The Admiral's Daughter: A Kydd Sea Adventure

The latest installment in the Kydd series, "The Admiral's Daughter" was quite a departure from what we had seen thus far. Just as Julian Stockwin has matured and increased in skill as a writer, Kydd and Renzi have grown and matured. The inclusion of details of their life away from the sea is an aspect often overlooked by other authors in the nautical fiction genre. Station, class and advantageous marriage were such crucial parts of life in Georgian and Regency times that it's inclusion really gives a more complete sense of the life and people of that period. In fact, a career in the navy was one of the best ways for a young man to improve his station in life. Quite a few gentlemen of otherwise humble origins were able to achieve remarkable advances into the gentry and nobility of the day through successful actions at sea, patronage and through the connections brought by an advantageous marriage. Through it all, once again, Julian Stockwin has provided descriptions that are so vivid and clear that in my minds eye I can see it all so clearly. It is indeed almost as though we were there. Having visited coastal villages in southern England and Wales, it was immediately apparent that the author has done his research and has walked in the footsteps of Kydd and Renzi. The treacherous fight against the smugglers is brought to the forefront of this story and its inclusion sheds light on an often ignored aspect of the Royal Navy that is normally glossed over or ignored. What impresses me most about this installment is that even with such a dramatic and somewhat traumatic end to the book, there is also a sense of hope that Kydd and Renzi will be able to rise and overcome the trials and tribulations they will face in the future. Ultimately, I desperately wanted to continue reading on...but alas, there were no more pages to read. Oh well, I eagerly await the release of the next book and further adventures of Kydd and Renzi. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to read them all again. Ken Erichsen

The _Admiral's Daughter_ is the latest installment in Julian Stockwin's 'Kydd' series. It's not your typical nautical fiction book; not a lot of battles and so on. However, it's an important book in the development of Tom Kydd. Why is this so? Kydd falls for the admiral's daughter. With her being of a higher social class, she is really out of reach. After all, what could the scion of high society find in a perruquier-turned-seaman? Stockwin makes all this possible by having Kydd troll for smugglers and privateers off the Cornish coast; so he's never far from his love. The action episodes are few but generally good. In spite of the fact that there is really not a lot of acton, I liked this book. For the first time, Kydd (or any naval hero, for that matter) comes across as a real person. The reader can relate to him at a personal level. Hasn't everyone's heart skipped a beat for an unobtainable cutie? We suffer along with him. Well, Kydd doesn't give up and the lady finally returns his affections. However, even worse for Kydd, he falls in love with another girl and jilts the admiral's daughter and his men and friends finally turn against him as it becomes obvious that he is preocuppied to the point of endangering his men. His world has collapsed. Even though it's a love story, I think we'll see a much more mature and polished Kydd in the future. Kydd is certainly not your navel hero, he's a real person. There are a few criticisms, though. Stockwin is an extremely intelligent man and his writing shows it. He simply knows a lot of stuff. It's a joy to read his stuff. Why could one criticise that? Well, in the arena of language, Stockwin writes as the characters would speak, complete with slang, jargon, and dialect. The modern reader, especially American, will quickly get lost in all this. For example, what's a 'cove'? Well, it's a 'guy, chap, fellow.' If you don't have a British slang dictionary at hand, it could be rough going in some spots. The character of Renzi can be irritating sometimes. One wonders what he is doing on the ship in the first place. He talks weird, just weird. Everything is so formal. He's almost C3PO! However, he provides an important guide, confidant, and advisor to Kydd. The reader is not relegated to Kydd's mental musings, as Kyddhas someone with whom he can talk. This adds a totally new dimension to the story. We get two perspectives instead of one. However, I would much like to see Renzi change considerably and even leave the story sometime. Always showing up on ship unexpectedly is becoming a bit incredible. I hope Kydd will someday outgrow his need for Renzi. Finally, Stockwin has an irritating habit of not finishing episodes. The reader knows what happens (most of the time), but I want to know HOW things are resolved. So, sometimes, I feel like I'm just left hanging. In spite of these criticisms, this is a good book, but it must be read after the others; it can't stand on its own.

The Admiral's Daughter is tightly written and the author is clearly using a fuller and more literary vocabulary. The story is clear and deals with several social issues as well as presenting an excellent and exciting story. The women in the book seem to evolve and disappear as did the Allies' troops in the "Bridge over the river Kwai." Our reverence is,of course to the book and not Hollywood's distortion of events. This is the author's most sophisticated effort to date. It is highly recommended reading.

Julian Stockwin has taken readers on a wonderful journey through the life of Thomas Paine Kydd with his sea adventures. The Admiral's Daughter is the latest chapter in the story of Kydd's rise from an impressed sailor to the quarterdeck. Much like Patrick O'Brian, Stockwin describes life ashore as well as at sea, painting a broad picture of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century for an officer in His Majesty's Royal Navy. Along the way, Stockwin develops his primary characters through various real-life experiences. In The Admiral's Daughter, Kydd finds himself once again commanding HMS Teazer in Home Waters, which offers him the opportunity to spend a bit more time on shore, and like any red-blooded male is attracted to the fairer sex. Stockwin offers a fine balance between action at sea and the pursuit of romantic inclinations. This does not detract from the overall story, but rather gives readers a look within the man who wields cold steel on occasion, but also desires relationships outside the Sea Service. The Admiral's Daughter is among Stockwin's best. England's rugged coast along Devon and Cornwall is beautifully described, as are the villages and the people who inhabit them. Kydd's orders are to seek out and eradicate smugglers, which was a very real mission during this period for the Royal Navy. Stockwin's descriptions of the sea and the handling of ships is spot on, as always. And as this chapter in Kydd's life concludes with a surprising and poignant twist, I long for the next book, The Privateer's Revenge.

The Admiral's Daughter by Julian Stockwin is another cracking good yarn from this masterful author of the sea, filled with twists, turns, and surprises. Stockwin manages to balance Kydd's time at sea and ashore nicely, given the home waters setting. And his description of life for Kydd in early nineteenth century England is fascinating, as is his attempt to blend into polite society. The more I read about Thomas Kydd, the more I relate to him. These novels bring back all the feelings and doubts that I experienced as a young sailor trying to follow my own path in life: how to behave in company, and how to alter my speech to suit the society that you are with at that moment. As to Kydd's experiences with the opposite sex, he behaves like a true sailor: all thumbs and insecurities, out of his element, and way over his head. Stockwin really hits nerves here. As expected, I thrived in reading the sea-going passages, which Stockwin brings alive, drawing the reader into the scene in a manner that allows you to feel as though you are there. I often had to stop reading and look about to realize that I was not at sea. Coastal Britain, as described in The Admiral's Daughter, is a fascinating subject, with its complex coves, tides, currents, and variety of geography, from cliff faces to salt marshes. All are dangerous and have claimed many a vessel over the centuries. Stockwin's descriptions bear out the fact that such intimate detail can only be achieved by personal experience, from a true seaman's eye and perspective. They are the signature of his work. Well done, sir!