''Kydd'', first published in 2001, is a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

Julian Stockwin Julian Stockwin MBE (born 1944 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) is an author of historical action-adventure fiction. As well as the Kydd Series he has written two standalone novels ''The Silk Tree'' and ''The Powder of Death''. Biography B ...

. This first instalment in Julian Stockwin's series of novels set during the Age of Fighting Sail tells the story of young Kydd, who is pressed into service on a British ship in 1793. The book is unusual in that the hero is an ordinary pressed man, not an officer as is most common in

nautical fiction Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...

Plot introduction

The story: The year is 1793. Europe is ablaze with war. The Prime Minister,

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

, is under pressure to make an active move at sea from the highest authority in the realm; George III had appointed Pitt as

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cin ...

, a position whose incumbent was responsible for the coastal defences of the nation. In response to the pressure, despatches a squadron to appear off the French coast. To man the ships, ordinary people must be press-ganged. Thomas Paine Kydd, a young wig-maker from

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, is seized, taken across the country to Sheerness and the great fleet anchorage of the Nore to be part of the crew of the fictional 98-gun line-of-battle ship ''Duke William''. The ship sails immediately and Kydd quickly has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast; but despite all that he goes through in danger of tempest and battle he comes to admire the skills and courage of the seamen — taking up the challenge himself to become a true sailor.

Publication details

*2001, UK, Hodder & Stoughton , Publication Date 5 April 2001, HB *2001, USA, Simon & Schuster , Publication Date 25 June 2001, HB *2001, UK, Hodder & Stoughton , Publication Date 5 April 2001, Audio Cassette (reading) *2002, UK, Hodder & Stoughton , Publication Date 11 October 2004, PB *2002, USA, Simon & Schuster , Publication Date 1 August 2002, PB

Footnotes

References

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External links

The Kydd Community
a discussion forum for all things Kydd. 2001 British novels Historical novels Novels set during the French Revolutionary War Novels set on ships Novels set during the Napoleonic Wars Fiction set in 1793 Hodder & Stoughton books Novels set in the 1790s Cultural depictions of William Pitt the Younger {{2000s-war-novel-stub