Authors Dow - Dru - Nautical Fiction Index

Authors Dow - Dru

DowDell, Del (1936-2022)

Torpedo Alley. Windsor, 1988. 414 pages

The US sub POCATELLO chases the Russian supersub SUSLOV which is carrying stolen secrets that could render the US Navy defenseless.

Dowling, Sherwood

Sub-marine Chums series

The Cruise of the Gray Whale. D. Appleton, 1914. 215 pages

Adventures of a group of young boys in a home-made submarine. The first discovery of the submarine and the chums' first adventures. These are not without peril, and the stories' real moral lies in the clear-headed, and innovative way the young hero saves the lives of his companions and extricates them from danger. Nothing fantastic or unbelievable, just good common sense, some simple basic physics and the hard lesson learned that things that appear to be dangerous, probably are, and that adults should probably be consulted first!

The Gray Whale - Warship. D. Appleton, 1914. 194 pages

The Gray Whale - Flagship. D. Appleton, 1915. 184 pages

More adventures of the Submarine Chums but now with two subs! They decide to go into business carrying passengers on submerged tours, but obviously, since this is a boy's book series, much trouble ensues with bad guys (and good guys) galore.

The Gray Whale - Derelict. D. Appleton, 1915. 168 pages

Downey, Bill (1922-1994)

Black Viking. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1981. 316 pages

Gunnar Black Wolf, son of a Viking lord and a Moorish slave, grows up as one of the chosen of Odin and the companion of prince Harald Finehair. He returns home from fun and freebooting to find his adoptive parents, wife, and child dead, and vows vengance against their slayer. In the course of this quest, he becomes outlawed and is driven to lead a mighty raid against the Franks.

Dowswell, Paul (1957- )

Sam Witchall series

Powder Monkey. Bloomsbury, 2005. 275 pages

Thirteen-year-old Sam endures harsh conditions, battles, and a shipwreck after being pressed into service aboard the HMS Miranda during the Napoleonic Wars.

Prison Ship. Bloomsbury, 2006. 313 pages

After being framed for cowardice in a sea battle, fifteen-year-old Sam and his friend Richard are sent to Australia, where they must fight for their lives in the outback.

Battle Fleet. Bloomsbury, 2007. 290 pages

Having escaped death in Australia, Sam endures a dangerous sea voyage back to England, where he rejoins the Navy and becomes midshipman on the Victory as it prepares for the Battle of Trafalgar.

Doyle, Arthur Conan (1859-1930)

Uncle Bernac : a memory of the Empire. Smith, Elder, & Co, 1897. 300 pages

Some of the action takes place in the military encampment from which Napoleon was planning to cross the English Channel

The Dealings of Captain Sharkey, and other tales of pirates. George H. Doran , 1919. 260 pages

Four stories about Captain Sharkey: How the governor of Saint Kitt's came home -- The dealings of Captain Sharkey with Stephen Craddock -- The blighting of Sharkey -- How Copley Banks slew Captain Sharkey.
Other nautical related stories: "The Captain of the Pole-Star" is about the mysterious and untimely end of Nicholas Craigie, the captain of the ship called The Polestar, as recorded by the ship's doctor in his diary. "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" is an explanation of the disappearance of the crew from Mary Celeste, here called the Marie Celeste. "That Little Square Box" takes place on a ship, where a gentleman overhears two passengers talking about a box with a trigger. The other stories are: The "Slapping Sal" -- A pirate of the land (One crowded hour) -- Tales of blue water: The striped chest -- The fiend of the cooperage -- Jelland's voyage.

The Marcot Deep and other stories. John Murray, 1929. 310 pages

The discovery of a sunken city of Atlantis by a team of explorers led by Professor Maracot.

Uncollected stories : the unknown Conan Doyle. Doubleday, 1982. 456 pages

Maritime related fiction: The fate of the Evangeline -- Touch and go : a midshipman's story -- A true story of the tragedy of Flowery Land -- The recollections of Captain Wilkie -- The Death Voyage.

Doyle, Brian (1956-2017)

The Plover. Thomas Dunne, 2014. 311 pages

Declan O Donnell has left Oregon aboard his boat, the Plover, to escape the life that's so troubled him on land. He sets course west into the Pacific in search of solitude. Instead, he finds a crew, each in search of something themselves, and what at first seems a lonely sea voyage becomes a rapturous, heartfelt celebration of life's surprising paths, planned and unplanned

Drachmann, Holger Henrik Herholdt (1846-1908)

The Cruise of the "Wild Duck" and Other Stories. Unwin, 1893. 208 pages

Short stories, translated from Danish.

Drake, John [pseud. J. C. Edwards] (1944- )

Jacob Fletcher series

Fletcher's Fortune. New American Library, 1992. 278 pages

The start of a series of books centered on Jacob Fletcher, who joins the Navy in 1793. Harry Flashman in a sailor suit would sum it up, and none the worse for it. The author has "discovered" a set of papers purporting to be those of Admiral Fletcher, and the emphasis is on the comic.

Fletcher's Glorious First of June. New American Library, 1993. 344 pages

Obviously places the Flashmanesque hero at the famous 1794 naval battle between the British and French.

Fletcher and the Mutineers. Endeavour Press, 2015. 332 pages

The year is 1795 and Jacob Fletcher has reached the shores of Jamaica. Having been driven out of England by his cruel stepmother, Lady Sarah Coignwood, he has finally reached a land where he might be able to make his fortune. But this haven might not be as safe as he once thought . The Maroon peoples are being whipped up into a frenzy by the one of the most dangerous men Fletcher has ever met, Vernon Hughes. It’s seems that it will only be a matter of time before the island erupts into violence. To make matters worse, Lady Coignwood has heard that Fletcher is not dead but alive and well in Jamaica. She will stop at nothing to destroy her troublesome stepson.

Fletcher and the Great Raid. Endeavour Press, 2016. 333 pages

During a test to see if Fletcher is fit for promotion, a civilian named Rowland sits in. But the mysterious Rowland has more in store for Fletcher than a test. Fletcher is tasked to find and destroy anything he finds at sea regarding the steam engine, before the French can build one. A deal is struck, but when Rowland says he must also kill the McCloud brothers, the English-Scots who sold the steam engine to France, Fletcher is not sure how far he is willing to go.

Fletcher and the Samurai. Lume, 2019. 340 pages

Fletcher and the Blue Star. Lume, 2021. 304 pages

Fletcher and the Flying Machine. Lume, 2022. 226 pages

Fletcher and the Constitution. Lume, 2024. 280 pages

Treasure Island prequel Series

Flint and Silver. HarperCollins, 2008. 376 pages

John Silver had never killed a man. Until now, charisma, sheer size and, when all else failed, a powerful pair of fists, had been enough to see off his enemies. But on a smouldering deck off the coast of Madagascar, his shipmates dead or dying all around him, his cutlass has just claimed the lives of six pirates. With their comrades intent on revenge, Silver's promising career in the merchant navy looks set to come to an end until the pirate captain makes him an offer he can't refuse. On the other side of the world Joseph Flint, a naval officer wronged by his superiors, plots a bloody mutiny. Strikingly handsome, brilliant, but prey to sadistic tendencies, the path Flint has chosen will ultimately lead him to Silver.

Pieces of Eight. HarperCollins, 2009. 388 pages

Joseph Flint and Long John Silver have a score to settle. Marooned on a remote Caribbean island with his loyal crew and a fortune in buried treasure, Silver awaits the return of the man who left him there. In order to defeat Silver and claim the island back as his, Flint will need to raise an army -- no easy feat for the man most wanted by the Royal Navy.

Skull and Bones. HarperCollins, 2010. 392 pages

When infamous 'gentleman of fortune' Captain Flint is captured by the Royal Navy and condemned to hang for mutiny and piracy, it seems that the secret location of his buried treasure will die with him. But Flint has an audacious plan to gain command of ship and crew before they reach London and escape the hangman's noose. Meanwhile, aboard Flint's former vessel The Walrus, Long John Silver seeks one final prize before retiring from privateering. However his wife Selena has jumped ship to pursue a career on the London stage - only to fall into a trap - so Silver must give chase to save the woman he loves.

The Traitor of Treasure Island: the Truth at Last. Luma 2019. 343 pages

Draper, Alfred (1924-2007)

Grey Seal. Macdonald, 1981. 255 pages

GREY SEAL is a coal-burning 600 ton ex-trawler taken up by the Royal Navy as WW II gets under way. We follow the course of the war in those early days as the crew come to terms with the dramatic changes in their circumstances and slowly become welded into an efficient fighting unit bonded by something stronger but less tangible than naval discipline. E-boats, aircraft and U-boats take their toll on GREY SEAL and her crew during East coast convoy duties, the Northern Patrol and anti-submarine duties off Scapa Flow.

The Restless Waves. Macdonald, 1983. 284 pages

GREY SEAL, her main characters still on board, is rescuing the British Army from the debacle of Norway. Short of fuel she hides in the fjords and manages to return to England with glory after using everything that would burn to get there. While at Dunkirk, after an extensive refit, helping to save the British army again, a mysterious captain involves them in a secret mission to recover diamonds, gold and blueprints from a vessel sunk in the exodus from Holland in the face of the German advance.

Druett, Joan (1939- )

Abigail. Random House, 1988. 409 pages

Inspired by a true story. A young girl inherits her father's whaling ship when he is murdered in New Zealand in the 1850s, sets out from US to claim her inheritance, crosses paths with pirates, and seeks treasure.

A Promise of Gold. Macmillan, 1990. 416 pages

A young actress bluffs her way on board the brig HAKLUYT in the year 1848, to find that the captain and crew are professional treasure-hunters. She and her brother plan to make a fortune by stealing a flock of alpaca and selling them in New South Wales, but instead are carried off to the Californian gold-fields. Reprinted as three separate novels: Judas Island, Calafia's Kingdom, and Dearest Enemy.

Wiki Coffin Series

Historical crime series set during the United States Exploring Expedition through the Pacific Ocean by the United States Navy 1838-1842.

A Watery Grave. St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004. 292 pages

Exonerated for a murder hours after an exploration convoy sets sail for the Pacific islands, ship linguist Wiki Coffin is made a deputy by a Virginia sheriff and sets out to catch up with his crewmates, one of whom is the real killer.

Shark Island. St. Martin's Minotaur, 2005. 292 pages

Forsythe leads Wiki and George into dangerous waters where both sharks and men kill. Wiki knows that Forsythe is capable of such violence but he believes him innocent and is duty-bound to prove it for the sake of the expedition.

Run Afoul. St. Martin's Minotaur, 2006. 280 pages

US Exploring Expedition linguist Wiki Coffin sails with the famous convoy of ships toward Brazil. As the great flagship Vincennes leads the convoy under the dubious command of eccentric captain Charles Wilkes toward a dramatic entrance in the port of Rio, careless manoeuvring leads one of the vessels to run afoul of a Boston trading ship.

Deadly Shoals. St. Martin's Minotaur, 2007. 290 pages

Wiki Coffin plays many roles on the US Exploring Expedition linguist, navigator, and, as half-Maori, cultural liaison - but when a New England whaler shows up, frantically looking for his stolen schooner, Wiki must take on the role of unofficial sheriff.

The Beckoning Ice. Old Salt Press, 2012. 302 pages

The schooner Betsey is very nearly wrecked on a massive iceberg, which looms suddenly out of the fog. The terror of nearly hitting the ice island is only made worse by the corpse of a man, apparently bludgeoned to dead, frozen on a ledge on the face of the ice. When the sealers report the apparent murder, Wiki Coffin is called to investigate. While performing his other duties and coping with bigotry and misunderstanding in the small fleet, Wiki must untangle the skein of secrets and alliances that result in the death of the young officer while evading the determined killers that threaten his own survival.

The Money Ship. Old Salt Press, 2017. 322 pages

Oriental adventurer Captain Rochester spun an entrancing tale to Jerusha, seafaring daughter of Captain Michael Gardiner — a story of a money ship, hidden in the turquoise waters of the South China Sea, which was nothing less than the lost trove of the pirate Hochman. As Jerusha was to find, though, the clues that pointed the way to fabled riches were strange indeed — a haunted islet on an estuary in Borneo, an obelisk with a carving of a rampant dragon, a legend of kings and native priests at war, and of magically triggered tempests that swept warriors upriver. And even if the clues were solved, the route to riches was tortuous, involving treachery, adultery, murder, labyrinthine Malayan politics ... and, ultimately, Jerusha’s own arranged marriage..

Drury, William Price (1861-1949)