Well, the special issue has come and gone and it's back to normal around here again. I was quite taken with a letter in MWAN by Tony Guido dealing with novels of the Napoleonic era. If you missed it (Vol. VI 4) Tony wrote a very nice letter (should have been an article, Tony!) informing us all about the series' by Forester (Hornblower), Kent (Bolitho) and Cornwell (Sharpe). This article helps answer a few of Tony's questions and brings to light other authors, heroes and series. While, this article was planned after my victorian novel, I owe Tony thanks for spurring me on in order to get it in one issue later (well, kinda...the issue on broccoli trees and parsley shrubs came first). And Tony, if you are reading this and can spare the time from medical practitioning, please write me back!  C.S.Forester - HORATIO HORNBLOWER: Yes, there is one more novel. It is called "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HORATIO HORNBLOWER" by C. Northcote Parkinson. Long a lover of Forester, Parkinson (and Meacham) tried desperately to continue Forester's adventures, but were not allowed to for legal reasons. A docu-novel, The Life and Times... presents Hornblower as a true historical figure. It is a fascinating book and comes to the conclusion that "Lt. Hornblower" murdered his Captain, for the greater good during the Mutiny/Revolt. And yes, there is a Hornblower Companion! Alexander Kent - RICHARD BOLITHO: In my opinion, the best of the bunch. Nothing new to report here except that Kent is (was?) Douglas Reeman. Reeman is supposedly dead, and if so ...Bolitho is too! However, there are rumors that Kent/Reeman left a clause that Bolitho could be continued via a writers contest! Well, that's it for Tony's letter, let's continue with the other authors. Dudley Pope - RAMAGE: "RAMAGE", "DRUMBEAT", "THE TRITON BRIG", "GOVERNOR RAMAGE, RN", "RAMAGE AND THE GUILLOTINE", "RAMAGE'S DIAMOND", "RAMAGE AND THE RENEGADES", "RAMAGE AND THE FREEBOOTERS", "RAMAGE AND THE REBELS", "THE RAMAGE TOUCH". Ramage is a fine character, hounded by a past that dirties the family (his father's) name. Ramage must prove himself better than the rest. The novels generally deal with one incident and in a short timespan. Mr. Pope is the master of explaining naval terminology and technology without boring the reader. In general the later books are the best, but they are only available in the Commonwealth. Patrick O'Brian - JACK AUBREY: 'TASTER AND COMMANDER", "POST CAPTAIN", "HMS SURPRISE", "THE MAURITIUS COMMAND", "DESOLATION ISLAND", "FORTUNE OF WAR", "SURGEON'S ATE", "IONIAN MISSION", "TREASON'S HARBOR", "THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD", "THE REVERSE OF THE MEDAL". Jack Aubrey follows very closely the footsteps of Admiral Lord Cochrane, with Commodores Hoste, Moore and Pellew tossed in. His best friend is a surgeon/spy who can outclass 007 anytime. The naval actions are superb, but some books drag, (DESOLATION ISLAND for one). The historicity and dialect are so good that they sometimes get in the way. Nonetheless, the actions (and therefore scenarios) are great! C. Northcote Parkinson - RICHARD DELANCEY: "DEVIL TO PAY", "THE FIRESHIP", "TOUCH AND GO", "DEAD RECKONING" While the writing style is just off Pope/Forester, this is an excellent series. The character has a twist us he is an older lieutenant whose career paths have been blocked. Stints on a revenue cutter, carronade frigate and fireship finally get him the promotion he deserves (and admittedly, he didn't deserve it earlier). Delancey goes off for years to the East Indies and gains fame under Pellew. The battles are excellent and there are plenty of scenarios for naval miniaturists. Like the character, the books improve with age. Ellis K. Meacham - PERCIVAL MEREWETHER: "THE EAST INDIAMAN", "ON THE COMPANY'S SERVICE", "FOR KING AND COMPANY" By far, this is the best naval trilogy I've read. Our hero serves the Honorable East India Company's service - The Bombay Marine - and his adventures take him from China to Persia. His writing rivals Forester (he too fought to continue Forester's works), and the naval actions are superb. The character has depth and is even convinced he is a coward in the final novel, before the climactic end. *NOTE: The above three series have extensive material on the Bombay Marine/Indian Ocean/Far East actions fought during the Napoleonic Wars. They are the next best thing to hard to get histories on the subject. Jon Williams - PRIVATEERS AND GENTLEMEN/THE MARKHAMS: "THE PRIVATEER", "THE YANKEE", "THE RAIDER", "THE MACEDONIAN", "CAT ISLAND", more? PRIVATEERS AND GENTLEMEN RPG/MINIATURES Admittedly the first two books, while good, are not that hot, but the remainder reach their stride. Very good work on the War of 1812, and the battles and ship handling are first rate. Such a success that Mr. Williams made a game out of it. Others: Showell Styles: Several docu-novels, good but not really hot. "THE SEA LORD", and "SEA ROAD TO CAMPERDOWN" are the best of the bunch. Anthony Forrest: "CAPTAIN JUSTICE", another naval spy whose actions take place on land. Good, but lacks naval battles. These are others, but they are mostly junque, they range from more naval spying to cheap Conan type trash novels. Well, that's it for now. The above novels are crammed with numerous fictional and non-fictional battles ranging from cutting out operations to full fleet battles. The Pope/O'Brian/Meacham books are hard to get new in U.S. bookstores, but you can run across them in used bookstores. These books are a delight to read and will provide naval miniaturists with hundreds of games. Next article is Part 2: The Military Novels. Back to MWAN # 38 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1989 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com