Showing results by publisher "Audible Studios" in Sea Adventures

Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho finds himself the new master of the Argonaute, a French flagship taken in battle. With the Peace of Amiens in ruins, he must leave the safety of Falmouth. What lies ahead is the grim reality of war at close quarters - where Bolitho will be called upon to anticipate the overall intention of the French fleet. But the battle has also become a personal vendetta between himself and the French admiral who formerly sailed the Argonaute.

Plymouth, July 1801: Richard Bolitho's small squadron, still repairing battle scars earned in heavy action at Copenhagen, has been months away from the sea. But the Admiralty needs Bolitho. After eight years of war with France, Britain must make a gesture that will show her strength and determination - and one which will dramatically weaken the French cause. The Admiralty wants to attack, so Rear-Admiral Bolitho must follow his flag's tradition of victory.

It is the 1650s, and Spain considers the Caribbean its own private sea, but England, Holland, and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans. Set in days littered with the plunder of piracy, Ned Yorke, a loyal royalist living in Barbados, has a small vessel and devoted crew, and together they sail, hunted by roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colorful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

On a black night in April 1912, fifteen hundred passengers and crew perish as the Titanic slowly sinks beneath the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Charting the same perilous course through the icebergs is the SS Californian, close enough for her crew to see the eight white distress rockets fired by the Titanic. Yet the Californian fails to act, and later her crew insist that they saw nothing.

Spring 1792. A troubled peace with France means that 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. But, as the clouds of war begin to rise once more over the Channel, all he is offered is command of three topsail cutters. His task is to track down deserters, but the 'Brotherhood' he comes up against are brutal and dangerous.

It is 1811, and in this, the 22nd Richard Bolitho novel, Alexander Kent's sensitive and compassionate hero is recalled to duty after only two and a half months' peace in Cornwall with his beloved Catherine.

It is February 1818, and Adam Bolitho longs for marriage and a safe personal harbour. But with so much of Britain's fleet redundant, he knows he is fortunate to be offered HMS Onward, a new 38-gun frigate whose first mission is not war but diplomacy, as consort to the French frigate Nautilus.

The youngest captain in His Majesty's Navy, with a reputation for landing impossible assignments, Lord Ramage is dispatched to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Diamond Rock. The mission seems humdrum: barricade the French within Fort Royal. But sent to sea in the Juno with a crew grown restless and undisciplined under the prior commmand of a drunk, Ramage realizes his vessel may not be up to battle with the French.

Nelson's crews are standing down, and Ramage is on leave when he receives secret admiralty orders to inspect the small island of Trinidade off the coast of Brazil. Reaching the island, Ramage and the crew of the Calypso end up in a battle to free several captive merchant ships--and a beautiful woman passenger--as they cross swords with bloodthirsty priates.

Ramage, finally reunited with his beloved Sarah, hopes to spend at least a few quiet weeks with her. Instead, he is summoned by Admiral Nelson himself. His orders: Ramage is to join Nelson's fleet blockading the combined French and Spanish navies in the port of Cadiz. But Nelson's plan is not merely to blockade the enemy's fleet. He intends to confront it head-on in the biggest naval battle the world has ever seen.

As master of France, Napoleon now turns towards the East - and the vast wealth of India. But first he must secure the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Now Commodore of a newly-formed squadron in a British fleet stretched to the limit, Richard Bolitho faces one of the toughest commissions of his career: to ascertain the fighting strength of the French - then seek, find, and bring them to battle.

Lieutenant Lord Ramage, in command of the Triton brig, is escorting a convoy from Barbados to Jamaica, normally a routine and tedious chore. But this time Ramage has to be especially vigilant to guard the convoy's precious cargo - a family of important French refugees.

Hong Kong, 1941... To the residents and defence forces of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong, the war in Europe remains remote. Even the massive build-up of Japanese forces on the Chinese border cannot dent their carefree optimism. Yet one man suspects the truth. Lieutenant-Commander Esmond Brooke, captain of HMS Serpent and a veteran of the cruel Atlantic, sees all too clearly the folly and incompetence of Hong Kong’s colonial administration. To Brooke, attack by Japan seems inevitable.

A sinking British ship. Her crew and her passengers—men and women alike—are ruthlessly murdered at the hands of a French privateer. This is the nightmare Ramage and the crew of the Calypso stumble upon while engaged in a sweep for freebooters in the waters off Jamaica. Supported by his men in a thirst for righteous vengeance, Ramage sets sail to bring the murderers to justice.

With Napoleon Bonaparte at the height of his powers, the Mediterranean can safely be considered exclusive French territory. So when Captain Ramage and his crew are sent alone into Mediterranean waters, they can expect to be outnumbered. But it is the French who discover they have an enemy for whom they had not bargained.

It is 1819, and Captain Adam Bolitho is ordered once again to Freetown in West Africa with secret orders for the senior officer there. The slave trade has been outlawed by many nations, but a hundred thousand slaves are still shipped out annually, the profit for slavers considered worth the risk of interception by the Royal Navy. For Adam, newly married and as fiery as ever, Africa will bring reunions and unexpected allies, and a treachery that wears the mask of friendship, and threatens the very heart of all he loves.

Spring 1802. Richard Bolitho is summoned to the Admiralty to receive his orders for a difficult and thankless mission.... The recent Peace of Amiens is already showing signs of strain as old enemies wrangle over colonies won and lost during the war. In the little 64-gun Achates, Bolitho sails west for the Caribbean, to hand over the island of San Felipe to the French. But diplomacy is not enough.

For thousands of years, we have set out sailing for all kinds of reasons - for battle, for infinite wealth, for the excitement of exploring the unknown, and for escape from the mundane. We have always had a primal relationship with the sea - even those who have never been to sea remain fascinated by the seafaring life and tales of salty adventure. Now in a brand–new series collection, The Best Sailing Stories Ever Told brings together such diverse authors as Charles Dickens, Jack London, John Masefield, Stephen Crane, Herman Melville, and dozens more.

Admiralty spies are hunting for British officers and allies trapped on the mainland, among them Ramage's first love, Gianna, the Marchesa di Volterra. Ramage returns to the Tuscan coast, where Bonaparte holds a group of hostages for an unknown fate.

Captain Lord Ramage and the Calypso return from Devil's Island, but Ramage's new wife, Sarah, is missing. The captain would like nothing better than to sail home immediately, but instead he is ordered to shepherd a lumbering convoy of merchant ships back to England. On the way bizarre events lead him to a full court-martial in Plymouth, presided over by his old nemesis, Rear Admiral Goddard. Ramage must clear his name--or face a sentence of death!