James Dunbar

by Richard Woodman 2 books in this series

The James Dunbar novels follow an idealistic Edwardian merchant seaman whose voyages force him to test romantic ideas about art, love and the sea against exploitation, violence and physical hardship. Dunbar begins as an inexperienced young man seeking adventure and gradually develops an artistic identity shaped by the people and ships around him.

Across Mexico, London and the long sailing route to Australia, the sequence combines maritime labour with a coming-of-age story. The sea offers Dunbar vocation and creative material, but it also exposes the social divisions, sexual commerce and emotional costs hidden beneath Edwardian confidence.

Reading order

Books in this series (2 books)

1. Waterfront

Richard Woodman

First published 1995

3.9(160)

In the Edwardian years, the young James Dunbar goes to sea aboard the merchant ship Swallow and reaches the Mexican port of Puerto San Martin. There he falls in love with Conchita and encounters a waterfront shaped by poverty, trafficking, commercial rivalry and violence rather than…

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2. Under Sail

Richard Woodman

First published 1998

4.2(122)

Fresh from the momentous experiences of his maiden voyage, merchant seaman James Dunbar is back in his native Suffolk. Struggling to recapture the intensity of that Mexican adventure, when he discovered his own distinctive artistic spirit, he seeks inspiration in Julia Ravenham, an enigmatic beautiful aesthete…

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