This page is designed to provide resources for both existing reading groups who would like to discuss one or more books in the Thomas Kydd series, and also for people thinking of starting up a reading group. We look forward to this section of the website growing and developing with input from readers. Please email Julian@JulianStockwin.com with your comments/suggestions

Your local library or bookstore will probably know of reading groups near you. You might like to visit one of these before starting your own.

Once you decide to go ahead you'll need to think about group size and type, where and how often you will meet and how books will be chosen for discussion.

Then there's the specifics of the meetings - how the discussions will be led, how long the meetings will last, what refreshments will be provided etc.

There are many pointers on the internet. Just do a search on “reading groups”. Here are a few useful sites we've come across:

Advice for Reading Groups

Sharing Book Selections

Running a Book Club

 

Among the books you might find useful are:

        Reading Groups by Jenny Hartley ISBN 0 19 818 7785

        Essential Guide for Reading Groups by Susan Osborne ISBN10 7475 6094 3

newBOOKSmag is a bi-monthly magazine for readers and reading groups. A free copy is available on request to:

        newBOOKSmag

        15 Scots Drive

        Wokingham

        BERKSHIRE   RG41 3XF

   

“Shades of Horatio Hornblower! This time the hero (Thomas Paine Kydd) is a pressed man, who didn't start life on board a ship as a midshipman destined for a career in the navy. Taken under the wing of the experienced Joe Bowyer, Tom is given a tour of the ship (this is where I would have liked a glossary of naval terms and a silhouette of a man‑o'‑war with the salient points of hull, masts and sails etc. to refer to, because I became as lost as poor Tom! Or was this actually the author's intention? )

A great variety of characters came across realistically (Wong Hey Chee, a Chinese able seaman) and Renzi (a very mysterious gentleman) who later became Tom's close companion. Then there are the "nasties" - Elkins (the hard‑faced petty officer), Tyrell (first lieutenant), Cantlow (a midshipman embittered by his lot) and the weak Captain Caldwell.

If you like historical novels, adventure or war stories, there are the books for you. I enjoyed Kydd immensely, and look forward to reading subsequent novels - they would also make another exciting addition to our small screens in the wake  of the Hornblower series” Mrs Gwen Wade, Slade Green

“I've just read Mutiny. This was a totally absorbing book for anyone interested in naval history, particularly in the age of Nelson - most of the events described actually happened. For instance, the Nore Mutiny of 1797 is shown from the seamen's viewpoint and their determination to obtain redress for their grievances.  It shows the government's fears about the nation's collapse into anarchy and invasion by the French.

Stockwin's characters, Kydd and Renzi, are excellent - they appear to think and speak just like eighteenth century seamen, while the nautical details - ships, rigging etc - ring perfectly true. The story runs at a cracking rate of knots and the crescendo of the tale is really astonishing! Highly recommended” Arthur Hutchings, Bexleyheath

“Everybody liked the way the reader is made to feel as alienated as Kydd on board ship for the first time, as you really do share his lack of knowledge of seafaring terms and learn with him what things are. The old-fashioned speech patterns were also a hit, the group's favourite being my starboard peeper.” Books@F.J.Nichols Reading Group, Blackburn UK

We welcome comments about any of the books in the Kydd Series from members of Reading Groups : Julian@JulianStockwin.com

There are scores of excellent books on the great age of fighting sail. Here's five:

Gardiner, Robert “The line of Battle: The Sailing Warship 1650‑1840”

Lavery, Brian “Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation”

McGuane, James “Heart of Oak - A Sailor's Life in Nelson's Navy”

Harland, John “Seamanship in the Age of Sail”

Southam, Brian “Jane Austen and the Navy”

There are more recommended books in the Bookcase section of Julian's website.

Why not trace Thomas Kydd's footsteps as a reading group activity?

 Guildford, in the English county of Surrey, is the birthplace of Kydd - and retains much of the feel of the places Kydd knew, from the Castle Keep to the black‑faced Great Clock on the façade of the Guildhall to the Angel Posting House.

 Portsmouth, Hampshire. Here, there's much that Kydd would be familiar with, from the Hard to the dockside taverns.  And the famous HMS Victory provides an unforgettable tactile sense of an eighteenth century warship and the way the sailors lived.

...and then there's the Caribbean, Halifax and the North American Station, the Patuxent River area in the States?

We'd love to hear of your travels with Kydd!

Or perhaps have a food‑themed meeting? This can be as simple as serving “grog” instead of tea or coffee, or you can have an eighteenth‑century meal - why not lobscouse and dog's body, then figgy dowdy? You can find these recipes on the BBC page about Julian’s visit to the Cutty Sark.

And in summer, you could serve the rum punch that Kydd enjoyed in the Caribbean in Seaflower

One part sour (lemon or lime juice)

Two parts sweet ( sugar syrup)

Three parts strong (dark rum)

Four parts weak (water)

Grated nutmeg to taste

 

Serve well chilled with plenty of ice...

Spoiler alert: some of the questions in the guides may give away plot points. We suggest you read them after the book!

Thomas Kydd, a young wigmaker from Guildford in Surrey is press‑ganged into King George's Navy. Despite the harsh realities of shipboard life he comes to love the sea, and takes up the challenge to become a true sailor.

 “A rousing debut - a brilliantly imagined account of a man overcoming fear.” The Boston Globe

“Rich in action and full of interesting characters, this thrilling novel leaves you in awe of the 18^th century seaman.” Peterborough Evening Herald

Discussion

 1. KYDD is based on real life. Have you learned anything about the world of the eighteenth century British seaman that surprised you?

 2. Discuss the effectiveness of period dialogue in the book. Would you have preferred modern speech patterns?

 3. The flogging in the book is very graphic. What are your thoughts on capital punishment then and now?

 4. What is Renzi's role?

 5. Julian Stockwin says he is a “visile” and that he needs to visit the places he writes about. How is this reflected in his writing?

 6. We know from the blurb line - “one man's journey from pressed man to Admiral in the great age of sail” that Kydd is destined for the top. What sense of this, if any, is there in this book?

 7. What were your expectations of a first book in a historical adventure series? Were they met?

 8. The author often gives physical descriptions of his characters in broad brush strokes, rather than great detail. How satisfying are your mental pictures of them?

 9. There are a number of deaths and injuries in the book. Which ones were necessary for plot development, which ones were just casualties of the times?

10. Is there a character who you particularly identified with?