J.D. Davies Books in Order

This study examines the officers and sailors of England’s navy between 1660 and 1689. It explores their backgrounds, attitudes and working relationships during the Restoration, showing how the people at sea shaped a developing naval institution.

This history traces the English navy from Parliamentary control to the accession of William and Mary. Ships, recruitment, combat and administration reveal how the service became permanent and professional, with Samuel Pepys playing a central role in its transformation.

In 1662, inexperienced captain Matthew Quinton receives command of a frigate and orders to investigate a possible Scottish rebellion. An unruly crew, suspected murder and conflicting loyalties threaten his chance to redeem his earlier failure at sea.

Davies investigates the mysterious deaths of the Ruthven brothers in the presence of James VI in 1600. Competing accounts of assassination and royal conspiracy are examined against decades of family rivalry, religious conflict and European power politics.

Captain Matthew Quinton captures an Irish adventurer claiming knowledge of a vast African gold mine. Ordered to investigate by Charles II, he sails for the Gambia, pursued by a rival and plagued by sabotage and murder.

Amid plague and war in 1665, Matthew Quinton takes command of an aging warship and becomes entangled in a conspiracy against Charles II. A rebellious crew and the approaching Dutch fleet test his ability to keep ship and country safe.

Spanning nearly two thousand years, this history explores Welsh participation in naval warfare, exploration and the suppression of the slave trade. It also examines how naval demands shaped Welsh ports and industries, challenging familiar assumptions about the country’s maritime past.

Sent to Sweden in 1666, Matthew Quinton must escort a vital convoy and seek support for England’s war against the Dutch. A mysterious passenger’s secret mission draws him into conflicting loyalties and dangerous intrigues in Gothenburg.

During a disastrous battle against the Dutch, false intelligence divides the English fleet and costs thousands of lives. Matthew Quinton investigates a possible traitor, but the search takes him to pirate-infested Plymouth and points toward an old friend.

In the weeks before London’s Great Fire, Matthew Quinton is sent into the capital to uncover a terrorist conspiracy. Foreign plots and political paranoia surround his effort to stop attackers intent on destabilizing England and opening it to invasion.

Davies reassesses the naval roles of Charles II and James II, arguing that their technical knowledge and personal interventions helped create a professional Royal Navy. Ship design, reforms and exploration reveal a more active royal contribution than traditional accounts suggest.

Haunted by the Dutch capture of England’s flagship, Matthew Quinton sets out to recover the Royal Charles and restore national honor. His mission forces him to confront the consequences of naval failure and divided loyalties at sea.

In 1651, young Matthew Quinton and his twin discover papers revealing their grandfather’s adventures during England’s war with Spain. Their fascination gives way to immediate danger when Roundhead soldiers arrive hunting their wounded Royalist brother.

Eighteen-year-old Royalist officer Matthew Quinton enters Cromwell’s England on a mission for his elder brother. Surrounded by enemies and drawn into conspiracy, he approaches his first experience of battle as opposing English forces gather at the Dunes.

In 1568, Jack Stannard and his son join Drake and Hawkins on an expedition likely to provoke Spain. At home, his daughter struggles with England’s religious changes as the family pursues the restoration of their threatened port town.

In Henry VIII’s England, widowed shipmaster Jack Stannard hopes war will restore his family’s fortunes. Battles abroad, religious upheaval and the sea’s destruction of his hometown place his ambitions and the safety of his children in jeopardy.

As the Spanish Armada approaches, Tom Stannard commands an English ship without knowing his missing father sails with the enemy. Their family’s divided loyalties, including Meg’s secret Catholic sympathies, threaten to tear them apart during England’s crisis.

Returning to France during the Terror, naval officer Philippe Kermorvant seeks to serve the republic despite his aristocratic birth. Gaining a command brings new dangers: a hostile officer, an unruly crew and the formidable British fleet.

After escaping a British prison, Philippe Kermorvant commands a French frigate trapped by superior forces. A young general sends him on a mission to Corsica, where murder, romance and an enemy from his past threaten his future.

Dismissed from the French Revolutionary Navy, Philippe Kermorvant accepts command of a privateer whose mission soon turns sinister. As Britain prepares an assault on France, he must protect his crew and loved ones while far from the decisive fighting.