In 1786: Captain William Rennie is on the beach and on half pay. Things weren't always so bad for him. Four years earlier Admiral Rodney had singled him out for his part in the glorious Battle of the Saints, but since then he has found himself ignored by the Admiralty, and his career has all but gone by the board. So Rennie is amazed when he's given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition. For Lieutenant James Hayter, in Dorsetshire, whose career had barely begun when the peace came, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally surprising and exciting. Leaving his home and his sweetheart for at least a year is a small price to pay for this heaven sent opportunity to get to sea again. But for these two sea officers there is something odd and disturbing about the nature of their task. They sense that they are not being told the whole truth about the forthcoming expedition, and the shady, powerful figure of Sir Robert Greer is always at their backs. There is trouble at the dockyards - delays and disputes - and vexing difficulty over scientific instruments. There are clashes of personality, and unwelcome additions to the ship's complement just as she is about to leave harbour. Then a long series of mysterious accidents and setbacks as Expedient sails south. Is someone trying to sabotage their mission? Why is their progress dogged by a mysterious man of war? And what are the secret orders locked in Rennie's cabin which may only be opened once they round the Cape of Good Horn? The answers lies on a beautiful uncharted island, in the remotest corner of the Pacific immensity, to which the storm-battered Expedient limps for desperately needed repairs. Soon the dangers of the voyage will pale in comparison with what they discover there, across the limpid waters of the lagoon ...

HMS Expedient

Literature & Fiction

PETER SMALLEY

Literary

Arrow

It is the year 1788. HMS Expedient has returned from a perilous secret mission to the Pacific Ocean. Her Captain, William Rennie, and First Lieutenant James Hayter should be wealthy men, but their patron, the sinister spymaster Sir Robert Greer, has seen that their rewards and their crews are meager at best. The most they can hope for is a new commission - no easy matter in the peace: and the only man with influence enough to get them one is Greer. Everyone knows that the uneasy calm that exists between Britain and pre Revolutionary France cannot last the coming political ferment on the Continent. French spies are already abroad in the British Colonies planning attacks that will take place when war breaks out. One of the places most at risk is the island of Jamaica: a key strategic and economic target of the French. Soon Expedient is on her way to Port Royal. There they find a society founded on the unimaginable riches of slavery and the plantations; a society threatened by sexual intrigue, scandal and the ever-present threat of fever. But soon murder is added to the mix and it falls to Rennie and Hayter to unravel a complex enemy plot taking place at the Governor's residence at Spanish Town; a plot that will end in a bloody and unexpected sea action.

Port Royal

Genre Fiction

Arrow Books

Barbary Coast

Contemporary

Spring 1792. Captain James Rennie is anxious to be active again after a year on the beach. And this time he longs for regular service with the Fleet as opposed to the extraordinarily dangerous detached missions he has been assigned by Britain's shadowy spy masters in the last few years. His friend, Lieutenant James Hayter, is haunted by his past and he too longs for the sea. Both will find their escape, but not in the circumstances they would have wished. Once more the summons comes for a secret voyage, in pursuit of a heavily armed neutral vessel. Aboard the ship lies a secret that could change the course of the coming war for Britain, and the loss of which could tip the balance irrevocably in favour of Revolutionary France. Rennie and Hayter must play a deadly game involving sea battles, mutiny and breathtaking deception. And, of course, the only stakes in the game are victory or death.

Pursuit

Windsor/Paragon

1786: Captain William Rennie is on the beach and on half pay. Things weren't always so bad for him. Four years earlier Admiral Rodney had singled him out for his part in the glorious Battle of the Saints, but since then he has found himself ignored by the Admiralty, and his career has all but gone by the board. With so many officers in the same position in the peace, with most of them having greater hope of preferment, Rennie is amazed when he's given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition. For Lieutenant James Hayter, in Dorsetshire, whose career had barely begun when the peace came, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally surprising and exciting. Leaving his home and his sweetheart for at least a year is a small price to pay for this heaven sent opportunity to get to sea again. But for these two sea officers there is something odd and disturbing about the nature of their task. They sense that they are not being told the whole truth about the forthcoming expedition, and the shady, powerful figure of Sir Robert Greer is always at their backs. There is trouble at the dockyards - delays and disputes - and vexing difficulty over scientific instruments. There are clashes of personality, and unwelcome additions to the ship's complement just as she is about to leave harbour. Then a long series of mysterious accidents and setbacks as Expedient sails south. Is someone trying to sabotage their mission? Why is their progress dogged by a mysterious man of war? And what are the secret orders locked in Rennie's cabin which may only be opened once they round the Cape of Good Horn? The answers lies on a beautiful uncharted island, in the remotest corner of the Pacific immensity, to which the storm-battered Expedient limps for desperately needed repairs. Soon the dangers of the voyage will pale in comparison with what they discover there, across the limpid waters of the lagoon...

Century

Port Royal (SIGNED)

It is the eve of the French Revolution and England awaits with trepidation the news from the Continent that will propel her into war again after six years of peace. But Lieutenant James Hayter's orders from the Admiralty do not at first involve the sea. He must go inland to seek out his friend Captain William Rennie, who has disappeared into the wilds of Dartmoor.When he finds Rennie alone and broken down in an isolated farmhouse, Hayter fears the Captain will be unable to make the journey to London. Hayter has his own hopes of a command, but these are cruelly dashed when they reach the capital, where they find the sinister spymaster, Sir Robert Greer is once more behind their deployment. They are to sail in HMS Expedient to the Mediterranean, to assist Britain's ally Rashid Bey of Rabhet, with Hayter yet again Rennie's second in command. So, unprepared for what they will find on the dangerous Barbary Coast, Expedient and the ten gun cutter Curlew sail into treacherous waters. The odds are daunting. They must make a show of defiance against the mighty corsair fleet of Rabhet's enemy the Dey of Tunis. Murky politics, threatened mutiny, desperate sea actions and imprisonment follow on the sweltering North African Coast, where the rules of European warfare no longer apply and the victor will take everything.

Barbary Coast (William Rennie 3)

1790 and England is on the cusp of war with Revolutionary France. The night-time Channel is the scene of intense smuggling activity and the passage of spies from one coast to another. Lieutenant James Hayter has achieved his heart's desire--his first independent command, His Majesty's cutter Hawk, 10 guns.....Daily Express call this novel--Breathtakingly exciting, magnificent.

The Hawk

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Already deeply disturbed by a terrible incident during his previous commission, James Hayter is on the verge of taking command of HMS Sloop Eglantine when tragedy strikes. He becomes convinced that he is not fit to command. Though he repents of his decision in the end, Hayter's naval career appears to be over, until Mr Brough Mappin, an agent for the British Secret Service Fund, intervenes. Mappin offers Hayter a chance to revive his career on a special mission, the single most dangerous mission of his life. He must set sail for France in HMS Expedient and there rescue some persons of interest from the grasp of French Revolutionary forces. But at what cost to the Expedient and her crew..?

The Gathering Storm (William Rennie 5)

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Books by PETER SMALLEY

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by PETER SMALLEY. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

HMS Expedient

Port Royal

Barbary Coast

Pursuit

HMS Expedient

HMS Expedient

Port Royal (SIGNED)

Barbary Coast (William Rennie 3)

The Hawk

The Gathering Storm (William Rennie 5)