IMAGE
Julian Stockwin
Softback
Book Reviews
271106
This is the fifth book in the stories of Kydd and Renzi. Stockwin has the opportunity to develop the different characters of Kydd and Renzi as they adapt to the significant change in their fortunes when they are confirmed as Lieutenants. Renzi comes from a privileged background and his adaptation originally was as a volunteer seaman in the Royal Navy. Kydd also had an initial adaptation to life aboard a warship as a pressed man but his humble background as a young wigmaker presented less challenge in relating to the seamen in his mess. Now the situations are reversed as Renzi slips easily into the social environment of the wardroom and Kydd feels uncomfortable and unable to freely join in the conversations about hunting and the pursuits of gentlemen. Stockwin himself made the migration from Petty Officer to Officer and although the conditions faced in Kydd's age of sail were different from the Navy in the second half of the Twentieth Century, Stockwin must have experienced a period of adjustment when he joined the Wardroom from the Petty Officers' Mess. The story starts with Kydd's new Captain obviously unhappy that his junior Lieutenant has come through the Hawse and is not a born gentleman. Fortunately for Kydd there is insufficient time for a replacement to be sought. Much of this book follows Kydd's adjustment as he initially regrets his elevation away from the Petty Officer's mess. A happy accident creates a reputation that cements him into the fraternity of Tenacious' Officers. For these adventures, Stockwin drafts our two heroes and their ship HMS Tenacious to the North American station. It is after the American War of Independence, and the British now base their western forces in the Caribbean and the Newfoundland and Canadian ports. There is action and adventure aplenty as the tale unfolds. In this book Renzi takes a back seat, popping up periodically, his character being further developed, but this is primarily an account of how Kydd successfully makes the migration to Wardroom life and positions the two principle characters for the books that will follow. Kydd searches for his uncle, estranged from Kydd's father and moved to Newfoundland. This search produces a legacy for Kydd and develops his family background. Stockwin also gives Kydd an interesting role in the development of the embryonic US Navy. In many fictional stories of naval daring in the days of sail and Nelson, the background is almost incidental and the stories could be rewritten against a very different background and a very different age. Part of the charm and engagement of Stockwin's saga of Kydd and Renzi is that the characters and the background are tightly integrated. He varies the pace as he tells the tale. In the process he paints a convincing picture of the age and the society in which his characters live. The research is done well and there is a feeling of authenticity throughout. The only criticism is that a reader coming fresh to the topics, characters and era may have a little difficulty in understanding the terminology that has to be an integral part of the three dimensional adventure. This is not a major problem because it can naturally wash along in the wake of an absorbing tale but the reader will get even more from it by understanding the detail. The Illustrated Dictionary of Sailing Ships, Boats and Steamers ( Scott Robertson, Nexus Special Interests) is helpful to developing an understanding of the terms and technology of the age. Model books such as The Period Ship Handbooks (also Nexus Special Interests) can help develop an appreciation with their lavish illustration of models and rigging as they describe some of the high quality hobby kits of sailing ships. Stockwin's books can become very addictive and encourage a much greater interest in the times and topics that form important parts of the Kydd and Renzi saga. This may prompt a reader to search out some of the fine Conway books in their Anatomy of the Ship series that includes titles covering a cross section of famous vessels from the time of Kydd. It is also fair to say that any reader who starts with the first book "Kydd" and then reads through the series will find early questions answered naturally as the saga unfolds through the volumes.
R1410
Fiction
0-340-83219-3
http://tinyurl.com/
Quarterdeck
346
£6.99
Hodder and Stoughton