<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E All the latest on Julian Stockwin's Kydd novels <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> VOL. 5, ISSUE 3, May 2005 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 ASK JULIAN 3 BOOKSHELF 5 SALTY SAYINGS 6 A DAY IN THE LIFE 7 CONTEST 8 COUNTDOWN TO TRAFALGAR 9 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Wanted: Shipmate reviewers! For a chance to win a review copy of TENACIOUS, email the Bosun with a sentence that you think best describes Julian's writing. Six winners, selected by a representative from Julian's publishers, will be sent a copy of TENACIOUS and asked to write a short review to share with Shipmates. Deadline for entries: July 25. Please put "Shipmate Reviewer" in the subject line. + COMMAND Julian has now started work on COMMAND, the seventh book in the Thomas Kydd series. It is due for UK publication in October 2006 and McBooks Press will confirm their publication plans in the US at a later date. Julian is not giving much away at this point - but it will feature Malta - and the newly-founded settlements in Australia. + KYDD Products We're delighted to announce two exciting Kydd Products that we will publish later in the year: "Julian Stockwin in Conversation" - hear Julian talk candidly about his life and work - growing up in England in the fifties, his time in the navy, the special feelings he has about the sea, the influences on his writing - and much more. Julian Stockwin in Conversation will be available on CD. "The Bosun's Companion to the Thomas Kydd Series" - so many readers have said they would love to have a Companion to the books to enrich their enjoyment of life at sea in the great age of fighting sail that we've decided to produce a multi-media guide to the first four books in the series on CD. There'll be a comprehensive glossary, maps, character bios, a fascinating "behind the lines" section for each book with information on the location research, historical and cultural context, the ships - and a great deal besides. If you would like to register your interest for either, or both, of these products, email Admin@JulianStockwin.com and we'll make sure you're kept up to date with the publishing details. Both products will be available for sale via the website. + Historical Novel Society Convention Julian will be speaking at the Fifth Annual Historical Novel Society Convention, in London, October 22. Full details, plus Julian's other author appearances, will be posted on the website. + Subscriber Draw To show our appreciation of your support for the Thomas Kydd novels, we've decided to have a quarterly draw of current subscribers for a "Thankyou Pack", which will include a signed First Edition of one of the books, a photo of Julian and a mystery eighteenth century sea artefact. There's no need to do anything - we'll email the winner at the end of May. Thank you, too, for "spreading the word" about the newsletter to friends and family. The more subscribers we get on board the more great prizes we can offer - and there's a free paperback for six new subscribers who enrol between now and the end of May! Signing on is easy via the website. ===================== 2 ASK JULIAN Hosting a Trafalgar Dinner A few months back we promised to put together some ideas for a Trafalgar Dinner. This was prompted by an email from David Roth who asked Julian what he suggested for such an event. Coincidentally, the Bosun was recently sent a special pack for a themed "Dinner with Admiral Lord Nelson" (see below). A Trafalgar dinner is an occasion for the best china, superb food and wine - with a strong emphasis on tradition. And, of course, patriotic music... Dishes are usually named with Nelson/Trafalgar connections, for example: +Starters Pickle Potage - cream and watercress soup Pate Villeneuve - pork pate with French toast +Fish course Trafalgar Duo - roulade of salmon and sole Cape Trafalgar Cod - baked cod topped with a breadcrumb crust +Main course It's got to be a traditional beef dish! Fleet Broadside - roast beef with all the trimmings Beef en Croute Napoleon - beef encased in pastry +Dessert Ships-of-the-Line - poached pears Lady Emma's Delight - trifle After the meal, port is drunk, always passed to the left. The toast to Nelson, "The Immortal Memory", is drunk standing, in total silence. --- "Dinner with Admiral Lord Nelson" pack. %24.99 A clever idea - all you need to organise a five-course dinner for eight - modernised eighteenth century recipes, 60 minutes of period music on CD, a pack of trivia questions, place cards, menus, invitations - and even a shopping list! The "boiled turbot with rich anchovy sauce" looks very enticing... http://www.navynewscatalogue.co.uk/acatalog/Classic_Dining_Set.html We'd love to hear from Shipmates who host a Trafalgar Dinner this year. ==================== 3 BOOKSHELF "Nelson's Victory. 101 Questions and Answers about HMS Victory" by Peter Goodwin. Conway Maritime Press, %9.99. ISBN 0851 779883 The most tangible symbol of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar is his fully preserved flagship, "Victory". In this illustrated volume, her curator Peter Goodwin answers 101 questions from "How thick is the hull?" to "How fast could Victory sail?" - and provides a fascinating look at the operation and achievements of this famous ship. See COUNTDOWN TO TRAFALGAR. ------ And plaudits to Seafarer Books in the UK and Sheridan Books in the States for publishing such books as "The Voyages of Joshua Slocum". Edited by Walter Teller, "Voyages" contains the collected works of this amazing nineteenth-century seafarer. Slocum was the first man to sail alone around the world - and has long been on Julian's list of sea heroes. www.seafarerbooks.com www.sheridanhouse.com ==================== 4 FEATURE Wargaming Modern hobby wargamers trace its origins to the publication of H G Wells's book in 1913 - "Little Wars: A Game for Boys from Twelve Years to One Hundred and Fifty and for that More Intelligent Sort of Girl Who Likes Games and Books." Wargaming creates battles in miniature, and has a long history of use by the military, but its commercial popularity did not really take off until the 1950s. Julian has had a number of emails from wargamers who find his meticulous attention to historic detail invaluable in enriching their battle simulations and understanding of the eighteenth century Royal Navy. Shipmate David Manley, Membership Secretary of the Naval Wargames Society, spoke to the Bosun about his passion for this fast-growing hobby. Bosun: Can you tell me about the Naval Wargames Society? David: The Naval Wargames Society (NWS) was founded in 1966 by Phil Dunn to promote and encourage interest in this pastime across the globe. The NWS covers all periods, from ancient to modern, and of course, the age of sail. We produce a quarterly journal, "Battlefleet" and run a number of activities, including overseas visits. Membership is %12 in the UK, %17 Europe, %20 rest of world. I'm happy to answer any Shipmates' queries on david.manley@btinternet.com. Bosun: What do you personally find is the main attraction of wargaming? David: I love to research historical settings and to develop "what if" scenarios to explore what might have happened if circumstances had been a little different. I also find wargaming a highly social and satisfying hobby. Bosun: You have written sets of wargaming rules - how long does it take to produce something like this? David; I am the author of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions of "Form Line of Battle" published by A&A Game engineering and am currently developing another set for Wessex Games. "Form Line of Battle" has been in development for over 15 years. Bosun: If someone wants to take up this hobby, how do you suggest they go about it? David: Start small and with a simple set of rules. A good way to begin is to pick one or two small historical battles and to build up the forces needed to fight them, or to get two small balanced forces (such as a couple of frigates and merchant ships) for each side. Seek out like-minded players in your area - and, of course, the Naval Wargames Society for ideas! http://www.navalwargamessociety.org + We'd love to hear from other wargamers around the world! ==================== 5 SALTY SAYINGS Money for old rope Today if we talk about "money for old rope" we mean money or reward obtained with little or no effort. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. In Kydd's day old and frayed ropes were sold to shoreside traders. This old rope was often sold back to ships, to be then used as caulking between a ship's planks. Money for old rope was a perk of the boatswain (but sometimes the rope was not so old, and the offence of cappabar, or misappropriation of government stores was committed...) ==================== 6 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SHIP-O'-THE-LINE The afternoon watch This was (and still is in today's Royal Navy and most other navies) the watch between noon and 4pm. Noon was the high point of the day for the sailors - a hot dinner was served and a fine time had by messmates swapping salty yarns. The mess cook would collect the ration of drink for his mess. Depending where the ship was, this could be beer, wine or spirits. (The mess cook was entitled to a double allowance for himself, in compensation for the anxieties of the job: he would be watched like a hawk as he doled out the precious noggin.) For the officers, midday meant the noon sighting to establish their exact position at sea. After the men had eaten, the officers themselves retired to the wardroom to eat and relax. On completion of the sailors' midday meal, the watch on deck would return to their duties, the others would carry out training with the great guns or small arms. Occasionally, the captain would order "dance and skylark" - and the men would gather on the foredeck, dancing the hornpipe to the accompaniment of the ship's fiddler. ==================== 7 CONTEST Victory For a chance to win a copy of "Nelson's Victory" email the Bosun with the answer to this question: For what percentage of her active service was Victory engaged in battle? Please put "VICTORY" in the subject line and include your postal address. Deadline: May 25. www.conwaymaritime.co.uk Congratulations to last month's winners - Nikki Sudden, James Hextall and Judith Edwards. =================== 8 COUNTDOWN TO TRAFALGAR + Peter Goodwin and Victory Peter Goodwin, the Keeper and Curator of Victory, is a world authority on the sailing warship and the author of many books on the subject. Peter's ongoing publishing schedule is impressive - with several more books due to come out this year - "The Ships at Trafalgar" and a re-release of "Nelson's Ships" - and others in the pipeline. Peter was brought on board in the early 1990s as Victory's historical advisor to ensure the accuracy of restoration work. Among his many projects has been the researching, designing and building of the grand magazine to its full, original specifications. The magazine, which would have held up to 780 barrels of gunpowder, is the only example of a First Rate's magazine in the world. It is lined with copper, lead and plaster to keep the powder dry and prevent sparks and also to keep out rats (which could have spread gunpowder throughout the ship). The remains of the original magazine were removed after a German bomb damaged Victory during the Second World War. The Bosun recently caught up with Peter to talk about Nelson's flagship in the Year of the Sea. Victory will, of course, be a focus for the activities in Portsmouth June 30-July 3, the International Festival of the Sea. During this time the dockside will be heaving with activity - new recruits being press-ganged, sailors taking leave of their sweethearts and stores arriving to be struck down below. For most of the summer Visitors to the ship will be able to explore her at their leisure, with a free-flow system. Peter was honoured with a special award this year from the World Ship Trust for his work in Victory. Two of his colleagues were also recognised for their contributions - and Victory herself received an award. They were presented by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Victory, the world's oldest warship still in commission, is open to the public 363 days a year (subject to Service requirements) Currently, there's also a special exhibition in the Dockyard featuring her fore topsail, which will be open until the end of October. The massive sail is 3618 square feet in area and weighs over 800 pounds. The battle-scarred sail has approximately 90 shot holes - as well as a few squares of cloth cut out by 19th century souvenir hunters! www.hms-victory.com www.festivalofthesea.co.uk =================== 9 NEW ON THE WEB www.JulianStockwin.com Some new faces in the Shipmates Album! Among them is American Shipmate Jeff Souder, who recently gave a talk at Salem Public Library on Napoleonic naval fiction. Jeff's talk was in conjunction with an exhibition that featured a number of authors in the genre. Is there something interesting (and preferably salty) you fancy sharing with other Shipmates? If you'd like to be included in this page just email the Bosun with a .jpg and a short description. Please put SHIPMATES ALBUM in the subject line. =================== Coming next month - women at sea in the great age of fighting sail, a chance to win "A Mariner's Miscellany", a roundup on the Glorious First of June - plus all the regulars... Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Back issues of the newsletter downloadable from the website ++