May 1794. France is starving and a giant fleet prepares to run Lord Howe's blockade to bring corn from America to France. One of the escorts – The Hortense – finds Jersey born fishing captain, Jean Cotterell, alone in the sea off the Grand Banks. His fishing vessel has sunk and he is the sole survivor.
Life on The Hortense is like France under the Terror; chaotic, ungovernable, savage. Her captain, Dubarre, a former privateer, seems to despise his revolutionary crew as much as he hates the British. On the Glorious 1st June 1794 Hortense is intercepted by two British frigates which smash her. Her officers are dead, her crew decimated, and a storm is brewing. Only Cotterell has the skill to lead the frigate to port. But will he do it?
The Antigallican is the first in a series of novels set at the end of the 18th century at sea, in Britain, in the Channel Islands and in Revolutionary France. In Jean Cotterell we find a character that bears comparison with Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, in a narrative that will delight fans of Patrick O'Brian.
'With its captivating, pungent, and sharply drawn characters, this first instalment in a series of sea stories is a welcome addition to the Napoleonic sea story genre' – Margaret Barr – Historical Novels Review
'I believe [Tom Bowling] has a great future, and will become one of the leading authors in the historical naval fiction genre' – Robert Squarebriggs
