With All Despatch

With All Despatch

(The Richard Bolitho adventures: 10): more scintillating naval action from the master storyteller of the sea

Summary

Let multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent transport you right to the heart of the action in this high-octane, pacy and gripping naval adventure. Fans of Patrick O'Brian and C. S. Forester will not be disappointed.

'One of our foremost writers of naval fiction' - Sunday Times

'As a former naval officer, Alexander Kent knows what it is like to be at sea' -- The Times
'Engrossing' -- ***** Reader review
'Great action, great characters, great adventure' -- ***** Reader review
'Unexpected twists and turns, fascinating plot lines and gripping descriptions of naval battles' -- ***** Reader review
'A difficult book to put down!' -- ***** Reader review

*****
1792: A troubled peace with France means that the English royal fleet has been left to rot.

Even a frigate captain as famous as Richard Bolitho is forced to swallow his pride and visit the Admiralty daily to plead for a ship. As the clouds of war begin to rise once more over the Channel, he has no choice but to accept an appointment to the Nore.

With his small flotilla of three topsail cutters, Bolitho sets out to search the coast for seamen who have fled the harsh discipline of His Majesty's Navy for the more tempting rewards of smuggling. But the 'Brotherhood' he comes up against are brutal and dangerous with a secret, sinister trade in human misery.

So when a King's ransom is in peril and Bolitho is ordered to proceed 'with all despatch' to recover it, he has no choice but to rely on the loyalty and courage of his three gallant cutters.

If anyone fulfil this mission, it's Bolitho - but he'll need all his wits, wisdom, might and mettle to succeed...

Bolitho's adventures continue in Form Line of Battle.


About the author

Alexander Kent

Alexander Kent's great interest in the ships and men of the eighteenth century navy was aroused when he was still at school. Although he attended fleet reviews and explored modern warships and dockyards with his father, he found that the great days of square riggers and battles at close quarters captured his imagination. H.M.S. Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, was always high on his list of regular visits.

He served in the Royal Navy as a young man, and saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and other major theatres of war, but his first love of the great days of sail remained unshaken.

Now firmly established as a leading writer of authentic sea stories, he was the author of twenty-eight acclaimed books featuring Richard Bolitho. Under his own name, Douglas Reeman, and in the course of a career spanning forty-five years, he wrote over thirty novels and two non-fiction books. He died in January 2017.
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