The Flying Squadron (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics) (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics)

In this tense atmosphere of international acrimony, Capt. Nathaniel Drinkwater is ordered to the Chesapeake Bay in a last-ditch effort to heal the rift between London and Washington. Quite by chance, on the banks of the Potomac, he discovers the first clue to a bold plan by which the United States could defeat the Royal Navy, collapse the British government and utterly destroy the British cause.

When Drinkwater, amid personal crises, takes command of a squadron sent against the Americans, he risks his reputation and commission with the audacity of his actions. Finally, during a climactic confrontation in the South Atlantic, he comes face to face with the unmitigated horror of an interminable war.

This book expands on the theme of the struggle against Napoleon, plus the new threat from the fledgling United States.
Nathaniel Drinkwater, now Captain, is increasingly involved in espionage and subversion as the Secret Service draws on his special talents to undermine Napoleon's empire-building. It is apparent that Lord Dungarth is grooming Nat as his successor, which lies uneasily on Nat's uneven shoulders.

After a few months R&R, Nat finds himself in command of a crack squadron with a remit to dissuade the US from assisting France. This involves some dissembling on Nat's part - incidentally assisted by an amorous interlude - which causes Nat a torment of conscience, and his colleagues to have doubts about his sanity. The subsequent astounding success of the mission restores his colleages' faith in his uncanny ability to correctly analyse a confusing array of facts and supposition.

This book is in 3 parts, and each could stand alone, but the constant US thread running through them ties it into one story.

As usual, excellent descriptions and tension-building make the pages fly by - and the author's notes fill in the facts behind the tale. A series to read, savour and re-read.*****


Sails slowly at first, then flies   January 10, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Richard Woodman's Nathaniel Drinkwater series is my favourite from the age of fighting sail. Beginning with the brilliantly Gothic Eye of the Fleet set during the American Revolution and through 20 plus years of the Napoleonic wars Woodman has rounded out the flawed but fundamentally decent Drinkwater. In The Flying Squadron Drinkwater faces some of his most difficult challenges to date.

The year is 1811 and the reader, with the benefit of historical hindsight, knows that Napoleon's reign is nearing its end. However, the situation appears far the opposite to Britain. Napoleon's Continental System has severely damaged trade and unemployment in England is rampant. To make matters worse war with the United States of America is looming; a war the embattled Royal Navy neither needs nor wants. As usual the reader can count on Woodman to produce a unique perspective on the times.

The Flying Squadron is constructed in three parts; the first set in 1811 as Drinkwater supports a peace envoy to the USA, the second set in 1812 after war is declared with Drinkwater patrolling the American coast and the third set in 1812-13 where the naval action takes place. It is very much in keeping with the series; covert actions leading to a climactic naval encounter at the conclusion. In my opinion The Flying Squadron is one of the series' best entries.

American readers may find this work difficult to read as the USA is portrayed as the enemy in the novel, especially when the reader sees in the first part that the English envoy is attempting to find a peaceful solution and that London is willing to meet Washington's terms. However, like men of other nationalities who Drinkwater has fought, the Americans are portrayed fairly with one possible exception. Woodman points out that war is a waste and the tragedy of America and Britain fighting while a tyrant rules Europe is subtly made. Perhaps Drinkwater's most effective statement in the first part is his referral to an atrocity from An Eye of the Fleet. I found its reference more shocking in The Flying Squadron than the act was in the original. Woodman savages the idea of a war of gentlemen played out like a schoolyard game.

The first part has a number of lyrical passages where Woodman gets his pen rolling. He can write well and exercises his writing in a number of philosophical areas. A reader expecting more action will be disappointed although there is much dramatic tension. Drinkwater commits an uncharacteristic betrayal and is tortured by his conscience. Perhaps after becoming fond of the Drinkwater character over the last few years, Drinkwater's problems become much more serious than any naval battle. The reader can appreciate the toll on Drinkwater after nearly 20 years spent away from home and family.

In the second part Drinkwater returns to the American coast as the Commodore of a Flying Squadron with open-ended orders. The briefer second section brings to a conclusion some of the events of the first. The action is similar though being more cloak and dagger or cat and mouse. This is the area where Woodman has carved his niche for Drinkwater, in covert actions. There is always more going on than meets the eye and Drinkwater eventually figures it out.

In the third part Drinkwater is off to the South Atlantic fresh with insight from his two previous trips to the USA. In this section we see that his insight has paid off leading to a climactic naval battle. We also get the big picture of the war.

The historical perspective of The Flying Squadron is fascinating and one gets a new angle on that war. However, I don't think a couple of the characters' reflections are accurate. For instance, before war breaks out the view is expressed in the English quarters that they should be able to hold onto Canada for some period of time. I doubt that reflects the realities of the situation at the time. Also, at the novel's conclusion in March 1813 the word from Canada is not good. Historically it was. By March 1813 Fort Michilmackinac had been captured, Detroit had been captured and Americans pursued into Ohio, and the Americans repulsed in Niagara albeit with the loss of the brilliant General Isaac Brock. Woodman might want to consider a revision in any reprinting.

The Flying Squadron may not be to everyone's taste. The vocabulary is such that some of the passages are on the level of O'Brian's in his Aubrey/Maturin series. It could be challenging in a way that one wouldn't expect in this type of historical novel. I'm looking forward to Woodman wrapping up the series if he can maintain his writing at this level.


Excellent characterization   March 27, 2001
I, for one, loved this book. I enjoy good characterization and this book has some of the best character development I have read in any novels of this genre...it alone convinced me to buy the rest of Woodman's novels.


An older, more philosophical Drinkwater   February 3, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Novels in the Drinkwater series have been reprinted by different publishers and not in chronological order. I believe this one may be No. 11 in the series. The previous novel, "Under False Colours," ended in August 1810. This novel, first published in 1992, skips forward and begins in August 1811, Drinkwater having been ill between novels. He has command of the frigate Patrician and is off on a special mission to the Potomac with an ill-trained crew of pressed seamen and a problem first lieutenant. The first 146 pages, ending in November 1811, deal with this mission and are more concerned with interpersonal relationships and philosophical discussions than with naval action. At points, the story drags a bit.

Part 2 of the novel, the next hundred pages, picks up the story in March 1812 with Drinkwater on shore with his family and the Patrician being refitted (and other captains stealing men from his crew while he dawdles on shore). There is considerable discussion of the politics and diplomacy of that time. It presents the British side of the outbreak of the War of 1812. Drinkwater receives orders to command a small squadron, and the story then skips forward to find him off the entrance to Chesapeake Bay in July 1812. There is some additional material on interpersonal relationships and philosophy and, after a personal sortie into the bay, he leads the squadron into the South Atlantic to rendezvous with the East India convoy and fight a battle with American privateers. The novel ends in March 1813.

The novel could have used better research. Communications across the Atlantic were slow. The Royal Navy schooner Whiting was captured when it arrived at Hampton Roads on 8 July 1812 with dispatches for the American government, not knowing war had been declared (see Gosset's, "The Lost Ships of the Royal Navy"). Also, the promotion of Drinkwater's friend Sir Richard White to vice admiral seems to have been a bit overly rapid. As with other authors, the characters seem to fade somewhat as they get older, a problem with writing too many novels with the same cast. I still feel that book two of the series, "A King's Cutter," was the best.


A distinct lack of action.   July 30, 2000
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book is terrible. The author spends a great deal of time and pages in unnecessary character development. The reader's expectation is for a novel that describes naval warfare of the period in the genre of Hornblower. The action, as such, is confined to 24 pages and all this occurs at the end of the novel. There are references to other actions but these occur in other books so the reader is encouraged to make a risky purchase. The novel does describe the history of the time and the interactions between the US, Britain and France. The sad thing is that with such a wealth of possibilities, the author does not take advantage of them.