Set in 1798 in the West Indies, Ramage's Prize begins with a breakdown in the communications that hold Britain's scattered wartime empire together. Post vessels carrying dispatches between England and the Caribbean are disappearing, leaving naval commanders without orders and raising fears of French privateers, betrayal or a new enemy method of attack.
Lieutenant Nicholas Ramage is ordered to discover what is happening. The investigation turns routine cruising into a hunt in which every missing packet ship matters strategically as well as personally, because information can decide where squadrons sail and which islands remain protected. Pope uses the postal and convoy system to show the hidden machinery behind naval warfare: ships do not fight effectively without intelligence, orders and reliable routes of communication across the Atlantic.
Alexander Kent
28 books
Julian Stockwin
29 books
Dewey Lambdin
25 books
David Donachie
47 books
Adrian Westbrooke
9 books