Arrow Books Sloop of War Kent Alexander

1774: The new year seems to offer Richard Bolitho and his friend Martyn Dancer the culmination of a dream. Both have been recommended for promotion, although they have not yet gained the coveted lieutenant's commission • But a routine passage from Plymouth to Guernsey in an untried schooner becomes, for Bolitho, a passage from midshipman to King's officer, tempering the promise of the future with the bitter price of maturity • Will he rise to the occasion?

1777: the revolution in America has erupted into a full-scale war • The navy's main task is to prevent military supplies from reaching Washington's armies and to destroy the fast-growing fleet of French and American privateers • As a junior officer Bolitho is often bewildered by swiftly changing events, but in a ship of the line, under a hard and determined captain, he has little opportunity for uncertainty. At a time of shortages and sudden death even a lieutenant can find himself faced with tasks and decisions more suitably given to officers of greater experience • As the Trojan goes about her affairs the threat to Bolitho and his companions makes itself felt from New York to the Caribbean

1789: NEW SOUTH WALES. Into Sydney, capital of Britain's infant colony, sails the frigate Tempest. She is one of His Majesty's ships employed in policing the new southern trade routes. Her captain is Richard Bolitho, who hopes to be ordered home to England • Instead he is despatched on a mission to the islands of the Great South Sea, where he must face hazards of fickle winds, pirates and native islanders • But he is menaced by deeper fears: the men of the Bounty have mutinied in these same waters and from distant Europe comes news of a revolution in France • Bolitho's adventures continue in With All Despatch

1794: as the year draws to a close Richard Bolitho, commanding the old Hyperion, leaves Plymouth to join a squadron blockading the rising power of Revolutionary France. After six months of repairs his ship is ready to fight again, but her company is mostly raw and untrained • Unfortunately, Bolitho finds himself under a commodore who is no match for the French admiral, Lequiller, whose powerful squadron uses guile and ruthless determination to elude him and vanish into the Atlantic. Hyperion gives chase, the desperate voyage taking them from the Bay of Biscay's squall to the heat of the Caribbean - and for each mile sailed and every battle fought, Bolitho finds himself being forced into the ever more demanding role of strategist and squadron commander

1774: Bolitho is now a newly appointed third lieutenant joining the 28-gun frigate Destiny at Plymouth. It is a far step from midshipman's berth to wardroom - and, at a time when most of the fleet is laid up, Bolitho is considered fortunate • Bolitho's promotion is tinged by personal sadness, but his new captain soon points out that Bolitho's loyalty is to him, the ship and His Britannic Majesty - in that order • Despatched on a secret mission far south to Rio and then to the Caribbean, Destiny and her company face the hazards of conspiracy, treason and piracy - and, as the little ship sails on, Bolitho has to learn how to accept his new responsibilities as a King's officer • All amid broadside battles at sea and the clash of swords in hand-to-hand actions

1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry's Bogside led to the deployment of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The British army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years • In this enthralling and controversial book, Martin Dillon, author of the bestselling The Shankill Butchers, examines the roles played by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government and the British Army during this troubled period. He unravels the mystery of war in which informers, agents and double agents operate, revealing disturbing facts about the way in which the terrorists and the Intelligence Agencies target, undermine and penetrate each other's ranks

In the tragedy of war, will love conquer all? • Liverpool, 1940 • When nurses Nancy Kerris and Jess Williams both lose their lovers in the trenches during the Great War, their future in Liverpool looks bleak. As the war finally ends, their lives are set on different paths, with Nancy choosing to marry an Australian, leaving behind her life - and her friend - for the Outback • Years later with the outbreak of the Second World War, Nancy's son Pete decides to join the Royal Air Force and as such travels to England. He promises to pay his mother's friend a visit, however when he arrives in Liverpool, he is dismayed to find half the city has been demolished by the May Blitz. Jess's home has been destroyed, and even worse, her daughter Debbie is missing

During the First World War three quarters of a million British people died – a figure so huge that it feels impossible to give it a human context. Consequently we struggle to truly grasp the impact this devastating conflict must have had on people's day-to-day lives. We resort to looking at the war from a distance, viewing its events in terms of their political or military significance • The Great War: The People's Story is different. Like the all-star ITV series it accompanies, it immerses the reader in the everyday experiences of real people who lived through the war. Using letters, diaries, and memoirs – many of which have never previously been published – Isobel Charman has painstakingly reconstructed the lives of people such as separated newly-weds Alan and Dorothy Lloyd, plucky enlisted factory-worker Reg Evans and proudly independent suffragist Kate Parry Frye

Did the Trojan War really happen? • Spectacular new archaeological evidence suggests that it did. Recent excavations and newly translated Hittite texts reveal that Troy was a large, wealthy city allied with the Hittite Empire. Located at the strategic entrance to the Dardanelles, the link between the Aegean and Black Sea, it was a tempting target for marauding Greeks, the Vikings of the Bronze Age. The Trojan War may have been the inevitable consequence of expanding Greek maritime commerce • Written by a leading expert on ancient military history, the true story of the most famous battle in history is every bit as compelling as Homer's epic account - and confirms many of its details. In The Trojan War, master storyteller Barry Strauss puts legend into its historical context, without losing its poetry and grandeur

The second novel in the uplifting railway girls series. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Margaret Dickinson • Manchester, November 1940 • As the war continues and secrets threaten the railway girls, they will discover the true meaning of friendship • For Dot, her job on the railways is everything. Transporting parcels around the country gives her pride that she is doing her bit for the war effort, but a growing friendship causes problems when home and work collide • Joan loves her boyfriend Bob dearly, but when tragedy strikes, her heart is torn apart, and she is forced to make a decision that could hurt those she loves most • Meanwhile Mabel has finally found a place to call home and her relationship seems to be going from strength to strength

AD 9, Germania. East of the river Rhine, tribes hostile to Rome prepare a deadly ambush • Their leader is the charismatic chieftain and trusted ally of Rome, Arminius, whose dream is to drive out the brutal invaders of his land • Pitted against him are veteran centurion Lucius Tullus and the Roman provincial governor, Varus • Together with three local legions, they leave their summer camp to begin the march back to the Roman forts on the Rhine • They have no idea that in the forests and bog of the Teutoburg, mud, slaughter and bloody death await …

Sunderland, 1941 • As the world war continues the shipyard girls face hardships at home, but work and friendship give them strength to carry on • Gloria is smitten with her newly arrived bundle of joy, but baby Hope’s first weeks are bittersweet. Hope's father is missing at sea, and with their future as a family so uncertain, Gloria must lean on her girls for support • Meanwhile, head welder Rosie has turned her back on love to keep her double life secret. But her persistent beau is determined to find out the truth and if he does, it could ruin her • And there is finally a glimmer of hope for Polly and her family when Bel and Joe fall in love. But it isn’t long before a scandalous revelation threatens to pull them all apart