Clay at Trafalgar

 

C. S. Forester has been imitated many times since he invented the concept of a novel serial centered on the career of a naval officer. Horatio Hornblower has numerous counterparts, both at sea and in space.

“Clay and the Immortal Memory,” by Philip K. Allan, is the latest entry in one of the more successful series in the maritime genre. It is the tenth book and latest in a series tracing the adventures of Alexander Clay, a fictional Royal Navy officer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The book opens in at the end of 1804. Clay commands the frigate Griffin, returning from India after a three-year commission in the Indies. He, his wardroom and his crew have been together longer than that. His officers and a chunk of the forecastle hands are followers, men who follow a trusted captain from ship to ship. Yet all everyone aboard wants right now is home and leave.

Before they can reach home, Griffin has to shake off a pursuing squadron of French frigates operating out of Mauritius. That delays them into 1805. While on their homeward leg, they encounter a Franco-Spanish fleet in the Atlantic. It is headed towards the West Indies.

That postpones their arrival home. Once Clay determines their course, he heads for the nearest British warships, those blockading Cadiz, to bear warning. He finds Cadiz unguarded, but discovers Admiral Nelson and his fleet at Gibraltar.

He joins Nelson in his chase across the Atlantic and back again in pursuit of the enemy fleet. This leads up to the Battle of Trafalgar, the climax of the war at sea during the Napoleonic Wars. Clay and Griffin participate.

Allan shows both sides of the battle. The book also follows the French fleet through the Redoubtable and its crew. This French ship-of-the-line was part of the fleet commanded by Admiral Villeneuve during this campaign. Allen follows it from Toulon to the West Indies and into the Battle of Trafalgar.

The result is a fast-paced novel that builds to an explosive climax. Allan alters some of the historical events to yield a more coherent story. (There is no Battle of Finisterre – Calder’s Action – in this book.) Yet he avoids too much violence to history.

If you like nautical adventures, “Clay and the Immortal Memory” is worth reading. Allan’s Alexander Clay series is one of the more worthy successors to C. S. Forester.

“Clay and the Immortal Memory,” by Philip K. Allen, Independently Published, 2023, 387 pages, $19.99 (paperback), $5.99 (ebook)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.

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  1. David C. Broussard Coolidge
    David C. Broussard
    @Dbroussa

    Have you ever read His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik?

    • #1
  2. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    David C. Broussard (View Comment):

    Have you ever read His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik?

    No, but it sounds intriguing.

    • #2
  3. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    David C. Broussard (View Comment):

    Have you ever read His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik?

    No, but it sounds intriguing.

    But beware:  the series is very politically correct. 

     I stopped reading it after the sixth novel, in which a new African empire stops the slavr trade.   Instead of encouraging it, as all real 19th century African rulers did.

    Africans had the same attitude toward slavery as the ancient Greeks and Romans:  you don’t want to be a slave yourself, but you have no objections to enslaving other people.

    People opposed to slavery in 19th century Africa were all European Christians.   Admittedly, writing truthfully about this might hurt Novik’s career.

    • #3
  4. David C. Broussard Coolidge
    David C. Broussard
    @Dbroussa

    Taras (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    David C. Broussard (View Comment):

    Have you ever read His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik?

    No, but it sounds intriguing.

    But beware: the series is very politically correct.

    I stopped reading it after the sixth novel, in which a new African empire stops the slavr trade. Instead of encouraging it, as all real 19th century African rulers did.

    Africans had the same attitude toward slavery as the ancient Greeks and Romans: you don’t want to be a slave yourself, but you have no objections to enslaving other people.

    People opposed to slavery in 19th century Africa were all European Christians. Admittedly, writing truthfully about this might hurt Novik’s career.

    I’ll admit that I stopped reading when they got shipped to Australia. I think the next book wasn’t out yet and I never went back to it. So, I read four books I think. The early books were quite good I thought. Well, I didn’t like the second one as much…

    • #4
  5. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    David C. Broussard (View Comment):

    Taras (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    David C. Broussard (View Comment):

    Have you ever read His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik?

    No, but it sounds intriguing.

    But beware: the series is very politically correct.

    I stopped reading it after the sixth novel, in which a new African empire stops the slavr trade. Instead of encouraging it, as all real 19th century African rulers did.

    Africans had the same attitude toward slavery as the ancient Greeks and Romans: you don’t want to be a slave yourself, but you have no objections to enslaving other people.

    People opposed to slavery in 19th century Africa were all European Christians. Admittedly, writing truthfully about this might hurt Novik’s career.

    I’ll admit that I stopped reading when they got shipped to Australia. I think the next book wasn’t out yet and I never went back to it. So, I read four books I think. The early books were quite good I thought. Well, I didn’t like the second one as much…

    I think the one set in China was my favorite.

    The problem with modern liberals writing historical novels:  the Royal Navy captain who is the main human character eventually betrays the British Empire for the sake of his dragon-pal, or so I am given to understand.

    • #5
  6. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    One of Clay’s followers is his Coxswain, a runaway slave Clay picked up in Barbados. That actually was not ahistorical or even unusual. It happened a lot. What the author blew was Clay keeping the man a secret after he enlisted on the grounds his owner might demand him back. In reality at that time any black that joined the Royal Navy became a free man (just like any black slave setting foot on British soil in Europe became free).  A lot of blacks joined the Royal Navy for that reason. Attitudes towards slavery were different back then than people believe today.

    • #6
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