<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E The official Ezine of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' network <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> VOL. 7, ISSUE 8, September 2006 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! Some great prizes this issue - tickets to Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America & the sea; books on Joseph Conrad and Alan Villiers; and don't forget the bumper COMMAND launch package! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 FEATURE 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 ASK JULIAN 7 A SPECIAL SHIP 8 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + The US edition of TENACIOUS is out this month published by McBooks Press. ISBN: 1590131193. As we were putting the finishing touches to the Chronicle, McBooks Publisher Alex Skutt emailed Julian: "We have just received the US hardcover edition of TENACIOUS from the printer and we are delighted with its handsome appearance! It will soon be in stores throughout the US, with Borders and many independents consistently stocking the title." Shipmates may be interested in signing up to McBook's newsletter, "Quarterdeck", and also taking a look at their blog. www.mcbookspress.com + Keeping it in the family Father, son and grandfather - Chris, Adam and Jack Powell of Leicester, England, are all avid Kydd fans - and the first such three-generation-readers to contact Julian. + Hirazumi! The Japanese edition of QUARTERDECK, published in July, has been accorded the special display space in bookstores known as Hirazumi, alongside other best-sellers such as Clive Cussler. + Hidden treasures Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is participating in Heritage Open Days, September 7-10. Exclusive, free, behind-the-scenes tours of facilities normally closed to the public - the Block Mills, the Storehouses, the Mary Rose Reserve Collection - and more. Spaces are limited so early booking is a must. www.heritageopendays.org.uk + One thing leads to another... Shipmate Peter Buckingham's ancestor, Alexander Jopp, was a cloth merchant in Kingston, Jamaica. While researching his Caribbean family history Peter stumbled across SEAFLOWER, which he says he found "a delightful read" and gave him a real feel for the period. He was also fascinated to find a mention of the frigate "Ceres" in SEAFLOWER as he had discovered that Alexander Jopp had died aboard her in January 1798, having taken passage "for some sea air for his health." + Tall Ship follow-ups UK Shipmate Ian Hobgen emailed Julian after reading last month's item about the Tall Ships Race. He had recently enjoyed a magical evening aboard the brig "Mercedes" sailing to the Manacles from Falmouth on full sail. www.windisourfriend.com And from Down Under, Howard Peterson and John Askew got in touch: > In the course of doing some internet research Howard was amazed to find that the last outward bound date for a tall ship under sail from Australia was 1947; she was carrying cement to New Zealand. > John passed on details of the tall ship Leeuwin, a 3-masted barquentine, based in Fremantle, Western Australia. She's Australia's largest sail training ship. www.leeuwin.com + Three for two at Waterstones British fans of the Kydd books can avail themselves of a special discount offer at Waterstones nationwide. From September 7 to October 18, all the Kydd series paperbacks will be on a "buy two, get a third book" free offer! The books make perfect Christmas presents...why not stock up? + Top of the Rock After husband-and-wife Kydd readers Margaret and Norm Hopkins visited Gibraltar they told Julian: "What a fantastic place, really loved it - we felt as if were walking in Kydd and Renzi's footsteps." + Print offer ends this month Art Marine, publisher of limited edition prints of the Kydd cover paintings by Geoff Hunt, is offering Shipmates a special discount until the end of September: the prints of "Quarterdeck" and "Tenacious" for GBP120 for the pair, plus shipping (VAT applied if within the EU). Additionally, there is a 10% discount on all other Art Marine prints. Just enter code KYDD2006 at the checkout. www.artmarine.co.uk ===================== 2 BOOKSHELF Joseph Conrad is one of Julian's favourite sea writers. Hot off the presses from Seafarer Publications is a new analysis of Conrad, the mariner. Joseph Conrad Master Mariner Peter Villiers, Seafarer Books 0 9547062 93 In the late autumn of 1874 Jozef Korzeniowski arrived in the French port of Marseilles - to go to sea. The young Pole would spend twenty years in the merchant navy and later become known as Joseph Conrad. This fascinating book by Peter Villiers is based on a previously unpublished study by his father, the seafarer and author Alan Villiers. It also contains twelve very fine paintings of Conrad's ships by Mark Myers. A companion volume from Seafarer is a new reprint of Alan Villiers's classic 1937 book, "Cruise of the Conrad". ISBN 0 954706293. For a chance to win both books (which are also available in the US from Sheridan Press), see CONTESTS ==================== 3 FEATURE Are men from Mars and women from Venus when it comes to their book-reading habits? When Julian started to write his tale about the life of Thomas Kydd, he had a clear writing strategy. He was going to write the book/s he himself wanted to read, but while penning them 'for' himself, they would be 'to' his wife and literary partner Kathy. Julian explains: "I did not set out to write to a particular market but I am very pleased that my books draw readers of both sexes, aged from thirteen to eighty! I actually write 'to' Kathy - I try to fool her in the plot, beguile her in the descriptions and get her hooked by the technicals - but above all I want her to really feel with me the challenge and fascination of the great age of fighting sail. I must work hard to make it interesting for her, but in doing so I seem to have achieved an integration of plot and description which has a broad appeal." It does not really come as a surprise then, that while readers of his books are still predominately male, growing numbers of females are being drawn to Kydd's world. But do the sexes have a different takeaway from the books? Some of Julian's female readers offer their thoughts: Gwen Wade: "I think men read adventure stories imagining themselves taking part. I enjoy reading of battles but am glad that I was not there to suffer the hardships." Miranda Atwood: "I enjoy the pure adventure aspect of the writing, the details of how the ships operate, and the personal memories triggered by the excellent descriptions of the seas and certain countries. I also find very interesting how characters function within the larger society, and their responses to events. I certainly do not enjoy gratuitous violence, details of horrific deeds or larger than life characters." Hilary Spilsbury: "I like engaging characters such as Kydd. His gradual promotion and friendship with Renzi allow a better insight into class and custom of the day that I find fascinating. Personally I'd far rather read about these interesting characters, and learn some history, than 'chick lit'." Pam Hunt: "Perhaps male readers are more caught up in the excitement and danger element of the stories. From a woman's standpoint I felt an almost maternal interest in the torturous journey which Tom finds unfolding daily before him and a sense of anxiety on his behalf. I feel that most female readers relate to the more intimate and personal side of Kydd, such as his close friendship with Renzi and his respect for his fellow crewmen." Shirley-Claudette Devereux: "I don't know how a man might read the books but as a female reader of the Kydd chronicles I find myself 'in the stories'. Julian writes so vividly that once I start to read one of his books I don't want to put it down. I have learned a lot about the Royal Navy and I love the human interest stories that run through the series." Mary Goose: "Probably I do read the Kydd books in some sense in a different way to a man. I don't find bang-shoot necessary all the time. I realise that war and fighting was part of the scene, but as I understand it, and read, there was also a lot more to naval life than firing guns. I like life-style stuff... I like the characters fleshed out... I like to find they are human. I like flawed characters, and Kydd does have his imperfections." We welcome your thoughts... ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Touch and go Today, if we talk about something as being touch and go we mean a highly uncertain or precarious situation in which the slightest change in circumstances could result in failure or disaster. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. Sometimes a sailing ship touched ground but then lifted off again quickly, thus avoiding disaster by a narrow margin. When about to engage the enemy Lord Nelson reportedly had his own variant of this saying: "Touch and take!" ==================== 5 CONTESTS + COMMAND launch contest Here's the complete set of questions for the bumper prize next month of a Collector's edition of COMMAND, a paperweight made of 200-year-old ship's timbers, "Clippers, Packets and Men O'War" and "Sea Poems":- > In what town was the house of Madame Dahouet? > In ARTEMIS, Kydd tastes "bibingka" - name two ingredients > In SEAFLOWER who was mastheaded for "rank boneheadedness"? > In MUTINY of what material was the decking of "Trinity Yacht" made? > In QUARTERDECK, what sum did the second lieutenant nominate for the officer's mess subscription per head? > In TENACIOUS, who sang "Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill" in the ward room? Deadline for answers: September 25. See April issue for full details. + Seafarer books We have a set of "Joseph Conrad, Master Mariner" and "The Joseph Conrad" to send to the first correct entry to name the debut title produced by the UK publisher of these titles. Deadline: September 25 --- Congratulations to last month's winners: - Caitlin Logan who won a copy of the audiobook of TENACIOUS; Paul Jaeger and John Johnson, whose names were first out of the hat for a hardback US edition of TENACIOUS, and Tim Harper, who will be sent a US paperback of QUARTERDECK. ==================== 6 ASK JULIAN Canadian Shipmate Les Mader wanted to know whether the widows of deceased sailors got a share of the prize money obtained in a battle during which their spouse was killed. Julian replies: "No, prize money was distributed only among the survivors. In Kydd's day, all the seamen on the fo'c'sle, shared in two eighths of the proceeds; the balance was divided between the officers and warrant officers, with the lion's share going to the captains and admirals. Life was often hard for families who had lost their breadwinner. In KYDD, when Ollie Higgins dies, his shipmates auction his possessions for a few coins to pass on to his widow. Typically, sailors 'paid' well over the odds for the items. However, this is not to say that there was no formal help for families of sailors killed in action. From 1590, all seamen in the Navy made contributions of six pence per month from their wages to support the 'Chatham Chest' which made charitable payments to deserving causes, including some widows. This was probably the world's first occupational pension! After each of the major naval battles of the 1790s, a charitable subscription was started in the City of London to relieve the suffering of the wounded and bereaved. These were usually organised and managed by a committee of merchants at Lloyd's Coffee House. The first of these funds was raised in 1794 after Lord Howe's victory over the French at the 'Glorious First of June'. Howe donated his entire prize money from the battle! Lloyd's Patriotic Fund, established in 1803, helped both wounded seamen and officers, and dependents of seamen killed in action, with cash sums. It was one of the first charitable trusts of this nature to be established in the world, and continues to this day. Then there was the practice known as 'widow's men'. Each ship carried one or two 'widow's men' per 100 of her complement, depending on her circumstances. These men were purely fictitious and were given 'pusser's tallies', imaginary names, but their pay went to a fund for the relief of widows and dependents of men who were killed in service." ==================== 7 A SPECIAL SHIP The Joseph Conrad The "Joseph Conrad" was originally launched as the "Georg Stage" in 1882 and used to train officers in Denmark. The noted mariner/writer Alan Villiers saved the ship from the scrappers and renamed her in honour of the author. Villiers wrote of her: "My ship was the last surviving frigate in the world. A single-tops'l full-rigged ship crossing three royals, she was 100 feet on the waterline, 25 feet beam, drew 12 feet and grossed 212 tons. Originally looking for a schooner, he found her quite by chance as he walked the waterfront of Copenhagen one June day. "She was no ordinary ship: gloriously proportioned hull, with a seat in the water like a sea bird, tall symmetrical masts and tapering yards. She was small - but what a picture of grace and sea-beauty!" After sailing nearly 60,000 miles around the world Villiers arrived in New York in 1936, where he was forced to sell his beloved ship. She was used as a private yacht for several years, then as a training ship of the U.S. Maritime Commission. Finally, in 1947, she found her final resting place, as museum ship and training facility at Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Connecticut. Julian and Kathy have fond memories of seeing her during Julian's US Author Tour in 2002. --- We have two prizes of a pair of passes to Mystic Seaport to give away (worth $35) - Shipmates can see not only the "Joseph Conrad" but also all the other fascinating attractions at this unique museum. For a chance to win, email the Bosun with the number of flags "Joseph Conrad" sailed under before permanently mooring at Mystic in 1947. www.mysticseaport.org =================== 8 NEW ON THE WEB www.JulianStockwin.com We've revamped the home page with a new livery to reflect the cover colours of COMMAND. Hope you like it! Click on the NEW button on the home page to see all the recent additions to the website. =================== And if you'd like to help "spread the word" about the Kydd series, email the Bosun for a free Shipmate Ambassador Pack. The Pack contains information about Julian and the books plus laminated bookmarks and series postcards. (There is a small charge to cover postage for Shipmates living outside the UK). Coming next month: special COMMAND launch issue! Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++