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Nautical Fiction Index

Authors Roc - Rut

Roche, James Jeffery (1847-1908)

The Story of the Filibusters. Macmillan, 1891. 373 pages

Reprinted as By-Ways of War

 

 

 

 

 

Rock, Philip (1927-2004)

The Extraordinary Seaman. Meredith, 1967. 250 pages

A US Navy officer and four sailors stranded in the Philippines in the aftermath of the Japanese invasion in 1941 find a potential escape in an old Royal Navy river patrol boat at one of the islands south of Luzon. With the boat's captain, a RN Lt. Commander who is always immaculately dressed, the widow of US businessman killed by the strafing Japanese, and some friendly Moros, they set out on a journey for Australia. But as the voyage progresses it becomes obvious to the American Lt. jg that there is something strange and unearthly about Commander Finchhaven.

 

 

Rockwood, Roy [pseud. for The Stratemeyer Syndicate]

Under the ocean to the South pole: or, The strange cruise of the submarine wonder. Cupples & Leon, 1907. 248 pages


 

 

 

 

The Speedwell boys in a submarine: or, the lost treasure of Rocky Cove. Cupples & Leon, 1913. 204 pages

 

 

 

 

 

Roddy, Lee (1921-2017)

Search for the Avenger. Accent, 1980. 160 pages

Twin brothers get separated in infancy. One is raised in a whaling ship, the other stands to inherit fortune. Set in Hawaii.


 

 

 

Secret of the Sunken Sub. Focus on the Family, 1990. 148 pages

When twelve-year-old Josh witnesses the sinking of a Soviet robot submarine off the coast of a Hawaiian island, he becomes the quarry of Russian spies racing to beat the United States Navy to the sub and its secrets.

 

 

 

 

Rogers, Cameron (1900-1971)

Drake's Quest. Doubleday, Page, 1927. 284 pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rogers, Robert Cameron (1862-1912)

Will o' the Wasp, a Sea Yarn of the War of '12. Edited by Henry Lawrence, U.S.N., and Now Brought Before the Public. G.P. Putnam, 1896. 269 pages

 

 

 

 

 

Rohan, Michael Scott (1951-2018)

Chase the Morning. W. Morrow, 1990. 334 pages

In this science fiction novel our hero gets into a street fight, is saved by aliens from another world, and boards a sailing ship from 1700s for piracy, swordplay and sea battles. Wild stuff!

 

 

 

 

Rohmer, Richard (1924- )

Periscope Red. Beaufort Books, 1980. 282 pages

The Soviets have a new sonar-jamming device: without US knowledge, the USSR is stationing its submarines near the West's 300 largest supertankers, in an attempt to goad the US into nuclear war.

 

 

 

 

Rolt, L.T.C. (1910-1974)

Sleep No More. Constable, 1948. 162 pages

Twelve stories of the supernatural, with a few taking place on U.K. canals.

 

 

 

 

 

Rooney, Philip (1907-1962)

The Golden Coast. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949. 269 pages

Irish lad helps build pirate ship and then is one of its crew off the Barbary Coast

 

 

 

 

 

Root, Corwin

An American, Sir. Dutton, 1940. 383 pages

Set during the War of 1812. Jeremy Peabody, son of a wealthy Boston family, having made a fiasco of his life at home, runs away to New York, boards a privateer, and lands in the thick of the war and a succession of hot-water episodes. Taken prisoner by the British he escapes, only to be captured by Americans who doubt his nationality until he finally gets a chance to fight with his own countrymen and is reprieved by General Jackson.

 

Roosa, Valerie

Henry Stapleton series:

  1. True Colors. Xlibris, 2006. 197 pages

    The main character Henry Stapleton has been press-ganged into the British Navy at the onset of the war of 1812. He is torn away from his wife and family in opposition to British law. As a Methodist minister he is supposed to be exempt from such outrageous practice. But it is too late! Being in the wrong place at the wrong time Henry finds himself on board a British frigate, and forced to serve his country by participating in war at sea, along with twelve other men who have also been captured.

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  3. Shadow on the Water. Xlibris, 2008. 286 pages

    A mysterious turn of events during the war of 1812 sends Henry Stapleton, a victim of the British press gangs at the beginning of the war, into dangerous circumstances in Boston. His loyalties are pushed to the limits as he risks a daring escape on a privateering schooner, and ends up dueling with her captain. Who are his friends, and who are his enemies within the political and naval maelstrom of war?

 

 

 

Roscoe, W. F. (1885-1959)

Icebound. Vantage, 1954. 132 pages

Autobiographical novel about a salmon fishing voyage in Alaska during World War I.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosenthal, Eric (1905-1983)

Cutlass and Yardarm. Howard B. Timmins, 1954. 184 pages

Twenty-eight stories about pirate activities near South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

Ross, Sutherland (1912- )

Freedom Is the Prize. Walker, 1964. 192 pages

War of 1812 from the perspective of a young American boy pressed into the Royal Navy. Issued by the publisher as a companion to Wooden Ships and Iron Men by Clifford Lindsey Alderman.

 

 

 

 

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, (1828-1882)

"The White Ship" in "Ballads and Sonnets". Ellis and White, 1881.

Long poem about the loss of King Henry's son and heir.

 

 

 

 

 

Rossi, Mitchell Sam

Truk Lagoon. Pinnacle, 1988. 384 pages

An American submarine laden with a fortune in gems heads for a rendezvous with the enemy in the war-ravaged Pacific, a mission that will brand the brave crew as traitors for generations to come. Fourty years later a young ex-naval officer driven by the dictates of honor is targeted for death in a frantic sea hunt to recover the lost secrets of civilization. The two stories link together to unleash a savage storm of violence, treachery, and greed on a tropic island paradise.

 

 

 

Rossman, Parker

Pirate Slave. T. Nelson, 1977. 148 pages

A twelve-year-old boy captured by Muslim pirates is forced into a life of piracy and slave trading.

 

 

 

 

 

Rostand, Robert [pseud. Robert S Hopkins]

Cross Currents. Pinnacle, 1985. 307 pages

White slaving and drugs in the Med, stir in a few ex-Nazis and season with a sprinkle of Mossad.

 

 

 

 

 

Rowe, John G. [Gabriel] (1873-1956)

The Middies of the Gadfly : a story of adventure in the China Seas. James Henderson, 1900. 95 pages

 

In Nelson's Day. Walter Scott, 1905. 344 pages

 

 

 

 

 

The Yachting Schoolboys. Epworth, 1927. 128 pages

 

The Mystery of the Derelict. Cupples & Leon, 1927. 300 pages

 

 

 

 

 

The Lightship Pirates : a thrilling tale of peril and adventure on the Texas coast. Cupples & Leon, 1928. 300 pages

An earlier version was published in the The Nugget Library, no. 156 (1910)

 

 

 

 

 

Rowland, Henry C. (1874-1933)

Hirondelle. Harper & Row, 1922. 321 pages

"A picaresque tale of picturesque America in the 1800's." -- spine.

 

 

 

 

 

Russell, S. Thomas (Sean) (1952- )

Charles Hayden series:

  1. Under Enemy Colours. G.P. Putnam's, 2007. 486 pages

    His career challenged by a mixed heritage in spite of his loyalty to the king of England, French Revolution-era naval officer Charles Saunders Hayden finds himself aboard an aging frigate that becomes subject to violent crew outbursts and mutiny.

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  3. A Battle Won. G.P. Putnam's, 2010. 457 pages

    After being tasked with taking HMS Themis into battle against the French for the strategically located island of Corsica, Master and Commander Charles Hayden soon must land his ship on Corsica, where his men join forces with native insurgents.

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  5. A Ship of War. Michael Joseph, 2012. 512 pages

    Charles Hayden sets off aboard the ill-fated HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate sailing from Le Havre and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. On discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to give warning before it's too late. U.S. title: Take, Burn and Destroy.

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  7. Until the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead. Putnam, 2014. 448 pages

    Under the command of the steadfast Captain Charles Hayden, Royal Navy frigate HMS Themis is sent across the Atlantic to counter the threat of the French forces in the West Indies. But before she strikes port in Barbados, the Themis intercepts a single boat adrift in the middle of the ocean - its sole occupants, two young Spanish noblemen. But not is all as it seems with Hayden's unexpected guests.

 

 

 

Russell, William ("Waters") (1806-1876)

Captain Kirke Webbe : edited (and brought to a conclusion) by Frederick W. Hayes. Hutchinson, 1907. 352 pages

During the Napoleonic wars, a privateer holds letters of marque from both the British and the French. He sees no problem in preying on the commerce of both sides. Expansion of Kirke Webbe, the privateer captain: Knight, 1856. Frederick W. Hayes (1848-1918) was a landscape painter

 

 

 

Russell, W. (William) Clark (1844-1911)

John Holdsworth, Chief Mate. Sampson Low, 1875. 3 volumes

The newly married eponymous character suffers total amnesia after ten days in an open boat. After five years, his memory begins to return

 

 

 

 

The Wreck of the Grosvenor: an account of the mutiny of the crew and the loss of the ship when trying to make the Bermudas. Sampson Low, 1877. 3 volumes

This gripping tale of the sea follows the disastrous of the Grosvenor of the British voyage Mercantile Marine, bound for Valparaiso. Aboard are a brutal and inhuman captain and chief mate. Mr. Royle, the ship's second mate, is our hero. Buffetted by the crew's mutiny and the captain's murder, and initiated into seamanship via brutal storms and a shipwreck, Mr. Royle rises to the rank of captain and gallantly proceeds to rescue a beautiful, wealthy young lady and her ailing father.

 

Auld Lang Syne. Sampson Low, 1878. 2 volumes

A young man is pressed to serve aboard the Cleopatra

 

A Sailor's Sweetheart: An account of the wreck of the sailing ship 'Waldershare', from the narrative of Mr. William Lee, second mate. Sampson Low, 1880. 3 volumes

A tale of a captain's madness, a woman's devotion, a shipwreck, and a dangerous escape from an island

 

 

 

 

An Ocean Free-Lance : from a Privateersman's log, 1812. R. Bentley, 1881. 3 volumes

My Watch Below; or, Yarns Spun When Off Duty. Sampson Low, 1882. 248 pages

By 'A Seafarer'

The Lady Maud: a Narrative and Her Loss on One of the Bahama Cays, from an Account of a Guest on Board. Sampson Low, 1882. 3 volumes

 

Round the Galley Fire [Stories and Sketches, originally published in the Daily Telegraph]. Chatto & Windus, 1883. 308 pages

 

 

 

 

 

A Sea Queen. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1883. 3 volumes

Young lady finally gets to sea with her captain husband for a mutiny, hurricane, fire at sea, fever, and other adventures.

Jack's Courtship : a Sailor's yarn of love and Shipwreck. S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1884. 3 volumes

On the Fo'k'sle Head [Stories and Sketches]. Chatto & Windus, 1884. 308 pages

A Strange Voyage. S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1885. 3 volumes

In the Middle Watch [Stories and Sketches]. Chatto & Windus, 1885. 291 pages

A Voyage to the Cape [Sketches]. Chatto & Windus, 1886. 360 pages

 

The Frozen Pirate. Sampson Low, 1887. 3 volumes

Paul Rodney survives shipwreck in the Straits of Magellan, but then faces a greater danger. He finds an older ship, frozen in the ice, filled with frozen corpses. But the corpses are not dead; they're merely frozen in a suspension of life. One of them revives and Rodney must determine how to work with these ancient, blood-thirsty pirates if he, and they, are to survive

 

 

 

The Golden Hope: a Romance of the Deep. Sampson Low, 1887. 2 volumes

A Book for the Hammock [Sketches]. Chatto & Windus, 1887. 302 pages

The Death Ship, a Strange Story: an account of a cruise in "The Flying Dutchman", collected from the papers of the late Mr. Geoffrey Fenton, of Poplar, Master Mariner. Hurst and Blackett, 1888. 3 volumes

 

The Mystery of the Ocean Star : a collection of maritime sketches. Chatto & Windus, 1888. 311 pages

 

 

 

 

 

Marooned: a Sea Tale. Macmillan, 1889. 3 volumes

The Romance of Jenny Harlowe, and sketches of Maritime Life. Chatto & Windus, 1889. 396 pages

My Shipmate Louise : the romance of a wreck. Chatto & Windus, 1890. 3 volumes

An Ocean Tragedy. Chatto & Windus, 1890. 3 volumes

Mad Sir Wilfred's wife has run off with the dashing Colonel Hope-Kennedy in the schooner yacht SHARK, and Sir Wilfred means to get her back. Sir Wilfred has armed his yacht, the BRIDE, with a long, brass 18-pounder and gone after the fleeing couple. The events are many, including the unfortunate death of a Portuguese seaman at the hands of the 18-pounder, the haunting of the BRIDE, the fortuitous capture of the two "lovers" in mid-ocean, the duel on the quarterdeck, the wreck of the BRIDE on the volcanic island that wasn't supposed to be there, and, best of all, the fossilized galleon on the crest of the island that can only be inhabited by the castaways after the water is drained out of her.

 

Master Rockafellar's Voyage. Methuen, 1890. 272 pages

 

 

 

 

 

My Danish Sweetheart : the romance of a month. Methuen, 1891. 3 volumes

A Marriage at Sea. Methuen, 1891. 2 volumes

Alone on a Wide Wide Sea. Chatto & Windus, 1892. 3 volumes

Mrs. Dines' Jewels. A mid-Atlantic romance. Sampson Low, 1892. 258 pages

 

The Emigrant Ship. Sampson Low, 1893. 3 volumes

 

 

 

 

 

List, Ye Landsmen! A romance of incident. Cassell, 1893. 500 pages

The Tragedy of Ida Noble. Hutchinson, 1893. 315 pages

 

The Good Ship "Mohock". Chatto & Windus, 1894. 280 pages

A captain conspires (with pirates) against his own crew and passengers

 

 

 

 

The Convict Ship. Chatto & Windus, 1895. 3 volumes

 

Heart of Oak: A Three-Stranded Yarn. Chatto & Windus, 1895. 3 volumes

U.S. edition: A Three-Stranded Yarn: The Wreck of Lady Emma

 

 

 

 

The Phantom Death and Other Stories. Chatto & Windus, 1895. 275 pages

The Honour of the Flag and Other Stories. G. Putnam's Sons, 1895. 196 pages

The Tale of the Ten : a salt-water romance. Chatto & Windus, 1896. 3 volumes

 

What Cheer!: the sad story of a wicked sailor. Cassell, 1896. 464 pages

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Entry. Chatto & Windus, 1897. 262 pages

 

A Noble Haul. T. Fisher Unwin, 1897. 96 pages

 

 

 

 

 

A Tale of Two Tunnels: A Romance of the Western Waters. Chapman & Hall, 1897. 246 pages

U.S. title Captain Jackman : or, A tale of two tunnels

 

The Two Captains. Sampson Low, 1897. 372 pages

Serialized as The Rival Pirates

 

 

 

 

The Romance of a Midshipman. T. Fisher Unwin, 1898. 376 pages

 

 

 

 

 

An Atlantic Tragedy [and other stories]. Drexel Biddle, 1899. 165 pages

 

A Voyage at Anchor. D. Appleton, 1899. 344 pages

 

 

 

 

 

Rose Island : the strange story of a love adventure at sea. E. Arnold, 1900. 353 pages

The Pretty Polly. A voyage of incident. Chatto & Windus, 1900. 324 pages

Alternate title The Cruise of the Pretty Polly

The Ship's Adventure. Archibald Constable, 1901. 352 pages

Serialized as A Heroine of the Sea. U.S. edition titled The Mate of the Good Ship York

Overdue. Chatto & Windus, 1903. 480 pages

Wrong Side Out. Chatto & Windus, 1904. 460 pages

Abandoned. Methuen, 1904. 309 pages

His Island Princess. Methuen, 1905. 312 pages

The Yarn of Old Harbour Town. T. Fisher Unwin, 1905. 454 pages

The tale of the kidnapping of a sea captain's daughter, his frantic pursuit of her, and a fight in the English Channel. Enlivening the novel is an unforgettable cameo appearance by Admiral Lord Nelson.

 

 

 

 

Rutherford, Gay [pseud. James Nobel Gifford] (1897?-1959)

Hearts at Sea. Gramercy, 1938. 255 pages

Jilted New York career girl books passage aboard poky freighter North Wind on a three week voyage to California. The passengers, crew and vessel are sympathetically portrayed.

 

 

 


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