Ramage's Mutiny

Lord Ramage #8

by Dudley Pope, Steven Crossley (Narrator)

The vicious mutineers aboard the British ship Jocasta had surrendered their vessel to Spain. Sailing aboard the frigate Calypso, Captain Lord Ramage receives Admiralty orders to recover her by any means.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Nautical, War, Audiobook, Adventure

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Dudley Pope was born in Ashford, Kent.

By concealing his age, Pope joined the Home Guard aged 14 and at age 16 joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet. His ship was torpedoed the next year (1942). Afterwards, he spent two weeks in a lifeboat with the few other survivors.

After he was invalided out of the Merchant Navy, the only obvious sign of the injuries Pope had suffered was a joint missing from one finger due to gangrene. Pope then went to work for a Kentish newspaper, then in 1944 moved to The Evening News in London, where he was the naval and defence correspondent. From there he turned to reading and writing naval history.

Pope's first book, "Flag 4", was published in 1954, followed by several other historical accounts. C. S. Forester, the creator of the famed Horatio Hornblower novels, encouraged Pope to add fiction to his repertoire. In 1965, "Ramage" appeared, the first of what was to become an 18-novel series.

Pope took to living on boats from 1953 on; when he married Kay Pope in 1954, they lived on a William Fife 8-meter named Concerto, then at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy in 1959 with a 42-foot ketch Tokay. In 1963 he and Kay moved to a 53-foot cutter Golden Dragon, on which they moved to Barbados in 1965. In 1968 they moved onto a 54-foot wooden yacht named Ramage, aboard which he wrote all of his stories until 1985.

Pope died April 25, 1997 in Marigot, St. Martin. Both his wife and his daughter, Jane Victoria survived him.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having first to act as a judge in the court martial for some captured mutineers - when it is very apparent that it was the captain's own fault and not really the seamens. Ramage is tasked with retrieving HMS Jocasta (the mutiny ship) from Spanish hands. Inside a very heavily defended harbour, a fellow captain has already shown his cowardice by dismissing the task as impossible - will Ramage be able to succeed against all the odds and show him up as the coward he really is.

[Viva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead:

This book is basically in 2 parts: The first part talks about mutiny. The Jocasta frigate mutinies, murders its officers and sails to a Spanish port in the Spanish Main. The British are on the look out for mutineers whenever they stop and search a vessel and finds 4 of them. Ramage is called to be one of the post captains in the trial of the 4 mutineers and the subsequent trial lays open the entire incident.

It seems that the captain was mentally unbalanced and had the men flogged for little things and every incident was taken as a slight against him, even the officers were afraid. The mutiny happened when the captain determined that the last man off the rigging would be flogged. As everyone rushed down, one man fell to his death. A group of men were then sentenced to be flogged for murmuring about the incident. The men decided that eventually they would all be flogged to death and mutinied.

The men were going to spare the officers but the captain was killed when he defended himself in his cabin and the rest of the officers were killed by one of the mutineers who was in a drunken frenzy. The Spanish didn't exactly fete the mutineers. Only the most active of them (not all were willing participants, only about 50 out of the crew) were rewarded with 18 months worth of room and board and they were eventually all released.

This isn't the first time Pope has dealt with the subject of mutiny but he does so in much more detail this time. And other writers have deal with this subject too. In a ship, a captain has almost god-like powers over his men and captains are just like other people, there are good ones, bad ones and insane ones. Like Captain Sawyer in Hornblower they can appear normal to others but only reveal their true nature when on the ship. In this case, the captain was known even among other captains to be off and Pope rightly lays the blame on the admiral for not taking action.

A lot of sympathy is given to the men due to the harsh, impossible and insane situation they lived in but like Captain Edwards the flag captain said, the men had to be hanged despite the extenuating circumstances. He added that was the difference between the British and the Dons, they had discipline and the Dons didn't. What can you do in a case like this when the admiral is just as guilty and would give no help? Perhaps the best solution was given in Hornblower's book, a quick push over the coaming when no one is looking during a dark stormy night.

Both CS Forester and Pope gave a good treatment of this issue, which must have been very disturbing, impossible and hell to be living under during those times. CSF wrote it as Hornblower was living it under Captain Sawyer. Pope wrote is as seen after the fact during the trial. Both are done very effectively. My respect for Pope as a writer has gone up a notch.

The second part of the book deals with Ramage given the order to cut out the Jocasta under the guns of the port of Santa Cruz (I have no idea where this is since the name is so common), only know that it's a port somewhere in the Spanish Main. His specific orders are to cut it out. The admiral's favorite was previously given the task but all he did was to go there, check out the harbor and the 2 forts guarding the entrance and leave, reporting that it was impossible due to the lack of charts of the area and the forts.

Ramage is very lucky. First he meets up with an American merchantman who tells him there is a Spanish guarda costa brig patrolling around the area. Armed with this information he captures the Spanish brig which supplies him with some charts, signal book and further information. He then pretends his own ship to have mutinied and sails into port together with the brig. Apparently the whole port believes this story based on a few flag signals flown by the brig.

He is allowed to anchor next to the Jocasta. The Spanish captain comes over with a few officers and are captured. Ramage then boards the ship and captures it. All 3 ships sail back out when the moon rises giving them moonlight to see. On the way out the brig drops off Rennick and the marines who capture and blow up both forts.

All done in easy mode of course. I don't know if I were the port captain that I wouldn't send lots of men over a newly mutinied enemy ship that had come into my harbor. They did it with the Jocasta but not with Ramage of course.

There's more and even better, while reading the Jocasta's books and messages, he finds that the Jocasta is supposed to guard and convoy a very valuable merchantman back to Spain. On the way there he encounters a sudden caldereta which is a severe and sudden storm. It comes over the mountain and over the sea like an avalanche. Ramage has a feel for it when he sees the light change over the mountain top and furls all the sails. The Jocasta survives, but just and sails to the meeting place. Once there, the mayor, port captain and fort commander all come aboard and are tricked to reveal that the treasure ship was caught by the calderata and got swept away.

Ramage sails in search, first finding a damaged fishing boat that confirms the ship is somewhere close by and not sunk and then finding the treasure ship. Ramage goes back to home port. The admiral is first not amused that Ramage did not strictly obey his orders but mollified when he finds that Ramage has captured two years worth of production of pearls and emeralds making him a rich man.

All in all not a bad book. As usual there were 5 pages worth of Ramage worship which is getting a bit cringy. And as another reviewer said, there was a lot of repetition of Marchesa love and explanation of previous events. In my opinion none of that is needed and just filler. If Pope wants to us to know how great Ramage is as a person and captain, you don't need his men to dialog it, just show it in the events. That's what CS Forester does, make us feel it, not read it. And the Marchesa love is gratuitous. If I never read the series before, knowing about an old character means nothing. If we've read it already, we already know it. Anyway, on to the next book. To date, this is the best series next to Hornblower that I've read so I've relatively tolerant of this stuff. If I never have to read about how great or handsome Ramage is and how beautiful the Marchesa is it wouldn't be too soon.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ramage is given what seems to be an impossible task, but as usual he comes up with an audacious plan. Even though this was an interesting read, you really have to suspend all disbelief to think the plan would work.
Having accepted that this was far-fetched adventure, then even the outrageous ending seemed quite reasonable. Overall it was a really enjoyable read.

[Michael Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the eighth adventure of Lord Nicholas Ramage in the Royal Navy at the time of Napoleon. Britain’s war with revolutionary France continues. Ramage is posted to English Harbour on the Spanish Main. A mutiny occurred on the British frigate Jocasta a few months ago and the harbour is still buzzing. The captain and officers were killed, and the Jocasta was sailed to Santa Cruz and given to the Spanish. The Spanish kept the crew members who wanted to stay but the rest were broadly dispersed throughout the Caribbean. Several crew members have been captured by the British, court martialed and hung.

Four more mutineers have been captured and Ramage is ordered to sit as a member of the court martial. The findings of the court martial are shocking, destroying the reputation of the Jocasta and her captain. All four admitted to being part of the mutiny and one was the leader and instigator, and the killer of the captain. All four were found guilty and sentenced to death. However, the leader agreed to meet Ramage and provided considerable information regarding the Jocasta, where she was and detailed information about Santa Cruz where she was moored.

Ramage is assigned the role of recovering the Jocasta even though the senior captain in English Harbour had already failed. He and reported the fortresses around Santa Cruz rendered it impossible. Ramage used surprise and careful deployment of his resources to recapture the Jocasta. As a result of his success, Ramage learned about a major and valuable item of “significant and valuable cargo of great worth” stored in la Guairá. Separating his crew to provide enough men to return the Jocasta to English Harbour, Ramage went searching for the valuable cargo.

When Ramage finally returns to English Harbour he is chastised for taking extra time however when the Admiral finally listens, he is struck dumb.

This was a good story, well told. There is little outright ship to ship action in this story. However, Pope is adept at ensuring there was always risk, a sense of tension, and fear for Ramage’s life and future. His biggest fear is possibly having his ship removed and spending the rest of his career on half-pay with no ship.

Four stars.

[Bret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ramage’s Mutiny is an entertaining piece of naval fiction. The plot centers on Ramage’s attempt to free the captured Jocasta from the impregnable Spanish stronghold of Santa Cruz. The sailing details can be a bit technical, but they never overwhelm the story. The dialogue is engaging, and the book provides a thoughtful look at Ramage’s inner fears as well as the high regard in which he is held by his crew. It also portrays the severe discipline of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars with a clear, unsentimental eye.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story! Ramage is sent after a ship that the crew had mutinied & taken it to the Spanish Main. The captain who had previously been in charge of blockading Martinique (Ramage's Diamond) had been sent to get it back but failed. It was considered impossible, but so are most of Ramage's assignments! Very hard to put down toward the end.

[Jason Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy the buildup of these books, but ultimately it accrues to nothing. Ramage will gamble on the thinnest of premises, and it always pays off.

Details for this one:
Ship: HMS Calypso (a little better of HMS Jocasta)
Love interest: Marchesa is mentioned but does not appear
Crew: the band from the previous novel carry’s forward.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

#8 in the series and once again Ramage proves he can handle any task assigned. Two years after a British frigate crew mutinies, and surrenders the ship to the Spanish; Ramage and his crew must get the ship back. Always an adventure.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Ramage book. He is tasked with taking a British frigate turned over to the spanish by mutineers and returning it to British hands. In addition a prior attempt already failed to they know he is coming. Only an audacious plan dreamed up by Ramage could be sucessful

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word in the title punches how hero surprises enemy and triumphs against Napoleon.

[Geoff Woodland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second tine f reading - the first was years ago - but once again it remains a very good yarn with credible characters.

[Jack Sakalauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good story. Still had some parts with excessive explanations but much better than the first few books. Not too much moaning and complaining about his girlfriend.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say is the Spanish can’t be that stupid. Still, I enjoyed reading the book.

[Steven Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun story and a quick read

These books flow so well. I appreciate the author’s ability to tell a story, and not delve into pointless details.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting adventure with the amazing Ramage!

[Stuart]

I recently read Pope’s non-fiction book on this mutiny. It was enjoyable to read his fictional Ramage taking a lead role in this novel.

[Reni · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's it. I think this is the last novel of this series I'm gonna read, if not forever then at least for a long while.

I was not as disappointed in this one as in the last two volumes but it's clear to me that this series has abandoned all its charms that made it stand out from other series within the genre. Ramage has been too good a hero since book one, endlessly brave, endlessly competent. But he used to have bizarre flaws that made him likable. Also the series used to have different POVs that actually added something to the story rather than just praised the hero and turned his flaws into virtues.

My favourite character in this book incidentally happened to be Ramage's admiral, because the man is such a grand-standing hypocrite! He is utterly flawed but still has to act as the reasonable authority figure which quickly becomes hilarious. This is also where the book re-discovers its old humour for a bit: I really loved the conversations with the admiral.

I also really enjoyed the court martial. I know Pope wrote a book about the trials following the Hermione mutiny (because I read it), and accordingly the court martial scenes read authentic, despite the process having been effectively tightened and shortened to make for better fiction.

I was less impressed with the titular play-acted mutiny. I had really hoped it would make up a good majority of the book, because there's so much suspense you can put into something that. Will they be found out? What have they do to prove they're genuine mutineers? But in the end this part of the book only lasts a couple of dozen pages. And then the book is back to having Ramage thinking up fanciful plans to dupe his enemies, and wouldn't you know, every one of them goes off without a hitch!

All in all this volume is pretty inoffensive, but it is also not especially exciting. What a shame.

(also, it is really weird that a naval scholar like Pope keeps ignoring the fact that there used to be a rank between lieutenant and post-captain. Did he think it would confuse us? Must be, because the book keeps repeating basic Age-of-Sail stuff we already learned in the previous books, and the way it's integrated into the narrative is anything but skillful.)

[Michael Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout this early part of this generally entertaining series of Napoleon naval adventures, the author never makes the tactical mistake of trying to cram too many plot lines between the covers of each volume. He generally sticks to two or three main narrative threads, and that’s the case here. Having essentially captured a French merchant fleet with only his own frigate and a couple of smaller French vessels which he had captured earlier, Capt. Lord Ramage, the youngest post captain in the Royal Navy, has developed quite a reputation and has been gazetted several times in rapid succession -- all of which isn’t making him many friends among his superior officers, actually. But he has a way of interpreting his orders to do what he wants (or thinks he needs) to do anyway. This one starts with the court martial (described in great detail) of a handful of recaptured mutineers who had taken over the frigate Jocasta two years before and turned her over to the Spanish. They were morally justified, probably, because of the psychopathic cruelty of their captain -- though mutiny is never justified in the navy’s eyes, for very good reasons, even though the members of the court are appalled at the testimony of the accused. (All this is based on the true tragedy of the Hermione, whose company mutinied for much the same reasons.) But then Ramage receives orders to cut out and recover the Jocasta from one of the most secure ports on the Main, following a failed attempt by the commanding admiral’s favorite, and whom he intends to protect by sacrificing Ramage. Ramage, of course, has every intention of carrying out his hopeless task successfully, relying on surprise and originality of tactics and taking full advantage of whatever tools unexpectedly come his way. He even gets to show off his uncanny meteorological sixth sense. But Pope is going to have to arrange for his hero to fail at something, or else he’ll be on course to replace Nelson before the series even reaches Trafalgar.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my eighth book in the Ramage series. I enjoyed this one for two. The first was Ramage had to sit on a court martial for four mutineers and he had to deal with their guilt and their reason for mutiny. This was tough thing to do as they were guilty, but there was the question of their motivation a captain, who was quite possibly mad. I won't go into great detail just let you find out what happened. The second reason was Ramage had to recapture a frigate that had been delivered to the Spanish by the mutineers from the court martial. This is where the action was in this book. Just how it was done involved a crafty plan, some daring on the part of Ramage's crew and a great deal of luck. I enjoyed this one as it unfolded because it was fun although you can kind of guess what is going to happen from the title. I would rank this one as a great adventure.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of the Ramage books - all of which are exciting and well written. The Ramage series ranks 3rd with me behind Hornblower and Bolitho for age of sail excitement. Ramage is just a little too good and nothing is impossible..

[Gerold Whittaker]

Enjoyed

[jallioop]

Not his best. The idea of a mutiny to get into the harbor was way too obvious. Am also getting tired of Ramage being in the Caribbean. Hopefully he'll soon be sent to Europe to fight.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Pope's Ramage series. It isn't as nautically realistic as Hornblower, but it is a swashbuckling good time.

[Jon Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of Pope's better stories so far; although, I did predict how he would get into and out of Santa Cruz during the early mutiny trial . . .

[Michael Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has a clever twist, although the title gives it away. It's still interesting to watch the execution of the idea.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing after the previous books. Hopefully just an off period.