Dudley Pope

A biography of the legendary millionaire and business magnate.

On 2nd April, 1801, the Royal Navy anchored a few hundred yards off the Copenhagen waterfront and engaged the Danes in a brief but bloody battle. Earlier, inspired by Paul I of Russia, the northern powers had begun to form an armed coalition which could have become a serious threat to British interest; the arrival of a British fleet in the Baltic and the subsequent defeat of the Danes was in answer to that perceived threat. To Nelson, the battle of Copenhagen was more than a great gamble: it was unnecessary. He had believed in a direct attack on the Russian fleet, but, failing that, he convinced Sir Hyde Parker, to whom he was second-in-command, that the best initial step would be an attack on the Danish fleet at Copenhagen. This he was allowed to lead. Dudley Pope looks at what miscalculations, what stupidities, what order of politics combined to put Nelson second-in-command to a man over sixty, a man with no real knowledge of naval warfare, a man who, at the height of battle, when the Royal Navy so obviously had the upper hand, hoisted the signal for Nelson to retreat. Nelson famously disregarded the order for, as he said, he had a right to be sometimes blind, being sightless in one eye. But The Great Gamble is much more than a full-blooded account of one of the greatest sea battles of all time. With his scrupulous eye for detail and unlimited access to both British and Danish sources, Pope throws such fascinating light on the background, the intrigues and the ramifications of the battle that the work can be read as a political, diplomatic, naval and social history of the early years of the Napoleonic wars.

xv, 300 p. : 22 cm

When a British ship captain is killed in a naval battle of the Napoleonic War, Lieutenant Ramage is assigned the task of rescuing a British sympathizer, a beautiful Italian Marchesa.

Lieutenant Lord Ramage, in command of the Triton brig, is escorting a convoy from Barbados to Jamaica, normally a routine and tedious chore. But this time Ramage has to be especially vigilant to guard the convoy's precious cargo—a family of important French refugees.

Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth-century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band are depended upon for the defence of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures on behalf of the King and his own honour.

It is the 1650's and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal Royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

Ramage's Touch finds the ever-popular Lord Ramage in the Mediterranean with another daring mission to undertake. He soon makes a shocking discovery which dramatically transforms the nature of the task at hand. With the nearest English vessel a thousand miles away, Ramage must embark upon a truly perilous and life-threatening course of action. With everything stacked against him, he has only one chance to succeed.

The Treaty of Amiens is signed and Nelson's navy languishes in port. Ramage is at home on half pay and suspects Napoleon will yet break the terms of the treaty. He is then given secret Admiralty orders to survey a small island off the coast of Brazil. He sails in Calypso, but then encounters more danger than in previous exploits.

Captain Lord Ramage and the Calypso return from Devil's Island, but Ramage's new wife Sarah is missing. The captain would like nothing better than to sail home immediately, but instead he is ordered to shepherd a lumbering convoy of merchant ships back to England. On the way, bizarre events lead him to a full court martial in Plymouth, presided over by his old nemesis, Rear-Admiral Goddard. Ramage must clear his name—or face a sentence of death!