About the Author
Bradley John Tatnell (aka "Bradley John") is an Australian novelist whose ancestry can be traced back to the Norman Conquest in England. His forbears lived mostly in Kent, Hertfordshire and the Isle of Thanet. Some were mariners and some were even of the aristocracy. His direct ancestors arrived in Australia soon after its colonisation in the late 1700's, most of which were proud country folk. James Squire, a notable character in history, who arrived on the first fleet in 1788, was his (sixth) great-grandfather.
Bradley John graduated from the Church of England Grammar School at age 16 and the Queensland University of Technology at age 19. His early life was spent mainly in the arena of law.
Bradley John has a love of all things ancient and historical, including golf, to which he plays with ye old hickory shafted clubs including the original heads from pre-1935. He also studies the ancient art of Korean sword, having attained master level. His love of language, in all its forms, now extends to the pursuit of conquering Hangul, the language of the Korean people.
Bradley John has been privately writing novels since 2003. "Ships of War — Murky Waters", his first publication, births a series of naval adventure fiction intended to span the length of the French Revolutionary Wars. This of course is the much loved genre which includes the thundering Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the popular "Master and Commander" blockbuster by Peter Weir. Owing to Bradley John's English heritage, no guesses are needed to determine which side the book's heroes will sail upon…
"Ships of War" — a Naval Adventure Fiction Series
1791 — England's cannon remain ever silent as her shipping is ruthlessly preyed upon, a detestable state of affairs, though soon to be remedied...
England is ill prepared, Europe is in turmoil and the French Revolution is readying to sweep across the continent. A tedious uneasy peace poises on a knife's edge. Brittana rules the waves, yet as more and more ships mysteriously vanish, it is rightly thought an act of war. However, England needs more time, or all could be lost.
With war looming, Lieutenant Hayden Reginald Cooper, Royal Navy, awaits in Portsmouth braving a bitter cold winter with half pay, beached in a constant state of penury. With little prospects, little "interest" and no chance of promotion or advancement, he is the perfect choice for the Admiralty: unknown, unimportant and wholly dispensable.
As so it begins, a turbulent action-packed naval adventure within the murky waters preceding war, the French piracy soon to discover the grit of a lowly Lieutenant, one who has very little to lose…
1792 — England is on the precipice of war. Louis XVI has been deposed. The continent is in chaos and terror reigns in the streets of France…
Under the resilient watch of Sir Hayden Reginald Cooper, the waters about England are finally emptied of pirates. A lion upon the sea, the Royal Navy's newest captain triumphantly returns from France, though an uneasy harmony barely persists.
England hurriedly prepares for war. Yet the Whigs bicker and squabble, ruinously contriving to seize power. Cooper must crowd all sail upon "Menelaus", or risk being caught in the oncoming squall. Yet within the swelling tempest he shockingly learns of the arrest of his particular friend, Captain Poulain, earmarked for execution. The defection of the Brittany fleet now perilously hangs in the balance.
Matters become dire as Louis XVI is sentenced to be guillotined. France is divided. Cooper calls upon the imprisoned Chevalier Lafayette to join the fray with England — his only way into France and to Poulain. In quest of duty, honour and hopefully victory, not to mention prizes and fortune, Cooper readies his squadron for Toulon.
And so the second instalment of Ships of War weighs anchor! Hold fast for a turbulent action-packed and somewhat cheeky naval adventure, fearlessly thundering within the precarious shadow of war — the Jacobins of France soon to behold the ingenuity, determination and utmost loyalty of their newest foe…