Tapping The Admiral Liner Notes 1
Liner Notes 1
My original concept for the series was to set it deep within a fantastic faux-18th century. This would make the war in progress at the start the Seven Years War (perhaps better known to those in North America as the French and Indian War, those in Central and Eastern Europe as the Third Silesian War and on the Indian Sub-continent as the Third Carnatic War). No battle plan survives contact with the enemy; the battle at the start is clearly an analogue of Trafalgar and the titular Admiral a version of Horatio Nelson.
The storm is real and sank more ships than the battle.
In for a penny, in for a pound as they say, and at 240d to the £ it’s a bargain. Although the Navy, society, technology and the state of navigation and cartography are very 1760s, this war, or rather these wars, develop much more like those of Napoleon.
Spoilers for the rest of the series I guess.
The Map gives this away of course. The Empire is in the place of Spain, with Gadera being the port of Cadiz. The Rock is Gibraltar, the strategic fortress at the gates of the Tideless Sea (my fantasy Mediterranean). Currently it is in the hands of Whitland, giving their matchless fleet a southern base from which to attack either into the Tideless Sea, or out into the Thalassan Ocean. And of course preventing anything other than the strongest of fleets from sailing the straits unless they choose to make a risky night passage.
The enemy fleet did just that, slipping past the Admiral, escaping into the world ocean. They rendezvous’d with their squadrons on the Western side of the Thalassan Ocean, then struck back across, picking up reinforcements from the Empire. Against this force, the Admiral strips everything that can float from The Rock in order to meet them in a decisive battle.
We have met our four main characters who we’ll be spending some time with. I hope you like them because otherwise this series is probably going to annoy you. John Toris is a consummate sea officer. From a humble background he has gained all the skills needed to go far in His Majesty’s Navy. And with a war on there are plenty of opportunities to succeed – provided he’s not killed in the process.
William Fanshawe is of slightly less humble origin, though still no more than middling. If you wonder why, even here and now in the greatest sea battle of the age he’s concerned about his accounts, perhaps I should explain something about the peculiar position of Purser in the 18th Century Royal Navy.
The Purser was in charge of the victualling, the food and drink, and also the clothing, hammocks, bedding, firewood, oil, candles and other necessaries. Some of these he was issued, some he had to source himself. He was personally responsible for all of this, and had to pay the Navy Board a bond take up the post. In addition, by tradition, he was the tobacco merchant for the ship in a private capacity. To pay for all this, the usual method was to take out credit, often from merchants in the port, who then expected to supply the goods at a price that favoured them. A Purser could still have made a profit, except that everything issued had to be signed off by the Captain, and any wastage or losses came from the Pursers account. Before approving the accounts and repaying the bond, the Navy Board would check against the muster, or pay book, that the sailor actually existed on board ship, often querying officers who had since been assigned elsewhere. It could take years after a cruise to sort out. Compared to this purgatory, Will Fanshawe can face death in battle easily – if only he had something to do to take his mind off his impending descent into penury.
Lizzie O’Leary is one of several women aboard the Triumph. By putting women there at the start I don’t have to retcon them in later! What do you mean who am I talking about? It could be any Age of Sail series. As a surgeon’s daughter she has experience of medicine beyond the usual making her an asset on any voyage. It’s just a pity that, no matter how strapped for men the country gets they will never let her go to medical school or take up an official role as a surgeon.
Nope, never. Ain’t gonna happen.
Robin Button is just your standard sailor. And by standard sailor, apparently he’s fought Crocodile men and gone to stranger seas than any that can be found on our globe. But not on this fantasy one! An uncomplicated man, a sailor because sailing is the way of life that he stumbled on. And having done so, can’t easily leave.
Of course this is moot if he dies from that stomach wound. And considering the lack of antibiotics, the terrible conditions aboard ship and the generals state of medicine in the world at that time it would take a miracle to save him. A miracle, or perhaps some magic. If only there were some to be found.
Anyway, other than the strangeness when the Admiral dies, and the extraordinary effects of that brandy (I wonder where that comes from?) this is a fairly straight fictional telling of an Age of Sail sea battle. The strangeness will increase, especially the further our characters sail from home...
You may have notice that in the course of the story I have hyphenated several compound-words or phrases that we do-not in modern-English. Trying to write in actual 18th Century English would be a pain for me, and no more pleasant for you dear reader. Nevertheless I have attempted to give a flavour of it and this is amongst my humble efforts.
Comments