydd, into the momentous events of the Royal Navy's history. Unfortunately, I find that quality missing in Quarterdeck. The novel begins well enough but Thomas Kydd's concerns about being a 'gentleman' seems to me a thin thread on which to hang a narrative. I don't believe the theme was treated with enough depth to sustain the novel. I've been reading through Vanity Fair at the same time which deals much better with the vagaries of the English class system.

Later episodes of the story don't help the book either. The commando style derring-do of the French privateer's sabotage borders on the incredulous. Stockwin does his research, so I might be wrong there. The episode aboard the USS Constellation following the privateer incident is just as bothersome. Thomas Truxtun was known to be obsessed with his stature and idea of him treating with a British junior lieutenant is a bit far-fetched. Benjamin Stoddert, the US Secretary of the Navy, did exchange some signalling information with the British Admiral Vandeput in July, 1798 and a novelist is free to imagine the circumstances of the exchange, but I had hoped for a little more creative imagination.

I was happy when this series started; it's about time that someone wrote about the common sailors in the Age of Sail instead of the silk-stocking officer corps. After all, they were the ones who did most of the fighting and most of the dying, but this series seems to suffer from hasty composition and plotting. Still, it was engaging enough;I did manage to finish the novel instead of hurling it across the room. I can't say that about some others I've tried to read. After Mutiny, I had greater expectations and was disappointed. I don't know if I want to read further.

The fifth book in the Kydd series (see my reviews of _Kydd_, _Artemis_, Seaflower_, and Mutiny_)sees our protagonist promoted to lieutenant and shipped off to North America. It's obvious that Kydd does not fit in with the other officers in the Royal Navy with whom he must serve. He simply comes from a different social class. This is the central theme of the book. The episodes are not as exciting as in the previous books, but this book is pivotal to the growth of Kydd as an officer in the Royal Navy. He is loaned to an American ship as an observer/advisor, where he experiences first hand how people can rise in society based on their merits. When he is offered a position in the American navy, Kydd seriously considers it. This seems like a dream come true. What will he do? Does he stay loyal to king and country, or does he do what millions have done-go with the future and opportunity? This book is interesting in that the conflict he feels is what every potential emigrant must face. One can only imagine one's own ancestors wrestling with the same conflict.

This is the fifth in the series about Thomas Kydd, who in less than five years has risen from pressed man on the gundeck of a Royal Navy ship to able seaman, topman, quartermaster's mate, master's mate, and now to the lofty rank of junior lieutenant of a ship of the line. The author has finally gotten his sea-legs, so to speak, adding an improved sense of pacing and much deeper character development to his already well proven knowledge of the seaman's life. It's now 1798 and Kydd and his closest friend, Nicholas Renzi (also recently made a quarterdeck officer), take part in convoy escort duty from Britain to Nova Scotia, following which the ship is to join the North American Squadron. That's all to the good, bringing Tom new experiences which improve his skill set ever farther. However, his new captain makes it clear that he would prefer deck officers who are proven gentlemen -- something Kydd feels he can never be. And he has no intention of sliding into the alcoholism that is the common fate of a "tarpaulin officer," a result of loneliness in the wardroom. Renzi, who *is* a gentleman born, attempts to instruct his friend in the appearance and social niceties of a gentleman, but Tom's certainty of his inferiority is considerable. Ignorant of society he may be, but he's no dummy and he spends considerable time studying about the world at large and the place of economics in international affairs and in the war with the French. This leads him to begin to appreciate the Big Picture in a way that would never occur to an ordinary sailor. Encouraged by Renzi in developing his intellect since the very beginning of their friendship, Tom finds his horizons expanding at a dizzying rate. The plotline continues with Lieut. Kydd being involved in a semi-diplomatic struggle with a French privateer, and then becoming an almost accidental witness to the birth of the United States Navy, and displaying the application of his professional education to his native ingenuity several times along the way. And then, at the very end, he discovers what being accepted as a gentleman really means, and accepts Renzi sincere apology. It's a rousing yarn.

I really enjoyed this novel as well as all previous Kidd novels. It is refreshing to read about a character that did not start in the wardroom but, eventually made it there and through his own ability, endeavors, and naievity become an accepted member of the upper social class in the realm of the 18th century English navy as culiminated in "Quaterdeck". It is refreshing to see some application of American subjects and matter in the traditionally British Napolean War period wooden ship and iron men novels. I place Julian Stockwin's writing in the Kidd adventures equal if not better than the Patrick O'brien - Aubry/Maturin series and my favorite the Alexander Kent - Bolitho series. I relish the rest of the Kidd series.

"Quarterdeck" is the fifth book in Julian Stockwin's "Kydd" series. These books are set in the Napoleonic-era Royal Navy and follow in the same vein as C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books.

In the first book, Kydd was initially a pressed seaman, but Kydd has now earned a king's commission and can walk the quarterdeck as a lieutenant. In "Quarterdeck" he serves on a ship-of-the-line sent to the North American station. Although he is filled with the self-doubt of as he tries to live in the world of officers and gentlemen, Kydd enjoys some interesting and original adventures and has a very successful start to his career as an officer in the King's Navy.

Although it has taken a few books, I'm finally truly enjoying Julian Stockwin's books. "Mutiny" was a very good book, and "Quarterdeck" is by far the best of the five "Kydd" novels. Kydd is growing as a character and Stockwin's writing style is developing. Anyone who has enjoyed Horatio Hornblower or Patrick O'Brian will enjoy these books.

I love the tradition of the sea, iron men and wooden ships. I have devoured C S Forester, O Brien and the major writers in the field. There will never be another Horatio Hornblower, but in recent years there has been a dearth of new sea stories. I was delighted to find Julian Stockton and a new hero in Thomas Kydd.

Stockton's research into the speech patterns and his description of geopolitical happenings of the day make for a sense of being in the story. The reader becomes a part of the action. I have not read the earlier books and I look forward to doing so and to follow the path into Young Tom's future. I would expect to find in succeeding volume to see the author mature in his presentation. I learned most from his detailed accounts of preparing a ship for sea and his description of the day to day life on board. His resolution of the problem of the seaman who would have blackmailed the young lieutenant was a classic. I learned a new word in the archaic use of "clement" in describning a nice day. We have abandoned that but held on to its antonym, inclement.

Get out your bell bottoms and your sailor cap and join the fun. This book was definitely a page turner.

The whole series is captivating. I have shared with my daughter who also thinks the series is magnificent. I am awaiting the last of the series due next month.

I am an avid age of sail fan. I have read the entire Hornblower and bolitho series. The kydd series is the first I have found that starts forward and moves with the character to the quarterdeck. I have enjoyed the entire series thus far.