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Nelson Chronicles #1
Nelson: The Poisoned River
For Horatio Nelson, life on the West Indies station has been a disappointment.
While other men have fought the American rebels, he has been forced to cruise the Caribbean disrupting Spanish shipping, and harrying the pirates, privateers and smugglers moving contraband to the detriment of the English exchequer. Many of the smugglers hail not only from the Thirteen Colonies, but are themselves British. The work is mundane, with few opportunities for the glory he craves.
Sailing in consort with his friend Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson has had some success, but has been thwarted time after time when his targets turn out to be legitimate traders.
His prize money has been small, and Nelson knows that to succeed in his life’s ambition he must be rich. To top it all, years of recurring malaria are destroying his health.
When the governor of Jamaica decides to send an expedition up the San Juan river to link the Caribbean with the Pacific Ocean, the potential prize is enormous. The Spanish Main will be split in half, and England will control the whole continent.
If he succeeds, Nelson’s will be a hero.
But the river is notorious as ‘a hundred miles of white man’s death.’ Dense jungle, fever, snakes, alligators, mosquitoes, big cats – it has them all.
And half way up the river is a fort full of Spanish soldiers.
Within weeks of landing the expedition at the river’s mouth, Nelson is on a gruesome killing ground.
And it seems unlikely that he will be among the few survivors…
‘Nelson: The Poisoned River’ the first of a series about the life and times of Horatio Nelson, which will look 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 Needle:
'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 reporting: hard-hitting, crusading, alarming prescience.' The Times
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
While other men have fought the American rebels, he has been forced to cruise the Caribbean disrupting Spanish shipping, and harrying the pirates, privateers and smugglers moving contraband to the detriment of the English exchequer. Many of the smugglers hail not only from the Thirteen Colonies, but are themselves British. The work is mundane, with few opportunities for the glory he craves.
Sailing in consort with his friend Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson has had some success, but has been thwarted time after time when his targets turn out to be legitimate traders.
His prize money has been small, and Nelson knows that to succeed in his life’s ambition he must be rich. To top it all, years of recurring malaria are destroying his health.
When the governor of Jamaica decides to send an expedition up the San Juan river to link the Caribbean with the Pacific Ocean, the potential prize is enormous. The Spanish Main will be split in half, and England will control the whole continent.
If he succeeds, Nelson’s will be a hero.
But the river is notorious as ‘a hundred miles of white man’s death.’ Dense jungle, fever, snakes, alligators, mosquitoes, big cats – it has them all.
And half way up the river is a fort full of Spanish soldiers.
Within weeks of landing the expedition at the river’s mouth, Nelson is on a gruesome killing ground.
And it seems unlikely that he will be among the few survivors…
‘Nelson: The Poisoned River’ the first of a series about the life and times of Horatio Nelson, which will look 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 Needle:
'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 reporting: hard-hitting, crusading, alarming prescience.' The Times
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2014
14 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Jan Needle
73 books33 followersJan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 11, 2024
DNF
This was just plain boring with nothing interesting really happening. Or at least, anything that could have been interesting was written in a way that was entirely unengaging. Sadly the writing felt flat.
This was just plain boring with nothing interesting really happening. Or at least, anything that could have been interesting was written in a way that was entirely unengaging. Sadly the writing felt flat.
July 20, 2025
A solid enough tale of Horatio Nelson's early life, cataloging an early event as a new Lieutenant where he is involved in a doomed attempt to invade central America to throw out the Spanish. Disease, betrayal, terrain, incompetence, and unreliable allies all combine to result in misery -- this would be a spoiler for the book but clearly the British did not accomplish this goal at any point.
Because of the failure and misery, this makes the book a bit challenging to read. Told from the perspective of a friend and personal physician of Nelson, this si basically "Nelson was really sick. Things sucked. We failed. He was courageous. He got sicker. We failed." over and over. While likely accurate, its not a very entertaining read. But its pretty well told and the characterization is solid.
Because of the failure and misery, this makes the book a bit challenging to read. Told from the perspective of a friend and personal physician of Nelson, this si basically "Nelson was really sick. Things sucked. We failed. He was courageous. He got sicker. We failed." over and over. While likely accurate, its not a very entertaining read. But its pretty well told and the characterization is solid.
February 18, 2021
Nelson, the early years
More a short story than a novel being only 94 pages; it tells of an early campaign in the West Indies. The objective is an expedition up the San Juan river to link up the Caribbean with the Pacific Ocean, to slit in half the Spanish Main. Good beginning to a new series.
More a short story than a novel being only 94 pages; it tells of an early campaign in the West Indies. The objective is an expedition up the San Juan river to link up the Caribbean with the Pacific Ocean, to slit in half the Spanish Main. Good beginning to a new series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews