ReadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2025

Betrayal

Thomas Kydd 13

Julian Stockwin author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton

Published:4th Jul '13

Should be back in stock very soon

Betrayal cover

Who will steal the greatest prize of empire?

'Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line' - Daily Express

Cape Colony is proving a tiresome assignment for Captain Kydd's daring commander-in-chief Commodore Popham. Rumours that South America's Spanish colonies are in a ferment of popular unrest and of a treasure hoard of silver spur him to assemble a makeshift invasion fleet and launch a bold attack on the capital of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate, Buenos Aires.

Navigating the treacherous bars and mud flats of the river, the British invasion force lands and wins a battle against improbable odds, taking the capital and the silver. But nothing is as simple as it seems in this region of the world: the uprising that will see the end of Spanish rule never arrives and the locals begin to see dark conspiracies behind the invader's actions. Soon the tiny British force finds itself surrounded by an ever more hostile population. The city begins to revolt against its liberators.

Now Kydd's men must face fierce resistance and the betrayal of their closest allies. Can they save themselves, and their prize?

****************

What readers are saying about BETRAYAL

'Another page-turner from a sailor who knows his craft' - 5 stars

'An outstanding addition to an excellent series' - 5 stars

'A great read and I would highly recommend it!' - 5 stars

'A really good naval series written with good taste and fine detail' - 5 stars

'A triumph' - 5 stars

Praise for BETRAYAL:

'Stockwin, who based this tale on a factual debacle easily overlooked by history, is a master of Napoleonic-era atmosphere and rich descriptions of the military, politics, and society. With the last two books, Stockwin's series is approaching the level of C.S. Forester's Hornblower books.'

* Publishers Weekly *
'Stockwin assembles an exciting and suspenseful historical loaded with action, intrigue, treachery, and the bloody gore of 1805 warfare' * Publishers Weekly on CONQUEST *
More historically accurate than the Patrick O'Brian series * Royal Navy Sailing Association journal on the KYDD series *
Another thundering good read for those who love seagoing stories in the Hornblower mould * Peterborough Evening Telegraph on TREACHERY *
This heady adventure blends fact and fiction in rich, authoritative detail. * Nautical Magazine on VICTORY *
Paints a vivid picture * Daily Express on KYDD *
Stockwin's descriptions of the bloody reality of naval combat 200 years ago are memorably vivid * Yorkshire Evening Post on VICTORY *
I was turning the pages almost indecently fast * Independent on KYDD *
A born storyteller and a man with a vivid imagination . . . his research is accurate and first class. * Flagship on TREACHE

ISBN: 9781444712025

Dimensions: 199mm x 135mm x 25mm

Weight: 273g

384 pages