Julian Stockwinová

April 1814. Napoleon is deposed and exiled after defeat by a resurgent allied collation. Saddled with huge war debts, the British government has no choice but to place many of its naval ships in reserve. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is one of the lucky officers not to be put on half pay. Instead, in the realisation of his life''s ambition, he is offered an admiral''s flag, but the station is West Africa and with it comes anti-slavery operations set in fever-ridden swamps. Despite the obvious dangers and hardships, Kydd readies for sea with his beloved Thunderer as his flagship. But before he can set sail comes the electrifying news - the tyrant has escaped from Elba and is marching on Paris, the citizens flocking to join him. Napoleon''s invasion fleet is still in being and if the French navy declares for him they can sail from the ports now free of blockade and make the invasion of England a reality. What''s more, the entire Channel Fleet has been stood down, its ships in various stages of repair. There''s one man in active service who happens to be on the spot - Admiral Sir Thomas Kydd. With frantic haste he''s appointed temporary commander-in-chief to sail with all the men-o''-war that can be scraped together to stand athwart the French. Waterloo is coming but before then Kydd must use all his legendary subterfuge and daring to save England from her peril. Admiral is the twenty seventh and last of the adventures of Captain Sir Thomas Kydd whose story began in the year 1793 and tells for the first time in fiction how a pressed man through his bravery and ingenuity progresses to the quarterdeck of his own ship, and here, in the final book of the series, the command of a fleet with an admiral''s pennant.

'Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line' - Daily Express 1811. The Adriatic, the 'French Lake', is now the most valuable territory Napoleon Bonaparte possesses. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds his glorious return to England cut short when the Admiralty summons him to lead a squadron of frigates into these waters to cause havoc and distress to the enemy. Kydd is dubbed 'The Sea Devil' by Bonaparte who personally appoints one of his favourites, Dubourdieu, along with a fleet that greatly outweighs the British, to rid him of this menace. At the same time, Nicholas Renzi is sent to Austria on a secret mission to sound out the devious arch-statesman, Count Metternich. His meeting reveals a deadly plan by Bonaparte that threatens the whole balance of power in Europe. The only thing that can stop it is a decisive move at sea and for this he must somehow cross the Alps to the Adriatic to contact Kydd directly. A climactic sea battle where the stakes could not be higher is inevitable. Kydd faces Dubourdieu with impossible odds stacked against him. Can he shatter Bonaparte's dreams of breaking out of Europe and marching to the gates of India and Asia?

Řím L. P. 549. Obchodník Nicander a legionář Marius prchají z města před vpádem Ostrogótů, aby si zachránili holý život a začali nový za mořem v Konstantinopoli. Plni odhodlání zbohatnout podniknou několik divokých pokusů, jak přijít k velkým penězům, až jednoho dne dostanou velkolepý nápad. Vyzbrojeni smělým plánem ukrást vzácná a bedlivě střežená semena bájného hedvábného stromu v daleké zemi lidu Seres, pouštějí se Nicander a Marius na strastiplnou a záludnou cestu do neprobádaných krajů. Avšak dříve než se vydají na svou pouť do neznáma, setkají se s řadou významných postav monumentální Byzantské říše a nakonec se pokusí obelstít i samotného císaře Justiniána. V dobrodružném příběhu plném překvapivých zvratů čelí Nicander a Marius mnohým, často smrtelným nebezpečím, kdy nejen v zemích římského impéria nic není takové, jak se na první pohled zdá…