Projects

FICTION

I've recently completed The Mountain of Gold, the second of the Journals of Matthew Quinton, which takes Matthew to the Gambia River in 1663-4 and the violent clashes that led to the outbreak of the second Anglo-Dutch War. I've already started work on the third book in the series, provisionally entitled The Blast That Tears The Skies, set in the opening year of the war - 1665 - and centred on the Battle of Lowestoft, one of the most stunning victories in British naval history.

I'm also developing a couple of other projects set in different historical periods.

NON-FICTION

I'm currently working on a book about the Battle of Texel, 1673, for Boydell and Brewer, and on a book about the Stepney family, the creators of Llanelly House (as seen on the BBC TV series, Restoration, and pictured at right), to tie in with the ongoing restoration of this unique Georgian town house following its recent success in obtaining major lottery funding.

Again, I have a couple of other non-fiction projects that are in the very early stages of development.

The cover of the original trade paperback British edition of Gentleman Captain was specially commissioned from Richard Endsor, the leading authority on warship design and construction in the Restoration period. Richard has made a detailed study of the art of the Van De Veldes and other artists of the time, and seeks to recreate their style in his own work. Richard’s book The Restoration Warship: The Design, Construction and Career of a Third Rate of Charles II’s Navy, extensively illustrated by the author, was published by Conway Maritime Press in 2009.

Richard is also the chairman of the Warship Anne Trust, of which I'm a trustee. The painting reproduced at the top of this page shows the Anne following the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, ablaze and grounded on Pett Level near Hastings, where the lower part of her hull still lies under the sand. Her remains form the largest surviving relic of the navy of Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Matthew Quinton.