John Pearce Series

London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on her way to war. In the first few days, Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. And he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel, these disparate men form friendships that will last a lifetime.

Firebrand John Pearce has been promoted to lieutenant and is in a position of command on board HMS Faron when he returns to Toulon from his successful mission in Corsica. But although he returns with a prize in tow, he receives a mixed welcome from his colleagues. With the fierce Siege of Toulon escalating in violence and the massing forces of the revolutionary army preparing to attack, Pearce is entrusted with the task of escorting 5,000 radical French sailors to a port on the Atlantic coast where they are to be set free. But when the assignment goes awry, it is up to Pearce and his trio of friends, the Pelicans, to prevent judicial murder…

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce is caught between a feuding trio of admirals. One puts him in a position of danger while another asks him to undertake a hazardous commission in order to protect his friends, the Pelicans. Meanwhile, Pearce is also trying to construct a perjury case against Admiral Ralph Barclay. Barclay’s own wife has turned against him, but by law she cannot testify against her husband. Her cowardly nephew has become a pawn in the Admiral’s game, the objective of which is to finally silence Pearce. After returning to France, Pearce has finally got the evidence he needs to nail Barclay. But the siege is coming to a climax and time is running out for Pearce…

John Pearce’s recent promotion means that he is finally free to follow his own wishes – but the same can’t be said for his trio of closest friends. Whilst Pearce is indulging himself in London, they are shipped off to the Mediteranean. Riddled with guilt over leaving them, Pearce vows to liberate them from the brutal tyrant they are serving under. His application to William Pitt finds him sailing off with secret despatches for Admiral Lord Hood. But when Captain Ralph Barclay puts the lives of his crew at risk in his vain search for glory, Pearce is obliged to embark on a dangerous mission before he can free his friends.

It is 1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are going home - to gain their freedom and put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. Emily Barclay discovers Pearce has papers that would ruin her husband’s career and her future security. And then comes that dread thing, a fire aboard a wooden ship of war! Cast adrift, Pearce and his Pelicans find help from an unlikely source. Finally back on British soil, they hope they have reached the end of their troubles, but with the documents missing the real concerns have only just begun. Emily Barclay holds the key, but where do her loyalties lie?

Lieutenant John Pearce is in London seeking protection for his friends, the Pelicans, from a reluctant Admiralty. Sitting in the tavern where they were first press ganged, Pearce considers his future. Lacking the evidence of perjury he once had to bring to justice Captain Ralph Barclay, his prospects are not promising. Ralph Barclay’s young wife, Emily, is refusing to live under the same roof as him and she has the means to get her own way: the evidence Pearce believes lost at sea. Pearce’s companions finally arrive in London just in time to join Pearce in fetching a ship laden with contraband back from France, an illegal act but very profitable. Are Pearce and his Pelicans sailing into prosperity – or danger?

1794. Free from jail, John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole. While lying low, Pearce soon has other pressing concerns on his mind. Granted a commission by William Pitt, John Pearce evades his pursuers by undertaking a dangerous mission in France. As rebellious ambition turns to bloody disaster, Pearce must try to rejoin Admiral Howe. Also serving with Howe is Ralph Barclay – who has somehow contrived to yet again press Pearce’s friends Charlie and Rufus into his crew. The danger for the Pelicans is only just beginning, however, as Howe’s collision with the French fleet climaxes in one of the greatest battles of the Revolutionary War.

John Pearce, having negotiated the highly questionable sale of the two French prizes taken in The Devil to Pay, has left HMS Flirt, as well as the crew and the wounded Henry Digby in Brindisi and is headed for Naples to see his lover. In an uncomfortable journey he seeks to work out a way to best both Admiral Sir William Hotham and Captain Ralph Barclay, men who are his sworn enemies. All his calculations are thrown into turmoil when he discovers that Emily is pregnant which, while it is a cause for joy, is also a reason to worry; she is still married to Ralph Barclay and by the laws of the time he can claim the child as his own.

1794. In the wake of the Glorious First of June, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood, track down midshipman Toby Burns, and placate Emily Barclay. Meanwhile smugglers whose ship Pearce inadvertently stole, are on his tail. And it is not only John Pearce who has his fair share of trouble. The triumphant Channel Fleet returns, but the battle is already the subject of controversy –and Ralph Barclay is accused of holding back from the action. Pearce turns the table on his enemies and sets off for the Mediterranean with Emily Barclay. He can only hope that his troubles will end along with his mission. But are they only just beginning?

1794. Stuck in Palermo harbour, the headstrong Lieutenant John Pearce and his trusty Pelicans must repair the battle-damaged HMS Larcher with only meagre funds to do so. Sailing into danger, they encounter enemies. Pearce has no option but to run until, trapped in an Italian bay, he is forced to abandon his ship. Pearce must face a court martial for his actions but his troubles are only just beginning. A deadly plan is contrived to send the unwitting Pelicans into mortal danger against a bloodthirsty, piratical Turk called Mehmet Pasha: the aim is to force them into a disastrous fight they cannot win. Only luck and Pearce’s fiery thirst for battle can save them now…

John Pearce is going home. But he has to avoid capture by an Algerine warship, having his Pelicans pressed into a British frigate and that's before they are at risk of being hanged for desertion once home. Then there is the problem of Emily Barclay and their son Adam. By cunning and bluff he protects his friends, but not his troubled love life. In a whirlwind of action, there are forged wills, devious trades, contrived murders and dangerous spy missions, with so much deceit that Pearce does not know who to trust. All he can hope to do is survive.

1796. Pearce and his wife Emily are in living in Bath when Minister of War Henry Dundas turns up and suggests a second mission to the Vendée, this time as a liaison between the French emigres intending to land in Brittany and the British naval and military commanders who will accompany them. The proposed expedition looks promising and Pearce takes the bait. Once at sea, however, Pearce and his crew encounter a French fleet and an indecisive battle ensues off the Ile de Groix. Pearce, accompanied by his faithful Pelicans, must go ashore into dangerous territory to check the lay of the land and find the allies…

John Pearce is hiding in Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known to him as Oliphant. Although they find a crew willing to take them back to England, they learn on the journey that Pearce’s old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on the route, and may have been responsible for the murder of Catherine Carruthers. Back in England their problems continue: Pearce must seek to mend fences with Emily Barclay, in a relationship in which nothing is simple. And just as things may be looking up, it seems Henry Dundas has another role for him and Oliphant: a mission to North East Spain…

John Pearce discovers that Madrid plans to desert the British-led coalition and join the enemy. In company with Lord Langholm, he has taken a Spanish treasure ship but is forced into a deep bay overlooked by Spaniards who have a cannon aimed at the entrance. Pearce must take the lead and find a way to get Langholm's frigate and the damaged Santa Leocadia through the bottleneck. His orders take him via Gibraltar, then to Admiral Jervis to warn of Spanish duplicity. Jervis sends him to Bastia in Corsica, where the Viceroy is seeking to hold the island for Britannia in the face of Napoleon's successes in Italy. At night he must fight the Francophile Corsicans, who are arming themselves for an insurrection. Will he succeed, or will John Pearce, HMS Hazard, and the Pelicans pay the ultimate price of failure?

John Pearce faces a court martial, but will a cowardly chief witness stand up to questioning? With the matter unresolved, HMS Hazard is put under the command of Horatio Nelson. In London, the government denies prize money for the cargo of silver Pearce took off the Santa Leocadia, claiming it as property of the Crown. Pearce’s prize agent seeks to fight this, only to be outmanoeuvred by devious Henry Dundas. From Elba, Pearce is sent on a mission to collect fleeing members of the Corsican government. Seeking a solution which will not risk his ship, he seeks the aid of a local clan chief, inadvertently putting himself, his crew, and his rescued charges in jeopardy. Pearce finds himself trapped in a deep Corsican bay where he will be forced to make a decision: to follow his instincts or to obey his orders.

1796. John Pearce is stuck with a difficult mission, a crew of Quota Men forced to enlist in the Royal Navy, four new midshipmen as well as Samuel Oliphant, companion-cum-spy, whom he finds a constant irritant. In his favour he commands HMS Hazard, a speedy warship, a pair of competent officers and, of course, his trusty friends the Pelicans. Their mission is to head for the Mediterranean Fleet and warn Admiral Sir John Jervis of impending danger he will face, fighting a combined French/Spanish fleet. But there is a serious distraction, the imminent arrival of a Spanish vessel from South America carrying silver, for which the Spaniards are waiting before declaring war. Can John Pearce resist the lure of such a valuable capture and risk his ship in a dangerous battle to gain it, or will his duty come first?