Skip to Main Content

Nautical Fiction Index

Authors Tho - Tom

Thomas, Craig [pseud. David Craig Owen Thomas] (1942-2011)

Emerald Decision. Michael Joseph, 1980. 393 pages

A 40-year-old covert mine field in the Irish Sea contains a shattering secret that investigators must dig out of old WW II records and witnesses. First published under the pseudonym David Grant.


 

 

 

Sea Leopard. Viking, 1981. 316 pages

British nuclear sub with sonar "cloaking device."

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas, David (editor)

Teen-age Sea Stories. Lantern, 1948. 252 pages

The shores of Tripoli / Daniel Hawthorne -- Galley slave / Charles Gilson -- Mutineers be hanged / John F. Hinternhoff -- Two chests of treasure / Merritt P. Allen -- Sailor's pay / Robert Carse -- Salvage / Paschal N. Strong -- An eye for an eye / Robb White -- Ensign Carson, USCGR / George C. Lane -- Submarine jitters / Arnold Bateman -- Tanker man / Millard Ward -- Running dark / Paschal N. Strong -- Rig ship for diving / Arnold Bateman -- Shantyboat pirate / Paschal N. Strong.

 

 

 

Thomas, Edwin (1977- )

Martin Jerrold series:

  1. The Blighted Cliffs. Bantam, 2003. 289 pages

    Lieutenant Martin Jerrold emerged from Trafalgar with not an ounce of credit. In February 1806, he comes to Dover with one final chance to redeem his reputation. Before he has been there a day, however, he finds himself standing over a body that is too far from the cliffs to have fallen accidentally. Jerrold is suspected of murder. Only the fact that no one can identify the corpse prolongs his freedom. When word reaches Jerrold's uncle at the Admiralty, the choice is he must clear his name or be cut off without a guinea.

  2.  

  3. The Chains of Albion. Bantam, 2004. 330 pages

    It was July, 1806. Commanding a prison- hulk in the Medway guarding French captives, Martin Jerrold thinks his war can't get much better. He's far away from storm, battle and the other disagreeable elements of naval life, and he can keep his mistress, Isobel, close at hand. Then he loses a prisoner and all Hell breaks loose.

  4.  

     

     

  5. Treason's River. Bantam, 2006. 339 pages

    There are rumours of a conspiracy in America and Jerrold's mission is to infiltrate the conspirators and stop them. His journey takes him across the seas, the wilderness and down the Mississippi river. Enemies are ranged against him, agents of Spain and America are trying to kill him, and the plotters are growing suspicious of his intentions.

 

 

 

Thomes, William Henry (1824-1895)

Running the Blockade, or, U.S. Secret Service adventures. Lee and Shepard, 1875. 474 pages

The Civil War on the Atlantic Seaboard

 

Thompson, Earl (1931-1978)

Caldo Largo. Putnam, 1976. 285 pages

Mystery novel set in Brownsville, Texas, upper Mexican coast aboard a shrimper. Tough, rough, a little raw sex.

 

 

 

 

 

Thompson, Edward (1738?-1786)

Sailor's letters, written to his select friends in England during his voyages and travels in Europe, Asia, Africa and America from the year 1754 to 1759. T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, W. Flexney and C. Moran, 1767. 2 volumes

Serialised anonymously in The London Magazine it followes the pattern set by Smollett's The Adventures of Roderick Random in realistically illustrating naval life.

 

 

Thompson, E. V. (Ernest Victor) (1931-2012)

The Restless Sea. Macmillan, 1983. 399 pages

Fishing and smuggling off the Cornish coast occupy prizefighter Nathan Jugo. Set about 1810.

 

 

 

 

 

Thompson, Ray (1926- )

The Watery Hell. Creative Books, 1993. 334 pages

A Novel about the unsung heroes of World War II: The Merchant Marine.

 

 

 

 

 

Thompson, Richard

The Tiger Cruise. Knox Jones Enterprizes, 1999. 280 pages

The USS Woodbridge, a Los Angeles-class nuclear-attack submarine, leaves Norfolk on a routine two-day tiger cruise, with fourteen civilians aboard. There is a massive earthquake in the mid-Atlantic, and large tsunamis strike the East Coast of the United States. Iraq immediately deploys a submarine loaded with lethal anthrax toward the shores of America. The U.S. Navy, completely crippled by the large tidal waves, calls on the USS Woodbridge for help. The damanged submarine, manned by a reduced crew and the fourteen family members, is America's only hope.

 

 

 

Thompson, Ron

The Wind from All Directions. Double Dagger, 2024. 341 pages

In 1792, British naval lieutenant George Vancouver has orders to take possession of Nootka Sound, but finds the Spanish, led by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, already there and unwilling to leave. Quadra and Vancouver negotiate their countries' claims, manoeuvring for advantage and seeking the support of Maquinna, chief of the Mowachaht, who recognizes the threat posed by all the newcomers to his territory.

 

 

 

 

Thompson, T. [Thomas Alfred Owen Thompson]

The Flying Spray: a Tale for Boys. Frederick Warne, 1942. 256 pages

 

 

 

 

 

Square-Rigger. Frederick Warne, 1955. 255 pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomson, Basil (1861-1939)

South Sea Yarns. W. Blackwood and Sons, 1894. 326 pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thorndike, Arthur Russell (1885-1972)

Doctor Syn series:

After his wife is kidnapped by pirates, an English cleric takes to the high seas in pursuit of them. In the process, he assumes the persona of a pirate, Captain Clegg. He eventually hunts the pirates down only to learn that his wife is dead and that a price has been placed on his head by King George. After some years, and two books, of high seas adventures, he returns to rural England to shed his past and assume a posting as vicar of Dymchurch. He is accompanied, however, by his former ship's carpenter, Mr. Mipps, who quickly becomes involved in the local smuggling ring. Dr. Syn, fearing for the life of his friend and others, decides to bring the ragtag group of smugglers together by becoming their masked leader, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. The remaining books in the series address his adventures as leader of this group, and the Crown's efforts to capture and kill him.


  1. Doctor Syn : A Tale of the Rommey Marsh. Doubleday, Page, 1915. 301 pages

  2.  

     

     

     

     

  3. Dr. Syn on the High Seas. Rich & Cowan, 1935. 279 pages

  4.  

     

     

     

     

  5. Dr. Syn Returns. Rich & Cowan, 1935. 248 pages

    Expanded edition: The Scarecrow Rides. Dial, 1935. 344 pages. Incorporates material from Dr. Syn on the High Seas

  6.  

     

     

     

  7. Further Adventures of Dr. Syn. Rich & Cowan, 1936. 275 pages

    Heavily revised and rewritten American edition: Christopher Syn (1960) by William Buchanan (q.v.)

  8.  

     

     

     

     

  9. Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn. Rich & Cowan, 1938. 288 pages

  10.  

     

     

     

     

  11. Courageous Exploits of Dr. Syn. Rich & Cowan, 1939. 282 pages

  12.  

     

     

     

     

  13. Shadow of Doctor Syn. Rich & Cowan, 1944. 168 pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thorne, Anthony

I'm a Stranger Here Myself. William Heinemann, 1943. 188 pages

Fictionalised but obviously autobiographical account of service on the lower deck of the Royal Navy as a "Y" Scheme entrant in the early days of WW II. His messmates are vividly brought to life in this enjoyable tale of the hardships and boredom of war in an armed merchant cruiser. Service on the lower deck was the norm for "Y" Scheme entrants prior to being selected for officer training. It is interesting to see that the book is bound in light navy blue cloth and along the edges of the top board are three white stripes making it look like a matelot's collar. All this under the Book Production War Economy Standard!

 

 

 

Thorne, Guy [pseud. Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull] (1876-1923)

The Secret Service Submarine: A story of the present war. Sully & Kleinteich, 1915. 190 pages

The story involves a teacher, unable to join the services because of a leg damaged playing rugby at university, who reluctantly settles down to seeing the war out at a boys school on England’s east coast. Things are not as quiet as they seem - he suspects his headmaster is a spy - his brother commands a submarine - all a good Boy’s Own adventure complete with maps, secret codes etc.!

 

 

 

Thurston, Harold

Ocean Avenger: Voyage into the Millenium. Morris, 1999. 360 pages

The author's fictionalized memoirs in the manner of Taffrail.

 

 

 

 

 

Thurston, Lucy M. [Meacham] (1862-1938)

Jack and His Island: A Boy’s Adventures along the Chesapeake in the War of 1812. Little, Brown, 1902. 304 pages

 

Tickell, Jerrard [Edward Jerrard] (1905-1966)

High Water at Four. Hodder And Stoughton, 1965. 220 pages

Court-martialed and cashiered, Commader Millerton is given a second chance aboard the yacht of a Greek millionaire. Soon he is fighting for his life

 

 

 

 

 

Tier, Alexander

Britannia Rules the Waves. Westminster Press, 1944. 86 pages

The author and another Lieutenant, RNVR, Charles Page, who was responsible for the delightful illustrations, had their work serialised in THE FLEET, the journal of the British Navy, prior to its publication in book form. In this story of an alternative war-time Royal Navy, The WRENS make up the crew of HMS ARDENT, a battleship, much to the disgust of the squadron's other battleship's Captain the Hon. Aloysius Waldemar Fitz-Urse who is the bete noire of ARDENT's Commandant Sneeryng-Robarts. The Marines are also women, Marinettes in fact.... They do meet the enemy and amazingly, the Germans are written up, particularly bearing in mind the time, as only human... A lighthearted and affectionate send-up.

 

 

Tillman, Barrett

The Sixth Battle. Bantam, 1991. 562 pages

Rear Admiral Chuck Gideon served his country in Vietnam and in the Gulf-- but he faces his greatest challenge as the commander of a task force in the Indian Ocean, off the South African coast, where a geopolitical time bomb is primed and ready to explode. In a new era of instability the Soviet Union has become the Union of Eurasian Republics, South Africa is prey to UER-sponsored invaders, and the former policeman to the world, Uncle Sam,is called out of "retirement" to bring his most potent air, sea, and land power to bear on a crisis in the making. At the point of the spear thrust for freedom is Admiral Gideon, who orders his flyers into action off an aging aircraft carrier and into the annals of military heroism.


 

Dauntless : A Novel of Midway and Guadacanal. Bantam, 1992. 412 pages

Marine and naval aviators -- both USN and IJN -- at war during the battle of Midway and the battles for Guadacanal. Emphasis on sea warfare and the customs of the sea.

 

 

 

 

Tilsley, Frank (1904-1957)

Mutiny. Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1958. 264 pages

Story of a mutiny on British frigate in 1796. Filmed as DAMN THE DEFIANT! ("H.M.S. Defiant" in the UK) in 1962 starring Alec Guiness.

 

 

 

 

 

Titcomb, Margaret (1891-1982)

The Voyage of the Flying Bird. Dodd, Mead, 1963. 236 pages

Kana, son of a chief on Tahiti, joins the stalwart group of explorers who set sail in a double canoe, follwing the yearly bird flight, through storms and privation, until they finally reach the wonderful land of Hawaii

 

 

 

 

Todd, Barbara Euphan (1890-1976)

Miss Ranskill Comes Home. Chapman & Hall, 1946. 244 pages

On a cruise in 1938, a woman is swept overboard and lives for three years on a desert island before being rescued in 1943. When she returns to England it seems to her to have gone mad: she cannot buy clothes without 'coupons', her friends are only interested in 'war work', and yet she is considered uncivilised if she walks barefoot or is late for meals. First published under her married name Barbara Bower


 

 

 

Toksvig, Signe (1891-1983)

Life Boat. Faber & Faber, 1941. 293 pages

Grand Hotel set on neutral vessel. Features a rescue of the crew of a Norwegian trawler during a North Atlantic storm

 

 

 

 

 

Tomlinson, H. M. (Henry Major) (1873-1958)

Gallions Reach : a Romance. Harper, 1927. 283 pages

A Joseph Conrad pastiche. Jimmy Colet commits a serious crime and, despite originally intending to give himself up, leaves London by ship bound for the Indian Ocean.

 

 

 

 

Pipe All Hands. Harper, 1937. 326 pages

U.K. title All Hands! The small, shabby-British freighter Hestia was unlucky because she was named after a goddess (of the hearth). She had run aground, collided with a Russian ship, caught fire. Now they were waiting off Celebes to replace a captain who had just died full of ominous mutterings. Into this setting enters the lean, elderly, Thoreau-like Captain Doughty.

 

 

 


If you experience accessibility barriers using this website, please contact 707-654-1090 or library@csum.edu . You will receive a reply within two business days. The library is committed to remediate accessibility barriers within this website and will provide accommodations until the barriers are remediated.