"THE BOSUN'S CHRONICLE" --- emailed to Shipmates around the world the first week of each month --- VOL.1, ISSUE 2, JUNE 2001 Avast there - and welcome aboard from the Bosun of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' Network! 1) DECKLOG 2) HANDS TO MUSTER 3) NAUTICAL WEBSITE OF THE MONTH 4) THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 5) ON THE STOCKS 6) SIGNALS FROM FOREIGN PARTS 7) DAYS OUT 8) REPORTS ==================== 1) DECKLOG --- events and activities --- Consumer spend on books last year was up 6% on the previous year. This marked return to growth is reflected in the current levels of interest in the historical nautical fiction genre, and in the reception KYDD is receiving in the market place. May was again a busy month for Julian. He spoke at Brighton Festival, Bury St Edmunds and Hay-on-Wye. KYDD was launched in Australia on May 10 (see REPORTS). It rapidly made it to the top five in Petrarch's Fiction list. In June Julian has been invited to speak at a number of events. +Sole Bay Literature Festival+ Southwold, looking out to the North Sea, is a delightful venue for a seaside literature festival. Beautiful gardens and medieval buildings and over 200 speakers. Hear Julian explore the lure of the sea from the viewpoint of a writer of historical fiction. Friday June 8, 12pm in St Edmund's Hall. Tickets: 01803 867373 or email +Guildford Library+ In the Guildford Library's newly opened Fiction Floor Julian will be chatting to readers of KYDD over coffee. Friday June 15, 11am. Guildford Library, North Street, Guildford. Contact Susanne Bray, 01483 568496 +Waterstones, Canterbury+ Julian and literary agent Carole Blake discuss the author-agent relationship. There will also be readings, and a signing session. Tuesday June 26, 7pm. And finally, Tuesday June 5 is LONDON SAILORS' DAY, a fund-raising event for King George Fund for Sailors. Your generosity will help seafarers and their dependants in need. ==================== 2) HANDS TO MUSTER --- Behind KYDD is a great team; each month "The Bosun's Chronicle" goes behind the scenes to talk to some of the Shipmates who have been involved in a particular aspect of the book --- This month we feature Roland Philipps, Julian's editor at his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton and Kristine Puopolo, who is his editor at his American publisher Scribner. The Bosun caught up with the two of them via a trans-Atlantic link and asked them about their involvement in KYDD. +Bosun. What first attracted you to the manuscript? +Roland. The pace, storytelling and completely realised settings. +Kristine. What first attracted me to KYDD, even before I began reading was the promise of pleasures to come. Julian's literary agent included not only a complete manuscript of the first volume, but also three chapters of the sequel, ARTEMIS, and a chart (now kept under lock and key) plotting out ten future adventures for Thomas Kydd. Once I started reading, I was completely absorbed. +Bosun. Have either of you commissioned books in this genre before? +Roland. Never. It's not a genre I would expect to commission in but I was so swept along by the manuscript that I had to publish it. +Kristine. Unlike Roland, I've bought quite a few "seafaring" titles [at Penguin]. It seemed fitting that one of my first deals at Scribner should be for a naval adventure series. +Bosun. How would you describe Julian's writing style? +Roland. Natural, pacey, informed without being didactic, simple in the best sense of the word. +Kristine. I agree. Julian's writing is a combination of swift-moving narrative and lively dialogue, underpinned by wonderful, poetic writing about the sea. +Bosun. Apart from Kydd and Renzi, was there another character who particularly appealed and why? +Roland. Kydd's sister - because I like having the side to Kydd that represents home and the loved ones there, as the counterpoint to the seamen. +Kristine. My choice is different. There was a character in KYDD who you can't help but like, but who doesn't make it in the end. I was sad to see him go but his death was absolutely required by the dictates of plot and character. +Bosun. What do you see as the main difference between an American reading audience and a British one? +Roland. I wouldn't presume to answer for the U.S. audience but I would say that for us, KYDD will have a wide appeal, probably mostly to men, but across all ages. +Kristine. I can't really say what the differences are between a British and an American reading audience but I know Julian will have devoted fans on both sides of the Atlantic. +Bosun. What did you take away from the book? +Roland. A longing for the next. +Kristine. A sense of both the hardships and the rewards of life at sea. ==================== 3) NAUTICAL WEBSITE OF THE MONTH --- Each month Julian talks about a website with sea links --- This month it is Explosion! Explosion! is the museum of Naval Firepower, situated on the Gosport side of Portsmouth Harbour, Hampshire, England. It traces the Naval ordnance from the Battle of Trafalgar to the Gulf War. Housed in the historic 18th century buildings at Priddy's Hard, the Navy's former armaments depot, the museum is part of the Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour Millennium Scheme. One of the highlights of the two-hour tour of the museum is the spectacular multi-media show in the original gunpowder vault, the Grand Magazine that dates back before Kydd's day, to 1770. Although this site still has some pages under construction it is well worth taking a look at to get a taster of the museum before you head off to Portsmouth. ==================== 4) THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY --- Julian takes a look at an aspect of life at sea or ashore in the Great Age of Fighting Sail --- DRINK. For any true sailor, drink means only one thing: spirits. And when you think of the Royal Navy you naturally think of rum. However while rum was definitely very popular among the crew it was only issued when beer was not available. There were two kinds of beer - small beer and strong beer. Small beer was weaker and cheaper but would go sour within a few weeks. It was mainly used for short voyages. The strong beer lasted longer and was issued on longer voyages. The standard ration of beer was a gallon of beer per seaman per day. Wine was another beverage found aboard, especially in the Mediterranean. The crews were very fond of Mistela wine, which they called Miss Taylor. But they did not like the red wine known as Black Strap; being sent to serve in the Mediterranean was called being black-strapped! The wine issue was a half pint per day. Sometimes brandy was available, as was Arrack, made from rice, which was sometimes issued in the East Indies. Then, of course, there was rum, sometimes known as rumbustion. A by-product of the sugar refining process, rum proved the perfect beverage for sea duty. It did not go off while stored for extended periods and in fact matured with age! It also made the drinking of lemon juice as an anti-scorbutic palatable. The rum issue was a half pint a day as two or three-water grog (petty officers had their ration neat). ==================== 5) ON THE STOCKS --- News of upcoming books, foreign translations and audio versions --- + This month Scribner launches the American edition of KYDD, to be published on Father's Day. KYDD is also an alternate selection for the Book of the Month Club in the States. + UK publisher Hodder was delighted with the size of the hardback order for KYDD from BCA (Bookclub Associates), Britain's largest book club organisation. "A fantastic quantity for a first novel," says Rights Executive Diane Banks. + In the U.S. Thorndike Press have bought large print rights for KYDD and the book will be published in this format later this year. ==================== 6) SIGNALS FROM FOREIGN PARTS --- We welcome news and views from Shipmates around the world --- Julian would love to hear from you. Contact ==================== 7) DAYS OUT ---Each month we visit somewhere around the world of special interest to Shipmates --- Guildford is a charming English town which developed along the River Wey where it cut a valley through the North Downs in Surrey. Although Thomas Paine Kydd is a fictitious character, Guildford is not imaginary and has a history dating back to 600 AD. Shipmate George Jepson of TallShips Books recently visited Guildford to see for himself Thomas Paine Kydd's hometown, much of which Kydd would recognise today. Julian showed him the town and some of the historic buildings that Kydd would have Known. Three that particularly appealed to George were: * The Holy Trinity Church that dates to medieval times; the present structure was completed in classical style in 1763, thirty years before Tom Kydd was spirited away by the Impressment Service. * The Angel posting house, where Nelson is said to have spent his last night in England, writing a final letter to Emma Hamilton, before embarking on HMS Victory for Trafalgar. * The magnificent black-faced clock which projects out high above street level from the fa‡ade of the sixteenth century Guildhall. And the most intriguing site of all, just up the hill from the Guildhall - the site where, in Julian's imagination, the Kydd family ran their wig business. George has written about his impressions of "Kydd's Guildford" and the full illustrated article can be found on the official Julian Stockwin website ==================== 8) REPORTS --- what people are saying about KYDD --- Here are some of the highlights of recent reviews: + The Weekend Australian "For those landlubbers suffering withdrawal symptoms following the death of literature's honorary admiral, there is hope on the horizon...Before you scoff at anyone obviously hoping to capture at least some of the devotees of O'Brian's unique and glorious saga, know that this author has impressive credentials for his task...His decision [to focus on the common seaman rather than the officers of the quarterdeck] has certainly not dulled the drama of life at sea...It all bounds along like a ship under full sail...As in the O'Brian books there is scholarship and knowledge on display...Stockwin is on to something and you get the feeling that Kydd may well develop into a magisterial, fearless and humane hero capable of carrying this series to lasting success..." + USA Today "Setting sail this June comes the highly anticipated KYDD by Julian Stockwin (Scribner, US$24). Already a best seller in England, KYDD details the harsh life of a young wigmaker pressed into the British navy in 1793. The English Stockwin promises 10 more novels detailing Kydd's remarkable rise to admiral." + Peterborough Evening Telegraph "gripping ... Rich in action and full of interesting characters, this thrilling novel leaves you in awe of the 18th-century seaman." + also features a lengthy on-line interview with Julian. These reviews and interviews, and others, are on the official Julian Stockwin website. Yours aye THE BOSUN ++Back issues of the newsletter are available on request++ (To unsubscribe to this newsletter email