Reading order · 21 books · 1989 to 2015 · Set at sea
Alan Lewrie Books in Order
Alan Lewrie is a rakish, reluctant young man packed off to sea by his father in 1780, who fights his way through the naval wars of the late eighteenth century and the age of Napoleon. The books are as bawdy and funny as they are salty.
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Series facts
- Books
- 21
- Published
- 1989 to 2015
- First book
- The King's Coat
- Latest
- Kirby's Last Circus (2015)
- Setting
- Set at sea
The reading order
Every Alan Lewrie book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
21 books · Set at sea
- 1The King's Coat1989With Alan LewrieIn 1780, Alan Lewrie, the illegitimate son of a baronet, is caught in a scandal and packed off to the Royal Navy as a midshipman, where he finds himself fighting in the American Revolutionary War.Buy on Amazon
- 2The French Admiral1990With Alan LewrieAlan Lewrie is caught up in the campaign that ends at Yorktown in 1781.Buy on Amazon
- 3The King's Commission1991With Alan LewrieIn 1782, after the Battle of St Kitts, Alan Lewrie passes his lieutenant’s examination and is commissioned into a small sloop.Buy on Amazon
- 4The King's Privateer1992With Alan LewrieIn the early peace after 1783, Lewrie joins a secret mission against pirates preying on East India Company ships in the South China Sea.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Gun Ketch1993With Alan LewrieGiven command of a small vessel, Lewrie returns to the Caribbean and risks his career by exposing a piracy ring in the Bahamas.Buy on Amazon
- 6H.M.S. Cockerel1995With Alan LewrieRecalled in 1793, Lewrie serves at the siege of Toulon and escorts French royalists to Gibraltar.Buy on Amazon
- 7A King's Commander1997With Alan LewrieNow commanding HMS Jester, Lewrie finds himself at the Glorious First of June and then serves off Italy under Nelson.Buy on Amazon
- 8Jester's Fortune1999With Alan LewrieLewrie commands a small squadron in the Adriatic, trying to keep vital naval stores from France as Napoleon overruns Italy.Buy on Amazon
- 9King's Captain2000With Alan LewrieAfter Cape St Vincent, Lewrie is made post-captain and given a new frigate, joining her on the eve of the Nore mutiny.Buy on Amazon
- 10Sea of Grey2002With Alan LewrieAshore after Camperdown, Lewrie sees his private life thrown into turmoil, then takes his frigate to the Caribbean, where fever and a secret arrangement complicate his command.Buy on Amazon
- 11Havoc's Sword2003With Alan LewrieStill in the Caribbean, Lewrie meets an old enemy again and works alongside the young United States Navy.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Captain's Vengeance2004With Alan LewrieLewrie is sent on a secret mission to Spanish New Orleans to deal with Acadian pirates.Buy on Amazon
- 13A King's Trade2006With Alan LewrieFacing legal trouble for enlisting freed slaves as seamen, Lewrie finds allies among the abolitionists and escorts a convoy to South Africa.Buy on Amazon
- 14Troubled Waters2008With Alan LewrieAwaiting trial in England, Lewrie is given the new frigate HMS Savage and sent to blockade the Loire.Buy on Amazon
- 15The Baltic Gambit2009With Alan LewrieCleared of the charges against him, Lewrie is sent to the Baltic to confront the Neutral League, a course that leads to the Battle of Copenhagen.Buy on Amazon
- 16King, Ship, and Sword2010With Alan LewrieDuring the Peace of Amiens Lewrie visits Paris, before returning to sea in command of a frigate with his eldest son as a midshipman.Buy on Amazon
- 17The Invasion Year2011With Alan LewrieLewrie helps evacuate civilians during the Haitian revolution, is honoured at home and is sent to test a new naval weapon, the “torpedo”.Buy on Amazon
- 18Reefs and Shoals2012With Alan LewriePulled from a comfortable stay in Portsmouth, Lewrie is sent to the stormy Bahamas to hunt French and Spanish privateers and to check whether American ports are aiding them.Buy on Amazon
- 19Hostile Shores2013With Alan LewrieLewrie escorts the expeditions that take the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch and attempt Buenos Aires.Buy on Amazon
- 20The Implacable Foe2014With Alan LewrieBuy on Amazon
- 21Kirby's Last Circus2015With Alan LewrieBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with The King’s Coat. Lewrie rises through the ranks from book to book.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Alan Lewrie | Caroline Chiswick |
|---|---|---|
| 1 The King's Coat | LLead | |
| 2 The French Admiral | LLead | |
| 3 The King's Commission | LLead | ·Minor |
| 4 The King's Privateer | LLead | ·Minor |
| 5 The Gun Ketch | LLead | ·Minor |
| 6 H.M.S. Cockerel | LLead | ·Minor |
| 7 A King's Commander | LLead | ·Minor |
| 8 Jester's Fortune | LLead | ·Minor |
| 9 King's Captain | LLead | ·Minor |
| 10 Sea of Grey | LLead | ·Minor |
| 11 Havoc's Sword | LLead | ·Minor |
| 12 The Captain's Vengeance | LLead | ·Minor |
| 13 A King's Trade | LLead | |
| 14 Troubled Waters | LLead | |
| 15 The Baltic Gambit | LLead | |
| 16 King, Ship, and Sword | LLead | |
| 17 The Invasion Year | LLead | |
| 18 Reefs and Shoals | LLead | |
| 19 Hostile Shores | LLead | |
| 20 The Implacable Foe | LLead | |
| 21 Kirby's Last Circus | LLead |
Characters in the Alan Lewrie books
2 characters from Dewey Lambdin’s chart, with the number of Alan Lewrie books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Alan LewrieRakish officer of the Royal Navy | 21 | The King's Coat 1989 |
| Caroline ChiswickLewrie's wife | 10 | The King's Commission 1991 |