The Fireships of Gerontas: The continuing voyages of HMS SURPRISE

Name: The Fireships of Gerontas: The continuing voyages of HMS SURPRISE
Author: Lawrence, Mr Alan
ISBN: 9781544205113

Lawrence, Mr Alan

Language: English

Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

1544205112 / 9781544205113

Series: Book 3 of 8 - The Continuing Voyages of HMS SURPRISE

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USED book in ACCEPTABLE condition. Cover and pages are in tact but may show creases, tears, water damage, handwriting, underlining, or highlighting. May be missing dust jacket. Supplemental items such as access codes and CDs not guaranteed.

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Title: The Fireships of Gerontas: The continuing voyages of HMS SURPRISE
Author: Lawrence, Mr Alan
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication year: 2017
Condition: acceptable
Binding: Soft cover
Language: English
ISBN 10: 1544205112
ISBN 13: 9781544205113
Edition: 2nd Edition
Series: Book 3 of 8: The Continuing Voyages of HMS SURPRISE

IMPORTANT: please do not buy older editions of this title from reseller sources. The latest paperback edition from Amazon is the only one to buy so as to link chronologically with title two in the series (Freedom or Death). The original edition of The Fireships was originally the second title in the series, and it was used as the basis of the latter chapters of (with the addition of much new material) a newly created second title in the series (Freedom or Death). Inconsiderate reviewers harping on this have left poor Amazon reviews - please disregard them.

This story describes the hugely significant sea battle of 10th September 1824, when the Greeks fought an Ottoman fleet (greater in number than that which Nelson defeated at Trafalgar) in the Bay of Gerontas (modern day Gulf of Mandalya) which finally thwarted Ottoman efforts to capture Samos. It ends with HMS Surprise struggling to survive the hurricane which devastated many south coast ports, towns and villages of Britain on 22nd November 1824.I have endeavoured to endow my book with Patrick O’Brian’s own essential and complex essence; I have strived to attain his rich eloquence, customarily replete with diverse linguistic faux pas and rife with humorous conversational and other ambiguities together with his remarkable ability to fascinate with an infinity of detail. The reader will be the judge of whether I have succeeded. There are a great many books about historical conflicts, both factual and fiction. As an extreme generalisation it is true to say that few of them examine in any depth the deleterious effects on the men at the sharp end: those determined, brave souls who experience close combat, many of whom become wounded in doing so or experience the loss of dear comrades. These are men (and women) who for the most part must and do continue to persevere with considerable bravery throughout the very worst of life’s experiences, both during and after the traumatic events they encounter. This story, though fiction, strives to touch upon this oft neglected issue of warfare and the painful burdens of the enduring aftermath.

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About the Author

I fondly imagined for years that the many fans of Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring tales of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin sorely lamented, as did I, the end of his wonderful, utterly exceptional stories and hugely missed those two warm and intensely fascinating individuals, characters always of the most engaging interest while possessed of the most human of personalities; for that surely was O’Brian’s gift: Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin never resembled superheroes; rather in their warmth and fallibility they endeared themselves to us as any current personality might well do, and the gulf of two hundred years between their (fictional) lives and ours simply faded away. With no prospect (sadly) of any further historical novels from Patrick O’Brian and missing his characters so much myself, I decided I must write a sequel so as to bring them back, to enjoy their company all over again. After writing the first draft and by then in a dialogue with his estate, I was made aware of Patrick O’Brian’s wish that no sequel to his series should be published, and hence a different course was subsequently plotted, the finished result being no longer a faithful reproduction of his ingredients but a book with different characters, though one which still draws its inspiration of form and flavour from his genius. These historical novels of mine are founded upon the continuing voyages of HMS Surprise – not, please note, the 28-gun ship of 1796 in Patrick O’Brian’s marvellous fictional series (a ship design based on the captured French ship Unité), but the later 38-gun, Leda-class frigate of 1812 (also a design based on another captured French frigate, Hebé). This latter Surprise, though a relatively young ship, lay at Plymouth Dock in 1822 about to be reduced to a prison hulk. In my stories her fate takes its fictional turn for the better. I live near the rugged north Devon and north Cornwall coast where I love to stroll and take photographs. Over the years I have spent several spells aboard a Danish-built wooden fishing trawler which I co-owned, voyaging around near all of the Scottish Hebridean islands as well as crewing on several occasions including during a voyage from Southampton to refit at Dartmouth (and a most eventful trip that was!) and I became familiar with Poole, Weymouth (Melcombe Regis), Dartmouth and Plymouth along the way. I enjoy real ales, reading (historical books for the most part), folk music and playing a very average game of golf.

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