The Dorset Boy Books in Order

Twelve-year-old Martin Stockley escapes the prospect of a short life in Dorset’s clay mines when he joins a Royal Navy frigate. His intelligence and courage draw him into adventures involving Mediterranean warfare, pirates, and unexpected opportunity.

Fifteen-year-old midshipman Martin Stockley is summoned to the Admiralty, where an unexpected assignment redirects his naval career. Returning to Toulon with a French spy, he must discover why Napoleon is assembling troops and ships along the coast.

Young Lieutenant Martin Stockley’s willingness to undertake dangerous unofficial work makes him valuable to British intelligence. Undercover operations, piracy, and overseas conflict complicate his advancement, while his relationship with Lady Caroline brings changes at home.

In 1802, Martin Stockley confronts piracy and shifting power in India before renewed war draws him back to Europe. Command of the Special Operations Flotilla brings difficult decisions, personal losses, and the consequences of failure.

Sent to disrupt Caribbean piracy in 1804, Martin Stockley disguises his frigate and crew as privateers. A French effort to unite pirate groups complicates the mission, while his wife’s unexpected arrival adds another source of danger.

A French bounty puts Marty's family in danger during a rare return home in 1807. Rescue missions and intelligence work lead him from Britain to Portugal and the Indian Ocean, where political enemies and French agents keep peace out of reach.

Awaiting his next ship, Captain Marty is sent after stolen royal jewels and secret documents across Spain. A posting to Gibraltar brings counterespionage work in Malta, a new naval ally, and the return of an enemy determined to settle old scores.

As Wellington's intelligence chief in Lisbon, Marty must help protect the Lines of Torres Vedras and delay French forces. His wife Caroline builds support for his work, drawing rivalry and personal conflict into their efforts to defend Portugal.

In 1812, Marty moves between France, North America, and the Iberian war while Britain faces unrest and another threatened conflict. Discovering a trafficking operation turns his duties personal when kidnappers seize his children and force a rescue voyage to the Caribbean.

Napoleon's return sends Marty from an attempted intervention in Paris to Waterloo and the emperor's final exile. A later mission to Ceylon becomes a family journey, giving his daughter Beth an opportunity to prove her developing intelligence skills.

Newly promoted and politically inconvenient, Marty receives a Caribbean governorship that conceals a mission to encourage South American independence. American privateers and British strategic interests complicate the assignment before a recall draws him into Napoleon's first journey into exile.

With the Napoleonic wars over, Marty finds fresh assignments in Paris, the Mediterranean, and India. Diplomatic work in Calcutta conceals another intelligence role, while his children's emerging abilities turn the family's adventures into the beginnings of a broader legacy.

Remaining in India during war with the Maratha powers, Marty investigates French interference and an uncertain conspiracy. Naval operations against pirates and a request to help establish Singapore draw his family into another contest over trade, intelligence, and imperial influence.

Sent as ambassador to Burma, Marty secretly carries instructions to provoke a conflict Britain and the East India Company want to fight. Border disputes and court diplomacy draw him, Caroline, and the Shadows into a mission shaped by intrigue and betrayal.

In 1827, Vice Admiral Martin Stockley takes command of the Mediterranean Fleet to enforce a treaty over Greece. Naval conflict and new intelligence responsibilities test his leadership while his son pursues the changing possibilities of life at sea.

The Stockleys become involved in the First Opium War as trade disputes bring Britain and China into conflict. James supports the expedition with a steamship, while Marty faces negotiations and the family's return home brings political unrest and another overseas emergency.

Marty sends the Shadows to support a campaign to restore Portugal's displaced rulers while James commands steam-powered ships against the slave trade. Another assignment takes Marty to Turkey, where creating an intelligence station demands covert decisions and personal ruthlessness.

Recovering from serious illness, Marty travels to Jamaica with Caroline and discovers a mysterious map. Meanwhile, James takes a steamship to patrol the Singapore and Malacca straits, where efforts against pirates lead toward an unexpected opportunity.