Nelson: The Dreadful Havoc

Nelson Chronicles #2

by Jan Needle

By the time he was invalided back from the disastrous expedition up the Rio San Juan in an attempt to destroy Spain’s hold on central America, Nelson – at the age of only 22 – was ‘a dead man walking.’ He was carried ashore at Port Royal in a cot, and saved from certain death only by the intervention of Captain ‘Coachee’ Cornwallis, who was determined he would get well again. The brother of the would-be scourge of the rebels of the Thirteen Colonies, Cornwallis put him in the care of a handsome black woman – Mrs Cuba – who had taken his own surname. Steeped in voodoo, her methods were frowned on by the medical establishment. With his faithful companion Tim Hastie, Nelson spent many weeks with Cuba and her young nurses, often delirious and racked by fever and by pain. By the time he was appointed captain of the Janus, Nelson was too sick to take up the command. Not long afterwards – not for the first time in his short life – he was sent back to England as a wreck. It was touch and go if he would survive the voyage… ' The Dreadful Havoc' is the second of a series about the life and times of Horatio Nelson, which looks at some of his lesser known exploits, as well as the ones which made him the country's most iconic hero. Jan Needle has had more than forty books published, including the best-selling 'Death Order', ‘The Devil’s Luck’ and ‘Other People’s Blood’. Praise for Jan 'Brilliant. I found myself being drawn back into that twilight world again, despite myself. I was grossly entertained and thrilled... [Jan Needle] is a rare talent.' Jimmy Boyle 'A thundering great novel. What's really amazing is how much he seems to know about so many different things...what more could you want from a thriller? A cracking good read.' Tony Parker, New Statesman & Society 'So topical...[Needle] develops a complex, ingenious plot at breakneck speed and has a sharp underdog's eye.' John McVicar, Time Out 'Compelling, vivid, racy...describes with unnerving prescience just what is going on...it will appeal equally to conspiracy and cock-up theorists.' Guardian 'Recalls the golden age of British investigative hard-hitting, crusading, alarming prescience.' The Times

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2014

About the author

Jan Needle has written more than forty books, including novels for adults and children and literary criticism. He also writes plays for stage, TV and radio, including serials and series like Grange Hill, The Bill and Brookside. His first novel, Wild Wood, is a retelling of The Wind in the Willows with Toad, Rat, Mole and Co as the ‘villains’ - a sort of undeserving rural squirearchy – and the stoats and weasels as heroes. A new version was brought out recently by Golden Duck, with the original wonderful illustrations by the late Willie Rushton.

Although he is currently working on a film of perhaps his most celebrated children’s book, My Mate Shofiq, Jan has recently been concentrating on historical novels about his first and most enduring love, the sea, and a series of extremely gritty thrillers. His aim has always been to transcend standard genre writing, which has sometimes brought him disapproval. The ‘hero’ of his first naval fiction, A Fine Boy for Killing, is a borderline sadist, and life on the frigate Welfare undermines almost every heroic myth popularized by earlier writers. Loved or hated, his novels refuse to be ignored.

His thrillers are also firmly in the ‘noir’ spectrum. The most recent is The Bonus Boys, which features a hard-as-nails investigator called Andrew Forbes and his Scottish lover Rosanna ‘the Mouse’ Nixon, who first appeared in Kicking Off, a chilling warning about the fissile state of Britain’s crumbling prisons. More are in the pipeline, as are additions to a series of novellas about crime, the 18th century navy, and the secret world of spies and spying. Even the possibility that Napoleon escaped from his exile on St Helena is examined. Like many ‘mere conspiracy theories’ it uncovers some extraordinary possibilities.

Jan also attempts, in conjunction with Walker Books, to widen the readership for certain classic novels. They include so far Moby Dick, Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Woman in White, all aimed at a young adult audience . In his spare time, he sails boats and plays a variety of musical instruments.