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Home / Series / Nathaniel Drinkwater

Series

Nathaniel Drinkwater

The Nathaniel Drinkwater series follows a Royal Navy officer from his first service during the American Revolutionary War to a final mission in early Victorian Britain. Drinkwater rises from vulnerable midshipman to experienced captain while operating across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Baltic, Arctic, Pacific and China seas.

The fourteen novels combine Age of Sail combat with intelligence work, diplomacy, mutiny and private revenge. Real campaigns and naval strategy provide the framework, but the series also examines command, marriage, ageing and the moral compromises demanded by decades of war against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

Reading order

Books in this series (14 books)

A King’s Cutter cover

#2 – A King’s Cutter

Richard Woodman

It is 1792 and Nathaniel Drinkwater is back in the Royal Navy, this time appointed to the twelve-gun cutter Kestrel, commanded by the inscrutable Madoc Griffiths. With the gathering menace of the French Revolution, he is involved in secret and dangerous operations off the French Coast…

A Brig of War cover

#3 – A Brig of War

Richard Woodman

In A Brig of War, Nathaniel Drinkwater is promoted lieutenant of the brig Hellebore. He finds routine convoy escort duties end abruptly when Admiral Nelson, pursuing the French fleet to Egypt, sends Hellebore to the Red Sea with an urgent warning to the British squadron there.…

The Corvette cover

#5 – The Corvette

Richard Woodman

The frozen splendor of the Arctic Ocean and the absorbing drama of a nineteenth century whale hunt unfold as Drinkwater escorts a whaling fleet to Greenland and meets disaster, treachery and death. The novel combines detailed Age of Sail operations with intelligence, command and divided loyalties,…

1805 cover

#6 – 1805

Richard Woodman

In the tradition of C.S. Forester, ex-sailor Richard Woodman brings history to life in a rousing tale of daring deeds and clashing cutlasses. it is the summer of 1804 and Napoleon is massing his vast army for the invasion of England. His powerful Combined Fleet is…

Baltic Mission cover

#7 – Baltic Mission

Richard Woodman

In the seventh tale of the highly acclaimed Drinkwater series, Captain Drinkwater's frigate, HMS Antigone, is ordered to the Baltic Sea in the spring of 1807 as Napoleon's grip has begun to reach across Europe to the borders of Holy Russia. As country after country falls…

In Distant Waters cover

#8 – In Distant Waters

Richard Woodman

From the tide-torn waters of the Thames, where Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater is compelled to hand a deserter, to the seas off Cape Horn, storm-scoured gateway to the Pacific, the great cruiser PATRICIAN is tense with the threat of mutiny. Despite this, Drinkwater captures a Spanish frigate…

A Private Revenge cover

#9 – A Private Revenge

Richard Woodman

After a typhoon, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater brings HMS Patrician into the Pearl River and becomes entangled in political and commercial tensions along the China coast. The British occupation of Macao, disputes with local authorities and the presence of foreign traders turn a necessary refuge into a…

Under False Colours cover

#10 – Under False Colours

Richard Woodman

Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater is sent into the Baltic under a concealed identity while Britain’s relationship with Russia remains uncertain. His mission requires him to move through neutral and hostile waters, interpret unreliable intelligence and protect a ship whose true purpose cannot be disclosed even to everyone…

The Flying Squadron cover

#11 – The Flying Squadron

Richard Woodman

In 1811, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater discovers a scheme designed to exploit the growing hostility between Britain and the United States. The conspiracy threatens British naval power, commercial credit and the government itself at a moment when the Royal Navy is already stretched by the war against…

Beneath the Aurora cover

#12 – Beneath the Aurora

Richard Woodman

As Napoleon’s position weakens in Germany, Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater receives evidence of a secret agreement involving the United States. His orders take him north into the Norwegian fjords, where coastal batteries, ice and uncertain local loyalties make every movement of his ship hazardous. The mission combines…

Ebb Tide cover

#14 – Ebb Tide

Richard Woodman

1843: Captain Nathaniel Drinkwater’s career concludes as he is drawn from retirement and embarks on the paddle-steamer Vestal for a final mission to inspect lighthouses on the west coast of England, where he is faced with a tragic incident and must confront his past. The novel…