Dudley Pope Books In Order

Ramage

The young lieutenant takes up special orders direct from Nelson himself which bring news of a mission close to his own heart. In a daring foray, under the very nose of the French Mediterranean fleet, Ramage is to sail his tiny cutter close in to the Italian shore and rescue a party of stranded aristocrats from Napoleon’s fast advancing army.

Ramage and the Drum Beat

Ramage and the Drumbeat takes the brave Lord Ramage to the new world where he becomes embroiled in a series of electrifying sea battles and hazardous political shenanigans. He must once again prove his mettle as he undergoes the merciless enemy attacks. Fighting alongside Lord Nelson, this is Ramage at his best.

Ramage and the Freebooters / Triton Brig

The lieutenant is summoned by the Admiralty and given command of the brig, Triton. But like the rest of the Navy, Triton’s crew has mutinied. Sympathizing with some of their complaints, Ramage also knows that if he fails to deliver three sealed dispatches to admirals off Brest and Cadiz, and in the Caribbean, he will become a convenient scapegoat.

Governor Ramage R. N.

Lieutenant Lord Ramage, in command of the Triton Brig, is escorting a convoy from Barbados to Jamaica, normally a routine and tedious chore. But this time Ramage has to be especially vigilant to guard the convoy’s precious cargo a family of important French refugees. With the dreaded Admiral Goddard threatening a continued vendetta against him, Ramage must not fail.

Ramage’s Prize

The West Indian bases are desperate: Post vessels a vital communications link between England and the West Indies in the war against France are mysteriously disappearing and no packets have arrived with orders in months. Were the privateers out in full force again? Had Napoleon’s navy a secret new weapon? Lieutenant Lord Nicholas Ramage sets out from Jamaica to discover what treachery is threatening to throw the British navy into chaos. But what he finds is totally unexpected…

Ramage and the Guillotine

Across the English Channel, Napoleon has massed a great invasion flotilla. English forces, under Lord Nelson, are all but paralyzed not knowing the size, strength, or time of the foreign onslaught. In a daring spy scheme to protect British shores, Ramage is chosen to plumb the secrets of the French, and the penalty for failure is the guillotine.

Ramage’s Diamond

The youngest captain in His Majesty’s Navy, with a reputation for landing impossible assignments, Lord Ramage is dispatched to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Diamond Rock. The mission seems humdrum: barricade the French within Fort Royal. But sent to sea in the Juno with a crew grown restless and undisciplined under the prior command of a drunk, Ramage realizes his vessel may not be up to battle with the French.

Ramage’s Mutiny

The vicious mutineers aboard the British ship Jocasta had surrendered their vessel to Spain. Sailing aboard the frigate Calypso, Captain Lord Ramage receives Admiralty orders to recover her by any means.

Ramage & the Rebels

A sinking British ship, her crew and passengers, men and women alike, ruthlessly murdered at the hands of a French privateer…
. This is the nightmare Ramage and the crew of the Calypso stumble upon while engaged in a sweep for freebooters in the waters off Jamaica. Supported by his men in a thirst for righteous vengeance, Ramage sets sail to bring the murderers to justice.

The Ramage Touch

Back in the Mediterranean, where he first took a command, Post Captain Ramage is prowling the Tuscan coast and far from English aid when he encounters a daunting French invasion fleet. As the enemy gathers strength, Ramage must decide how to thwart her actions with only the frigate Calypso and a pair of bomb ketches, prizes of combat but clumsy at best. With Frenchmen on every side, can the vessels and crew at hand answer his orders?

Ramage & the Renegades

With the Treaty of Amiens signed, hostilities have ceased at least on paper. Nelson’s crews are standing down and Ramage is on leave when he receives covert Admiralty orders to inspect the small island of Trinidade off the coast of Brazil. Reaching South American shores, Ramage and the crew of the Calypso fetch up in a battle to free several captive merchant ships and a beautiful woman passenger as they cross swords with bloodthirsty pirates…
.

Ramage’s Signal

The eleventh novel in Pope’s seafaring series, Ramage’s Signal follows the crew of the Calypso further into the French dominated waters of the Mediterranean on Admiralty orders to sink, burn and destroy. Aiming to confuse and distract the enemy, Ramage and his men find themselves isolated and outnumbered as they take on the might of Napoleon’s fleet…
.

Ramage’s Devil

On holiday, ashore with his new wife at a chateau in France, Captain Lord Ramage finds the honeymoon interrupted by an end to the Peace of Amiens and a return to war which will last over a decade. Finding themselves on unfriendly soil just hours before hostilities commence, Ramage and Sarah elude the grasp of Napoleon’s secret police, seeking to close upon all the Brits and French Royalists they can find. Even as they escape, their host is captured and deported to the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island. Ultimately, back at the helm of the Calypso and among old friends, Ramage finds himself heading in the same direction. But given the Island’s impregnable reputation, can he pull off a rescue?

Ramage’s Trial

Captain Lord Ramage and the Calypso return from Devil’s Island, but Ramage’s new wife Sarah is missing. The captain would like nothing better than to sail home immediately, but instead he is ordered to shepherd a lumbering convoy of merchant ships back to England. On the way, bizarre events lead him to a full court martial in Plymouth, presided over by his old nemesis, Rear Admiral Goddard. Ramage must clear his name or face a sentence of death!

Ramage’s Challenge

His first command, thrust upon him in the grim heat of battle, led Captain Lord Ramage to a daring rescue on the shores of Tuscany. Now, years later, he is faced with new orders returning him to the Mediterranean. Since the outbreak of fresh hostilities between Britain and France, Admiralty spies have been hunting for British officers and allies trapped on the mainland, among them Ramage’s first love, Gianna, the Marchesa di Volterra. Reports from these spies send Ramage back to the Tuscan coast, where Bonaparte holds a group of hostages for an unknown fate. But have the Admiralty’s sources found the hostages’ true prison? Still grieving over the disappearance of his wife, Sarah, Ramage must lead the daring crew of the Calypso into enemy waters, venture deep inland where Napoleon’s invincible armies wait, locate the hostages, and against all odds bring them to safety!

Ramage At Trafalgar

Ramage, finally reunited with his beloved Sarah, hopes to spend at least a few quiet weeks with her. Instead, he is summoned by Admiral Nelson himself. His orders: Ramage is to join Nelson’s fleet blockading the combined French and Spanish navies in the port of Cadiz. But Nelson’s plan is not merely to blockade the enemy’s fleet. He intends to confront it head on in the biggest naval battle the world has ever seen.

Ramage And The Saracens

Barbary Coast pirates the Saraceni are capturing slaves and terrorizing fishing villages along the coast of Sicily. Ramage and his crew are sent to track them down before they can devastate another town.

Ramage & the Dido

Ramage hopes to enjoy a well deserved leave when he receives new orders: commission and take command of the Dido a massive 74 gun ship, that carries enough weight of metal to destroy a frigate in a single broadside, or sweep a ship’s decks clear of men. Accompanied by the courageous crew of the Calypso, Ramage ventures to sea once again bound for the West Indies where he faces the challenge of commanding this massive weapon of war.

Convoy

A deadly game of cat and mouse unravels its way out of this spine tingling war story as Lieutenant Yorke must find an answer to one vital question: how are German U boats sinking merchant ships from inside the Convoys? In this gripping saga of heroism and intrigue, Yorke discovers the fate of one entire Convoy. Only his wit and daring can lead to its survival and his.

Buccaneer

It is the 1650s and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

Admiral

Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band, is depended upon for the defense of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures of behalf of the King and his own honour.

Galleon

As England falls under a blanket of peace with the restoration of Charles II, in distant Jamaica all is not well. Though there is peace with Spain, there is no peace beyond the line. It seems that the West Indies have become the private estate of the King of Spain. But Ned Yorke, admiral of the Brethren, leader of the Buccaneers must not remain idle. The third in a series set in the Caribbean, Dudley Pope reveals a masterful plot of subtle, seafaring lore wound around the tense excitement of adventure on the high sea.

Corsair

In the 1660s Jamaica was an uneasy island, occupied by Spain but settled by the English and French. When Admiral of the Brethren, Ned Yorke, a brave, loyal Buccaneer, learns that Spain is mounting a Caribbean fleet perhaps to protect the treasures of Spanish ships, or carry an army to Jamaica he vows to find out the truth. Yorke’s audacious attacks on Spanish camps reveal all the the Buccaneers must fight a bloody, desperate battle to try and hinder them.

Decoy

It is February 1942 and the war in the Atlantic looks grim for the allied convoys. The ‘Great Blackout’ has started, leaving the spy centre of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire at a loss as to what the Na*zis are planning. U boat Command has changed the Hydra cipher.

The Enigma cannot be broken. Cipher experts can no longer eavesdrop on Na*zi command, which leaves convoys open for attack by packs of marauding Na*zi submarines. Winning the battle of the Atlantic will surely give Hitler a final victory. And who can stop him?

Flag 4

Flag 4 is the signal for ‘attack with torpedoes,’ and this book offers a thrilling account of the actions of British motor torpedo boats in the Mediterranean during World War II. The smallest fighting ships of the Royal Navy, these torpedo boats could fight in the shallowest waters, penetrate minefields, and hide in the inlets of enemy held islands. From 1940 to 1943 they were the only surface craft continually able to seek out and attack Axis forces. Filled with action backed by telling details, the book describes night assaults on enemy convoys, clandestine operations, and Special Boat Squadron missions in North Africa and Yugoslavia. It is based on the eyewitness accounts of the officers and men who served in these perilous actions. Author Dudley Pope also looks at the question of why both the Allies and Axis forces fought so hard for what were mostly just large expanses of sand and water. Pope’s vivid writing style, reminiscent of his popular novels, will appeal to general readers as well as students of World War II naval actions.

The Battle of the River Plate

This tale of The Battle of the River Plate follows the machinations of the German war machine as Kapitan zur See Hans Langsdorff commands the pocket battleship Graf Spee on a mission to cripple British shipping. Through clever subterfuge and daring, the Graf Spee takes ship after ship, ultimately forcing the British Navy to send twenty ships in search of the elusive Spee.

73 North: The Battle of the Barents Sea 1942

The events and decisions that culminated in the Battle of the Barents Sea what many consider to be the most important naval engagement of World War II’s European theatre in which eight of the German navy’s most powerful ships failed to sink a Russian convoy guarded by only four small British destroyers, are brought to life by the author in this tale of men struggling to carry out their orders in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

Decision at Trafalgar / England Expects

The story of the greatest British naval battle of the Age of Nelson. Renowned historian and novelist Dudley Pope explores the defining moment of the Age of Nelson. His compelling descriptions of the battle itself are backed by a wealth of historical detail, including a chronicle of the preceding year, revealing both the British and the French political motives, and explaining Nelson’s strategy and Napoleon’s response. Pope creates an intimate portrait of the life in the Royal Navy at its finest hour.

At 12 Mr. Byng was Shot

A wonderfully compelling examination of the infamous episode immortalized by Voltaire in Candide. Admiral John Byng was shot on the deck of the HMS Monarch on March 14, 1757. His offense: following his superiors’ orders. The British navy sent his poorly armed ship to fight the French, using outdated tactics. The offensive failed. Though Byng was cleared of cowardice, he received a death sentence for ‘error of judgment.’ He died…
giving the signal to the firing squad for his own execution.

The Black Ship

Dudley Pope meticulously researches the story of the bloodiest mutiny in the history of the Royal Navy the butchering of the officers aboard His Majesty’s Frigate HERMIONE 32 guns, in the West Indies in 1797.

The captain of the frigate, Hugh Pigot, was a brutal and sad*istic commander who flogged his men mercilessly and drove them beyond the limits of endurance. However, nothing could excuse the slaughter of guilty and innocent officers alike as the mutineers went wild and committed crimes beyond anything Pigot could have dreamt up. Not content with that, they then took the ship into an enemy port and gave her up to the Spanish who, unaware of the true facts for some time, nevertheless greeted them with the contempt they deserved.

The Spanish took the ship into their service but due to an amazing episode of red tape and internal wrangling, never actually got the frigate to sea. Meanwhile the Royal Navy relentlessly hunted down the mutineers over the next ten years and of the 33 either caught or who gave themselves up, 24 were either hanged and hung in chains upon gibbets, or transported for life. A number managed to escape justice.

The author describes these events which end with the daring recapture of the HERMIONE under the guns of Spanish forts, with Captain Edward Hamilton leading 100 English sailors in six open boats in one of the most brilliant cutting out expeditions in naval history.

Harry Morgan’s Way

‘Morgan the Pirate’ is a name long associated with all the trapping of pirate living skull and crossbones, pieces of eight, speeding ships, almost in fact ‘with a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum’. As legend has it, his was a life of high adventure, dastardly battles and more than a few gold coins thrown in, collected by underhand means of course. Yet if this legend is true, why did Charles II knight him at the height of his career and why was he given the exalted position of governor of Jamaica? In this authoritative biography, Dudley Pope lays to rest this popularised image and resurrects the man behind the myth.

The Devil Himself

Accurate, fair, thorough, and lively, this penetrating account of a mutiny and its aftermath is compiled from contemporary British documents and the dusty French naval archives. The men, the ship, and the tragic chain of events following a capture by the press gang are described and this extraordinary 1800 mutiny is brought to life. It tells how the British crew of the Danae a captured French corvette mutinied, sailed the ship back to France, turned it over to Napoleon, and received a cash reward. Those who survived, hanged, and died disgraced in a far off colonial posting are chronicled. This history is also significant in that it encouraged Dudley Pope to try his hand at fiction, resulting in theLord Ramage novels. The historical figures in this true story inspired some of the favorite fictional characters and plot elements in Pope’s novels.