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Sunday 3 January 2021

Britannia’s Morass: The latest book in the Dawlish Chronicles series

I ‘discovered’ Antoine Vanner's DAWLISH CHRONICLES just after the first book in the series was published, and since then I have read each of the books as they have been published. We have corresponded pretty regularly by email, and I have written a guest blog post on his blog. When he knew I was going into hospital, he even arranged to send me a copy of the latest book to be published, and I have just finished reading it.

Most of the books in the series concentrate on the career of Nicholas Dawlish, a Royal Navy officer who works closely with (and often for) Admiral Sir Richard Topcliffe. The latter fulfils the role of unofficial head of the British government’s intelligence services, organising operations that could be disavowed should the need arise.

In one of the earlier books – BRITANNIA’S AMAZON – Dawlish’s wife Florence was the main protagonist, and the same is the case in the latest book, BRITANNIA’S MORASS. When it begins, the story seems to be about a simple case of blackmail, but as it develops it delves into the world of usurious moneylenders preying on the families of seamen, grievous bodily harm of a moneylender by an irate husband, a resulting court case, the theft (and faking) of important documents, international espionage, and even political assassination.

As with all his previous books, the background research is so extensive and well done that the reader can almost smell the smoke, soot, sweat, and drains that pervade the poorer areas of Portsmouth, as well as the perfumed aromas of the beauty salon that Florence has to visit as part of her investigation into the blackmail of a deceased widow.

Yet again, Antoine Vanner has told an engrossing tale that will feel believable to anyone with even the scantiest knowledge of the seamier side of Victorian society and the international tensions of the latter part of the nineteenth century.


The nine books in the series that have been published to date are:

  • BRITANNIA’S INNOCENT: THE DALISH CHRONICLES: FEBRUARY 1864 – MAY 1864
  • BRITANNIA'S WOLF: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1877 – FEBRUARY 1878
  • BRITANNIA'S REACH: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: NOVEMBER 1879 – APRIL 1880
  • BRITANNIA'S SHARK: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: APRIL 1881 – SEPTEMBER 1881
  • BRITANNIA'S SPARTAN: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: JUNE 1859 AND APRIL 1882 – AUGUST 1882
  • BRITANNIA'S AMAZON: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: APRIL 1882 – AUGUST 1882
  • BRITANNIA'S MISSION: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: AUGUST 1883 – FEBRUARY 1884
  • BRITANNIA'S GAMBLE: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: MARCH 1884 – FEBRUARY 1885
  • BRITANNIA’S MORASS: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1884 – DECEMBER 1884


BRITANNIA’S MORASS: THE DAWLISH CHRONICLES: SEPTEMBER 1884 – DECEMBER 1884 was written by Antoine Vanner and published in 2020 by Old Salt Press (ISBN 978 1 9434 0431 5) and can be purchased via Amazon.

10 comments:

  1. An outstanding series, up there with Patrick O'Brien

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Benjamin of Wight,

      I totally agree. It is an outstanding series of books and short stories.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. FWIW, if one has a Kindle Unlimited account with Amazon, reading each of these is free.

    However, my policy is to financially support worthy authors and since I doubt Amazon gives authors a cut of the subscription fees, I am looking at purchasing these books.

    I've bought the first one as a kindle edition, but if I like it, I will buy them all in paperback.

    Personally, I generally refuse to buy a book of under 400 pages in length. I read them so quickly that it is almost not worth the expense.

    But with your high recommendation, I will dive in and see where this new adventure takes me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin Penwith,

      I have received a small payment from Amazon for those books that are included under the Kindle Unlimited umbrella, but it was a minor amount when compared to the revenue generated by sales.

      I have bought the Kindle edition of this and the previous books in this series in addition to the printed paperbacks. That way, I have the books on my shelves and accessible wherever I am on holiday.

      If starting afresh, I’d begin with the chronologically first book in the series. BRITANNIA’S INNOCENT is set during the latter part of the American Civil War and the Schleswig War, and concerns an turret ship built for the Confederacy and ‘loaned’ to Denmark.

      Read and enjoy,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Bob,

      I did as you suggested. Am reading that first book now. It does start off well.

      Justin

      Delete
    3. Justin Penwith (Justin),

      I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. The first book was very good. I do expect to purchase the remaining books, soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin Penwith,

      You read even faster than I do!

      I do hope that you enjoy reading the rest of the series.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Bob,

    I don't know, or remember, if you have mentioned this author of naval fiction, Chris Durbin, but I've read through more than half of his series, thus far, and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

    https://chris-durbin.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin Penwith,

      Many thanks for the recommendation. I’ve just paid Chris Durbin’s website a visit, and the books do look interesting. I’ll download one over the weekend, and give the series a go.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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