John Pearce

London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, is illegally press-ganged into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on her way to war. He is drawn to a group of men who form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans. As they chase a French privateer across the English Channel, these disparate men form friendships that will last a lifetime. Book 1 of series.

Pressed into King George's Navy, John Pearce and his Pelicans find themselves working aboard HMS Griffin, in search of the French privateers that prey on English merchant shipping and, if possible, to capture or destroy them. But Pearce has greater things on his mind: he must rescue his ailing father from the dangers of revolutionary Paris.. Book 2 of series.

John Pearce's recent promotion means that he is finally free to follow his own wishes. But while he is indulging himself in London, his trio of closest friends are shipped off to the Mediterranean. Riddled with guilt, Pearce vows to liberate them from the brutal tyrant they are serving under. Book 3 of series.

Firebrand John Pearce has been promoted to lieutenant and is in a position of command on board HMS Faron. He is entrusted with the task of escorting 5,000 radical French sailors to a port on the Atlantic coast, but when the assignment goes awry, it is up to Pearce and his trio of friends, the Pelicans, to prevent judicial murder... Book 4 of series.

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce is caught between a feuding trio of admirals. One puts him in a position of danger while another asks him to undertake a hazardous commission in order to protect his friends, the Pelicans. Book 5 of series.

It is 1793. John Pearce and his Pelicans are going home - to gain their freedom and put the treacherous Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock. Emily Barclay discovers Pearce has papers that would ruin her husband's career and her future security. And then comes that dread thing, a fire aboard a wooden ship of war! Book 6 of series.

Lieutenant John Pearce's companions arrive in London just in time to join him in fetching a ship laden with contraband back from France - an illegal act but very profitable. Are Pearce and his Pelicans sailing into prosperity or danger? Book 7 of series.

1794. Free from jail, John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole. While lying low, Pearce soon has other pressing concerns on his mind. Granted a commission by William Pitt, John Pearce evades his pursuers by undertaking a dangerous mission in France. Book 8 of series.

1794. In the wake of an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against Revolutionary France, Lieutenant John Pearce must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood. Meanwhile smugglers whose ship Pearce inadvertently stole, are on his tail. And it is not only John Pearce who has his fair share of trouble. Book 9 of series.

1794. The Mediterranean is proving dangerous waters for John Pearce and his Pelicans. When he unknowingly delivers a letter promoting the shady and incompetent Admiral Hotham, Pearce finds himself entangled in a political plot that soon puts those closest to him at peril. Book 10 of series.

It's 1794. Stuck in Palermo harbour, Lieutenant John Pearce and his trusty Pelicans must repair the battle-damaged HMS Larcher. Then sailing into danger, they encounter enemies and Pearce has no option but to abandon his ship. He must face a court-martial for his actions, but his troubles are only just beginning. Book 11 of series.

1794. Fresh from battle in the Gulf of Ambracia, Lieutenant John Pearce and his trusty Pelicans arrive in the Italian port of Brindisi. Free from authority, Pearce travels to Naples to track down his lover, Emily Barclay. But upon finding her, Emily reveals astonishing news that will send her back to her brutish husband and Pearce’s longstanding enemy, Captain Ralph Barclay, to avoid further scandal. Book 12 of series.

1796. Pearce and his wife Emily are in living in Bath when Minister of War, Henry Dundas, suggests a second mission to the Vendee. The proposed expedition looks promising and Pearce takes the bait. Once at sea, however, Pearce and his crew encounter a French fleet and a battle ensues off the Ile de Groix. Pearce, accompanied by his faithful Pelicans, must go ashore into dangerous territory to check the lay of the land and find the allies.... Book 13 of series.

1796. Lieutenant John Pearce is heading home aboard a hospital ship, yet the journey is far from plain sailing. Evading capture by an Algerine warship, Pearce attempts to save his disparate band of friends, the Pelicans, from being pressed into service on a British frigate – only for the group to risk being hanged for desertion once home. Pearce does not know who to trust. All he can hope to do is survive... Book 14 of series.

John Pearce is hiding in Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known to him as Oliphant. Although they find a crew willing to take them back to England, they learn on the journey that Pearce’s old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on the route and may have been responsible for the murder of Catherine Carruthers.Back in England their problems continue: Pearce must seek to mend fences with Emily Barclay, in a relationship in which nothing is simple. And just as things may be looking up, it seems Henry Dundas has another role for him and Oliphant: a mission to northeast Spain....  Book 15 of series.

1796. John Pearce is stuck with a difficult mission, a crew of Quota Men forced to enlist in the Royal Navy, four new midshipmen as well as Samuel Oliphant, companion-cum-spy, whom he finds a constant irritant. In his favour he commands HMS Hazard, a speedy warship, a pair of competent officers and, of course, his trusty friends the Pelicans.

Their mission is to head for the Mediterranean Fleet and warn Admiral Sir John Jervis of impending danger he will face, fighting a combined French/Spanish fleet. But there is a serious distraction, the imminent arrival of a Spanish vessel from South America carrying silver, for which the Spaniards are waiting before declaring war.

Can John Pearce resist the lure of such a valuable capture and risk his ship in a dangerous battle to gain it, or will his duty come first?  Book 16 of series.

John Pearce discovers that Madrid plans to desert the British-led coalition and join the enemy. In company with Lord Langholm, he has taken a Spanish treasure ship but is forced into a deep bay overlooked by Spaniards who have a cannon aimed at the entrance. Pearce must take the lead and find a way to get Langholm's frigate and the damaged Santa Leocadia through the bottleneck.

His orders take him via Gibraltar, then to Admiral Jervis to warn of Spanish duplicity. Jervis sends him to Bastia in Corsica, where the Viceroy is seeking to hold the island for Britannia in the face of Napoleon's successes in Italy. At night he must fight the Francophile Corsicans, who are arming themselves for an insurrection.

Will he succeed, or will John Pearce, HMS Hazard, and the Pelicans pay the ultimate price of failure?  Book 17 of series.