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Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures #15
Old Bahama Straits
Britain’s response was fast and decisive when Spain joined the Seven Years War on the side of France. Guarded by a naval battle squadron, regiments drawn from Britain, the American colonies, and the garrisons of captured French islands were sent to lay siege to Havana. With Havana in British hands the Flota’s route to carry the wealth of the Indies to Spain would be threatened and the Spanish economy would collapse, knocking Spain out of the war in one stroke.
That was the plan, but the British invasion force soon learned the gruesome reality of campaigning in the tropics.
In the early summer of 1762 Edward Carlisle in his fourth-rate ship-of-the-line Dartmouth is sent to scout the route to Havana through the dangerous Old Bahama Straits, and to bring in the vital American reinforcement convoys. With his growing fluency in Spanish, and his contacts in Havana, he becomes embroiled in the difficult negotiations between a besieging army weakened by disease and a proud city on the brink of a humiliating defeat.
This is the fifteenth Carlisle and Holbrooke novel, continuing the journey through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies.
That was the plan, but the British invasion force soon learned the gruesome reality of campaigning in the tropics.
In the early summer of 1762 Edward Carlisle in his fourth-rate ship-of-the-line Dartmouth is sent to scout the route to Havana through the dangerous Old Bahama Straits, and to bring in the vital American reinforcement convoys. With his growing fluency in Spanish, and his contacts in Havana, he becomes embroiled in the difficult negotiations between a besieging army weakened by disease and a proud city on the brink of a humiliating defeat.
This is the fifteenth Carlisle and Holbrooke novel, continuing the journey through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2024
203 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Chris Durbin
15 books70 followersChris Durbin grew up in the seaside town of Porthcawl in South Wales. His first experience of sailing was as a sea cadet in the treacherous tideway of the Bristol Channel, and at the age of sixteen, he spent a week in a topsail schooner in the Southwest Approaches. He was a crew member on the Porthcawl lifeboat before joining the navy.
Chris spent twenty-four years as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, serving in all classes of ship from aircraft carriers through destroyers and frigates to the smallest minesweepers. He took part in operational campaigns in the Falkland Islands, the Middle East and the Adriatic. As a personnel exchange officer, he spent two years teaching tactics at a US Navy training centre in San Diego.
On his retirement from the Royal Navy, Chris joined a large American company and spent eighteen years in the aerospace, defence and security industry, including two years on the design team for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Chris is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, the British Army Command and Staff College, the United States Navy War College (where he gained a postgraduate diploma in national security decision-making) and Cambridge University (where he was awarded an MPhil in International Relations).
With a lifelong interest in naval history and a long-standing ambition to write historical fiction, Chris has embarked upon creating the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, in which a colonial Virginian commands a British navy frigate during the middle years of the eighteenth century.
The series will follow its principal characters through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American Colonies in the 1760s. They’ll negotiate some thought-provoking loyalty issues when British policy and colonial restlessness lead inexorably to the American Revolution.
Chris now lives on the south coast of England, surrounded by hundreds of years of naval history. His three children are all busy growing their own families and careers while Chris and his wife (US Navy, retired) of thirty-seven years enjoy sailing their classic dayboat.
Chris spent twenty-four years as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, serving in all classes of ship from aircraft carriers through destroyers and frigates to the smallest minesweepers. He took part in operational campaigns in the Falkland Islands, the Middle East and the Adriatic. As a personnel exchange officer, he spent two years teaching tactics at a US Navy training centre in San Diego.
On his retirement from the Royal Navy, Chris joined a large American company and spent eighteen years in the aerospace, defence and security industry, including two years on the design team for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Chris is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, the British Army Command and Staff College, the United States Navy War College (where he gained a postgraduate diploma in national security decision-making) and Cambridge University (where he was awarded an MPhil in International Relations).
With a lifelong interest in naval history and a long-standing ambition to write historical fiction, Chris has embarked upon creating the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, in which a colonial Virginian commands a British navy frigate during the middle years of the eighteenth century.
The series will follow its principal characters through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American Colonies in the 1760s. They’ll negotiate some thought-provoking loyalty issues when British policy and colonial restlessness lead inexorably to the American Revolution.
Chris now lives on the south coast of England, surrounded by hundreds of years of naval history. His three children are all busy growing their own families and careers while Chris and his wife (US Navy, retired) of thirty-seven years enjoy sailing their classic dayboat.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 29, 2024
Having lost my original review written on my kindle I will say this has been my favorite of the series so far. I also enjoyed Durbin's fiction vs history at the end. A great explanation of what happened and who really did everything. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen in the future.
I also liked the issues with reading mail out of order. That was a nice slice of life.
I also liked the issues with reading mail out of order. That was a nice slice of life.
August 6, 2024
A very successful conclusion to this fine series.
Carlisle and his fourth rate manage to stay busy as the war with France and Spain is winding down. A final stint in the Caribbean keeps the prize money flowing concluding in a fine grand finale, the siege of Havana.
Carlisle and his fourth rate manage to stay busy as the war with France and Spain is winding down. A final stint in the Caribbean keeps the prize money flowing concluding in a fine grand finale, the siege of Havana.
May 17, 2024
In writing about an earlier book in this series I noted how author Chris Durbin's choice to begin his hero's adventures during the Seven Years War of the 1750s and 1760s gave him so many more un-sailed seas in which to maneuver. The Napoleonic era is replete with series hashing and re-hashing the different events of that conflict to the degree that readers might actually be able to prepare a quality research paper on the subject using only fictional works as sources.
Durbin's 15th volume makes the advantages of the choice as clear as could be, as Virginia-born Edward Carlisle captains his fourth-rate, 50-gun ship of the line Dartmouth during the English invasion and capture of Havana. A secret treaty between the kings of France and Spain brought the latter into the war, making the capital of the Spanish territory an obvious target.
What isn't obvious is how to attack Havana, which rests at a confluence of straits and currents that allows it to see attacking fleets from a distance and have its own naval forces enter battle at an advantage. But one of our heroes, Edward Carlisle, has successfully (more or less) navigated the treacherous Old Bahama Straits and on the orders of the admiralty devises a clever plan to guide the invasion fleet through them. Success will bring them upon the city before its defenders can respond, and allow the English and colonial forces to lay siege and then force Havana's surrender.
One of the features of the Carlisle-Holbrook series has been the way that Carlisle's mind rapidly calculates the solution to a problem before him. Whether it's capturing a wandering Spanish brig (that turns out to contain a very important messenger) or altering a ship's angle so its guns can reach much higher than ordinary, he sizes up situations quickly, deduces a course of action and puts it into motion, usually faster than the enemy can cope. It's on full display in this volume, which may be one of the best of what is a high-quality series. Characterizations, action sequences and sea battles all fall neatly into place in what is a truly great read.
The reviewer has set aside following several other historical naval fiction series as they have become dull, repetitive and have a shadow of their earlier flash. Now fifteen books into his own work, Durbin has yet to disappoint, and finishing number 15 only begins the waiting for number 16.
Durbin's 15th volume makes the advantages of the choice as clear as could be, as Virginia-born Edward Carlisle captains his fourth-rate, 50-gun ship of the line Dartmouth during the English invasion and capture of Havana. A secret treaty between the kings of France and Spain brought the latter into the war, making the capital of the Spanish territory an obvious target.
What isn't obvious is how to attack Havana, which rests at a confluence of straits and currents that allows it to see attacking fleets from a distance and have its own naval forces enter battle at an advantage. But one of our heroes, Edward Carlisle, has successfully (more or less) navigated the treacherous Old Bahama Straits and on the orders of the admiralty devises a clever plan to guide the invasion fleet through them. Success will bring them upon the city before its defenders can respond, and allow the English and colonial forces to lay siege and then force Havana's surrender.
One of the features of the Carlisle-Holbrook series has been the way that Carlisle's mind rapidly calculates the solution to a problem before him. Whether it's capturing a wandering Spanish brig (that turns out to contain a very important messenger) or altering a ship's angle so its guns can reach much higher than ordinary, he sizes up situations quickly, deduces a course of action and puts it into motion, usually faster than the enemy can cope. It's on full display in this volume, which may be one of the best of what is a high-quality series. Characterizations, action sequences and sea battles all fall neatly into place in what is a truly great read.
The reviewer has set aside following several other historical naval fiction series as they have become dull, repetitive and have a shadow of their earlier flash. Now fifteen books into his own work, Durbin has yet to disappoint, and finishing number 15 only begins the waiting for number 16.
September 26, 2024
Carlisle saves the day again!
This book adds to the series of historical fiction about the naval aspects of the Seven years War. It is comparable to Forester and O'Brien. I particularly enjoy the inclusion of other prominent and important characters on both sides as well as historical context for each campaign. A very good read. I hope there is more to come. I wonder how Carlisle will deal with the approaching revolt?
This book adds to the series of historical fiction about the naval aspects of the Seven years War. It is comparable to Forester and O'Brien. I particularly enjoy the inclusion of other prominent and important characters on both sides as well as historical context for each campaign. A very good read. I hope there is more to come. I wonder how Carlisle will deal with the approaching revolt?
May 19, 2024
A delightful splice of history, geology, and natural science as he Seven Year’s War ends
The series fills out people and event of the Seven Year’s War in a memorable and retainable way. My, American, perspective has greatly changed. The maps are an important addition to the boooks.
The series fills out people and event of the Seven Year’s War in a memorable and retainable way. My, American, perspective has greatly changed. The maps are an important addition to the boooks.
May 20, 2024
I have enjoyed the Carlisle and Holbrooke series. With this book Carlisle is at the center of the English campaign to take Havana from the Spanish. Aside from the death toll among English soldiers, I really knew little about the history. Chris Durbin in his easy to follow style lays out the obstacles for a Cuban campaign.
Enjoyed and highly recommend.
Enjoyed and highly recommend.
July 27, 2024
excellent…
…as all the previous and consistently excellent books in the series. Chris Durbin continues to cement his position as natural successor to Patrick O’Brian, and I can only hope this isn’t the last in the series…
…as all the previous and consistently excellent books in the series. Chris Durbin continues to cement his position as natural successor to Patrick O’Brian, and I can only hope this isn’t the last in the series…
June 11, 2024
another ripping yarn
Chris Durbin’s done it again a great read, can’t wait to see what’s happening with Holbrook, and what’s to become of Carlisle.
Chris Durbin’s done it again a great read, can’t wait to see what’s happening with Holbrook, and what’s to become of Carlisle.
February 15, 2025
Good bit of History
Good read and tutorial of the siege of Havana. The historical characters were well portrayed.
I’m sorry to be reaching the end of this series.
Good read and tutorial of the siege of Havana. The historical characters were well portrayed.
I’m sorry to be reaching the end of this series.
September 9, 2024
If anything, the Carlisle/Holbrook series continues to improve as the Seven Years' War winds down in 1762. Unlike the more familiar history of the Napoleonic Wars, most readers will find themselves on somewhat less solid ground in the previous century. Anyone who has visited Puerto Rico, or the fortress in Jacksonville, Florida, is aware how well fortified the Spanish colonies in the Americas were. I was completely unaware that as France's King realized he was going to lose the war, with one colony after another falling to the British and much of France's trade interrupted, tried to bring his cousin, the King of Spain, into the war on his side. It was certainly a shocking error on the part of Spain. Furthermore, that the British could attempt the siege and conquest of Havana, the jewel in the crown of New Spain at the time, in spite of prior experience going back to the 16th century that had shown that the Caribbean was a hazardous place to send a fleet because of tropical diseases. These diseases were poorly understood until the time of Walter Reed. However, reading this book will show you that such a campaign actually happened, and fictional Captain Carlisle was in the thick of it in this telling.
Like the rest of the series, Mr. Durbin sticks very close to the sources and it's possible to learn the history from the novel, even though I generally disapprove of that practice. However, the author gives references to his sources so I figure in this case it's pretty secure. I wonder what the next book will be like.
Like the rest of the series, Mr. Durbin sticks very close to the sources and it's possible to learn the history from the novel, even though I generally disapprove of that practice. However, the author gives references to his sources so I figure in this case it's pretty secure. I wonder what the next book will be like.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews