Clay and the Sublime Porte

by Philip K. Allan

Newly returned from South America, Captain Alexander Clay and his men are soon off on a fresh adventure. Trouble is brewing in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the Ottoman Empire is being seduced away from its alliance with Britain. Clay is sent on a mission to Constantinople, a cultural melting pot where intrigue and treachery is in the air. Navigating a way through the Dardanelles proves comparatively easy compared to the dangerous currents that swirl around the Sublime Porte. When war becomes inevitable, he finds he must deal with mutinous Turks, bickering admirals on his own side, and at the heart of it all, the French.

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2026

About the author

I am from the UK where I live with my wife and daughters. My writing combines my passion for ships and the sea, with intelligent writing and pacey plots.

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I don't pay for book reviews so what you see here is genuine reader feedback.

Reviews

[Cindy Vallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

HMS Griffin is in sore need of repairs, if she can be saved at all. Fortunately, the Admiralty has acquired and restored a French, seventy-four-gun warship, HMS Hermes. If Alexander Clay accepts command, he and his men will remain together. Of course, he will need additional personnel – a feat achieved through sleight of hand – as well as another lieutenant. On their way to join Admiral Collingwood’s fleet in the Mediterranean, this officer dismisses a midshipman’s fleeting glimpse of a light where none should be. When Clay learns of this, he discovers just how woefully ill-prepared the lieutenant is for his post.

Equally concerning are the revelations from Admiral Collingwood. Until now, the Ottomans have been peaceful allies, but the British failure to help the sultan protect his country against the encroaching Russians has opened a door to Napoleon that was previously sealed. As a result, the French ambassador has insinuated himself into the sultan’s good graces with military advice and repairs to the various fortresses guarding the passageway from the Mediterranean to Constantinople. France has also supplied needed armament while at the same time garnering ill will among the Janissaries, who have long protected the sultan and his empire.

Perhaps a show of force will remind the sultan who his friends truly are, and Clay can learn from the British ambassador just how dire the situation is. Otherwise, it may become necessary to destroy the Ottoman capital and/or its fleet because Napoleon will not be permitted to gain the upper hand. Clay’s adeptness at being tactful and thinking outside of the norm in dangerous situations makes him the best candidate for this assignment. When neither proves sufficient, one of his trusted crew comes up with a suggestion. Implementing it comes with deadly risk and depends on blind trust.

Clay and the Sublime Porte is book twelve in the Alexander Clay series. Allan skillfully entwines diplomacy with action in ways that keep you engaged in the story and the characters. Sailing through the narrow Dardanelles where fortresses overlook the strait and threaten even the largest warship makes for a tense journey that is repeated several times. Each time, the stress and anxiety ramps higher than before, so much so that you feel as if you are standing on the quarterdeck with Clay or beside the gun crews defending their ships. Political details are deftly woven into the narrative in ways that inform without bogging down the story or the action. The portrayals of differing leadership styles shine through while making confrontational scenes galvanic. Although I have read other nautical fiction that portray these events, Clay and the Sublime Porte provides one of the clearest depictions of this intrigue and does so from a totally naval perspective. Fans, old and new, of this series will find this an absorbing account of lesser-known impacts of the Napoleonic Wars.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Allan.html...)

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Clay returns, this time making it home with a heavily damaged ship and is set ashore while it is considered for repairs or just being scrapped. Soon he gets another ship and a perilous duty in the eastern Mediterranean.

This book is what could be considered an alternate universe fantasy or a "romance" of the Napoleonic War in the older sense of the word. These events never happened and the situation presented did not arise during the war. It wouldn't have been such a bad idea for the French to attempt it, but it never happened.

The most interesting part of the story for me was the return of Sir Sidney Smith who was a rather fascinating character in history. But most writers reduce him to an ass, a fool, and an egotistical jerk. Allan manages to keep the man's personality intact (he is very self absorbed and focused on his glory) but shows how he was brilliant, if flawed, a dynamic and very capable sea captain and strategist. A man who would be difficult to know but easy to admire, despite his many drawbacks.

The book ends on a bit of a down note with some real concern over how the actions in the book will be perceived back home not just by the people but the Admiralty.

There is a bit of an anachronism in the writing; the main characters are horrified, just shocked by the idea that they might have to shell a city of Turks which would have been a minor issue for the people of the time. Clay might be personally upset at the idea of killing and harming civilians but not tremendously, given that its war and people were not quite so squeamish in the past.

[Steven Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Clay’s frigate is under repair, and according to the dockyard constructors, might even be beyond economical repair. But the Admiralty assigns him a ship of the line, a recent capture from the French, and sends him to the Mediterranean where he joins Admiral Duckworth’s fleet. This fleet sails up the Dardanelles to Istanbul on a diplomatic mission that attempts to foil French influence on the Ottoman Sultan’s court. It’s a rather complex situation that seems hard to believe until you get to the historical note at the end and find out that it happened almost exactly like that in history.
It’s an interesting precursor or even foreshadowing to the more famous Dardanelles campaign in World War I. I wonder how much Winston Churchill was influenced by the historical record.

[John Nino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diplomacy in action

A very well told tale of the power of diplomacy to prevent unnecessary wars. If only we practiced it today. Regime change accomplished without destroying a country. Do we never learn from history?

[Willliam Kruft · Rating 5 out of 5]

and Clay had no answer...

When asked why the loss of life, effort and initiative, Captain Clay had no answer... another great yarn, best part as alwaus being the capture of lower deck perspective and spirit!

[Jim Purcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent entry in this lively series.
Clay travels a long way into the Mediterranean to show Britain’s Flag. To no avail, as the Turks draw closer to France. Some bloody battles ensue as he and his squadron fight their way through the Dardanelles in both directions.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Phillip k. Allen is a fantastic writer and I'm always enthralled by his books. I read the entire Alexander Clay series and want more...