Troubled Waters: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) [Hardcover]

Dewey Lambdin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures | Publication Date: January 8, 2008

The fourteenth tale in Dewey Lambdin’s classic naval adventure series

Spring of 1800, and Captain Alan Lewrie, fresh from victory in the South Atlantic, is reckoned a hero on a par with Nelson in all the papers. Back in England, he’s fitting out his new frigate, HMS Savage, the fruits of that victory, the largest and best-armed frigate he’s ever commanded. But you can’t leave Lewrie ashore too long without trouble arising.

A Jamaica court has tried him in absentia and sentenced him to hang for the theft of a dozen Black slaves to man his old ship, HMS Proteus. A crime, or was it liberation, as his London barrister argues? The vengeful slaveowner, Hugh Beauman, has come to London to seek Lewrie’s end . . . with or without the majesty of the Law!

Then there’s the matter of those anonymous letters sent to his wife, Caroline, portraying him as a faithless rakehell and serving up the most florid lies . . . along with some unfortunately florid truths. Lewrie appeals to the “retired” Foreign Office spy, Zachariah Twigg, to “smoak out” the hand that guides the poison pen, even while wondering why Twigg seems so eager to help his legal case, of a sudden. Is the devious old devil ready to sacrifice him for some motive of his own?

A fortunate legal ruling, which only delays the matter of Lewrie’s utter ruin, leaves him free to take Savage to sea upon the King’s business, to join the close blockade of the Gironde River in Sou’west France, and plug the threat of enemy warships, privateers, and  neutrals smuggling goods in and out of Bordeaux. It could be a dull and plodding dreariness, but . . . a bored Captain Alan Lewrie, safe in his post for the moment, can be a dangerous fellow to his country’s foes. If only to relieve the tedium!   

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

During the Napoleonic Wars, Royal Navy Capt. Alan Lewrie (Sea of Grey) finds that he has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Jamaican kangaroo court for stealing slaves, and is pursued to England by enemies trying to carry out that sentence. As the famously byzantine British legal system grinds on, Lewrie becomes a cause célèbre among William Wilberforce's abolitionists, who hire a hotshot barrister to defend Lewrie. While waiting for his case to come up, Lewrie (released until then because of his social standing) returns to H.M.S. Savage, now on blockade duty off southwest France. He quickly turns a dull assignment on its ears by organizing an amphibious raid against fortifications on the French coast while dealing with an old rival with a grudge and a secret. Lambdin manages to make the Bleak House–like British legal system of the era comprehensible to the layman, while his mastery of period naval warfare gives his battles real punch. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for Dewey Lambdin and the Alan Lewrie series

 

 “You could get addicted to this series. Easily.”

---The New York Times Book Review

 

“The brilliantly stylish American master of salty-tongued British naval tales.”

---Kirkus Reviews

 

“The best naval adventure series since C. S. Forester.”

---Library Journal

 

“Lewrie is a marvelous creation, resourceful and bold.”

---James L. Nelson, author of the Revolution at Sea Saga

 

“[A] rousing series of nautical adventures."
---Booklist

 

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312348053
• ISBN-13: 978-0312348052
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dewey Lambdin is the author of fourteen previous Alan Lewrie novels. A member of the U.S. Naval Institute and a Friend of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, he spends his free time working and sailing (he's been a sailor since 1976). He makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, but would much prefer Margaritaville or Murrell's Inlet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Napoleonic War military tale, January 11, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Troubled Waters: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

In the early nineteenth century as England fights Napoleon, Royal Navy Captain Alan Lewrie learns that he has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Jamaican court allegedly for stealing slaves. Those who arranged the sham trial have come to England to execute him, claiming they carry out a legal sentencing that England by law must adhere to.

Meanwhile William Wilberforce and his abolitionist backers see Lewrie as an opportunity to focus on the inhumanity of slavery. They hire him a highly regarded barrister to defend him in court once his case appears on the docket. Freed because he is an aristocrat, Lewrie returns to his ship the H.M.S. Savage, blockading the seas off southwest France. Instead of sitting around, Lewrie sees a chance to cause havoc by leading a naval assault against the French coast.

The Lewrie historical naval novels (see A KING'S COMMANDER and A KING'S TRADE, etc.) are always some of the best Napoleonic War military tales around. TROUBLED WATERS is much more although the at sea battles are as great as ever. However, this time the audience also gets a chance to follow the English legal system that makes the DNA double helix look like a kindergarten puzzle. Dewey Lambkin keeps his excellent series fresh and exciting.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Troubled Waters, February 9, 2008

By 

Karen Thompson (Mountain Home, ID) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Troubled Waters: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

I really enjoy this author's books. None of the Alan Lewrie books have been a disappointment. They are a clever, witty story that leave you excited for the next installment in the series.

If you're looking for a story with lots of cannon fire, smoke, guns and swords crossed then look no futher. Be sure to start at the beginning of the series with book #1 Kings Coat.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Troubled Waters - a review, February 9, 2008

By 

David Schultz (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Troubled Waters: An Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (Hardcover)

The entire Alan Lewrie series is immensely readable and enjoyable. It is, of course, not brilliant, high brow "naval adventure literature" like O'Brian but it doesn't try to be. It is simply rollicking action packed good fun. To be fully appreciated, this new installment (#14) should not be the first Lewrie book you should read. It is best enjoyed in the context of the full series (very highly recommended in its entirety).. I very, very seldom buy a book in hardcover -- but I did this one and will do so for #15 due, presumably, in 2010.