David Donachie - John Pearce (#1-10)

By the Mast Divided (John Pearce #1)
London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally pressganged from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In the first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men - fly Charlie Taverner; quiet Ben Walker; tired old Abel Scrivens; the bairn of the group, Rufus Dommet; the droll, tough Irish laborer, Michael O'Hagan; and the bumptious Gherson - pressed men like him, 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, this disparate group of men form friendships that will last a lifetime.

A Shot Rolling Ship (John Pearce #2)
Pressed into King George's Navy for the second time in a month, John Pearce and his Pelicans find themselves working aboard the HMS Brazen, sailing the Channel from Plymouth to Dover in search of the numerous French privateers that prey on English merchant shipping: her task to stop them and, if possible, to capture or destroy them. Pearce has greater things on his mind--he must rescue his ailing father from the dangers of revolutionary Paris and to do that he must somehow leave the ship. He tries mutiny, the crew being readied by failure, but Captain Benjamin Colbourne is quick and smartly promotes Pearce to Midshipman. Pearce is thereby freed to leave the ship immediately--which appears to the remaining Pelicans as though their leader has deserted them.

An Awkward Commission (John Pearce #3)
Stranded in Portsmouth, John Pearce has once again failed to secure the release of those who depended on him - his fellow Pelicans. They have been shipped off to the Mediterranean while he was indulging himself in London. He must take ship and follow them.

A Flag of Truce (John Pearce #4)
John Pearce comes back from Corsica demanding that Captain Barclay of HMS Brilliant be tried at home by a civilian court. Against the background of the ongoing siege of Toulon and with the Revolutionary Army massing to attack, no-one in authority sees this as a good time to accede to his requests.

The Admirals' Game (John Pearce #5)
Since being illegally press-ganged into joining King George s Navy, John Pearce has overcome numerous adversaries, which have secured him a position of command on board HMS Faron. Having successfully overcome the French at the Siege of Toulon, Pearce and his comrades, the Pelicans, now face the on-going, bloody battle to defend the port.Meanwhile, Lieutenant Pearce s continuing conflict with Captain Ralph Barclay, the man responsible for press-ganging Pearce and his companions into the Navy, intensifies as Barclay faces a court martial for his actions. But with Barclay s superiors, Admiral Lord Hood and Admiral Hotham, in dispute over how to deal with Barclay s misgivings and with his wife, Emily, struggling to cope with his barbarous nature, Barclay s future looks uncertain. Pearce s hope for retribution may occur sooner than he anticipated, but would it be to his advantage?As Pearce confronts assaults from both the French and his superiors, it becomes clear that Pearce and his comrades are part of a large and potentially fatal plan, where war becomes a calculated game to be won.

An Ill Wind (John Pearce #6)
Toulon, 1793. With the Republican Army at the gates, the citizens of Toulon are panicking, trying to flee the retribution of the guillotine. Amongst this confusion John Pearce and the rest of the Allied forces must put the needs of war before their lives: the Arsenal and dockyard must be destroyed, the ships they cannot get away must be set alight to deny them to the enemy. And Pearce is entrusted with dangerous tasks by Admiral Hotham.His orders take on a particularly a challenging form when Pearce is tasted with evacuating the hospital and finds himself sailing in close proximity to Captain Ralph Barclay the man he intends to have court-martialled and his wife Emily. Matters between the men come to a head, and Pearce is sucked into a web of intrigue and devious politics.

Blown Off Course (John Pearce #7)
Lieutenant John Pearce is in London seeking protection for his friends, the Pelicans, from a reluctant Admiralty. Sat in the Pelican Tavern where they were first press-ganged, he wonders what future he has, lacking funds and an occupation if he leaves Navy, and without the evidence that would bring Captain Ralph Barclay to justice for perjury. Problems are mounting for Barclay as well. Emily, his young, estranged wife, is refusing to live under the same roof as him and intends to use the evidence Pearce thinks is lost to get her own way. What action will be necessary to silence those who spell trouble for Barclay?Matters are looking up for Pearce when a smiling stranger offers him employment; the very profitable but illegal task of fetching a ship laden with contraband back from France. But is that smiling stranger all that he appears to be? How much danger is Emily Barclay in and are Pearce and his Pelicans sailing into prosperity or danger?

Enemies at Every Turn (John Pearce #8)
Free from jail, John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole they want bloody revenge and are prepared to chase him to the ends of the earth to get it. The court martial papers that threaten to also damn Pearce are at risk due to the calculating schemes of Ralph Barclay. But the danger is only just beginning, for Pearce must undertake a dangerous mission in support of a massive revolt in the Vendee region of France. As high rebellious ambition turns to bloody disaster, Pearce faces real peril, climaxing in one of the greatest battles of the Revolutionary War: the Battle of the Glorious First of June.

A Sea of Troubles (John Pearce #9)
1794. In the wake of the Glorious 1st of June, an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against the French Revolutionary forces, John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He has an urgent commission from Lord Hood, he must track down Midshipman Toby Burns and placate Emily who, estranged from her husband, Pearce s enemy Captain Ralph Barclay, is now under his protection. Meanwhile, the Pearce finds himself aboard HMS Agamemnon, and in series of actions and shore raids, impresses Horatio Nelson with his bold and brave maneuvers.Donachie's sea-faring, firebrand hero throws an intriguing light on the naval skirmishes between Britain and Revolutionary France.

A Divided Command (John Pearce #10)
In his latest adventure, trouble follows John Pearce to the Mediterranean. He has to fight admirals, a duel and even Emily Barclay, the woman he loves, while back in London his mortal enemy and her husband, Captain Ralph Barclay, is seeking a way to confound him.All he has to rely on are his Pelicans, as well as the crew of his ship, HMS Larcher and this is tested to the limit when he has to take on a superior force of Barbary Corsairs to both save Emily and the ship on which she is a passenger, in a fierce battle he thinks he cannot win.