Sean Thomas Russell books in order

Born to an English father and a French mother, lieutenant Charles Saunders Hayden?s career is damned by his ?mixed? heritage. Assigned to the HMS Themis, an aging frigate under the command of a captain reviled by his crew for both his brutality towards his men and his cowardice in battle, Hayden is torn between honor and duty, as the British navy engages the French in a centuries-old struggle for power.

Winter 1793. Master and Commander Charles Hayden is given orders to return to the ill-fated HMS Themis as the British fight the French for control of the strategically located island of Corsica, where his captaincy and military skill are stretched to their utmost as he finds himself at the vanguard of this brutal clash of empires.

In 1794, the French Revolution rages, and Charles Hayden sets off aboard the HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. Upon discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to raise the alarm before it’s too late.

But the enemy is laying in wait—and so begins a dangerous chase out into the Atlantic and into the clutches of a powerful French squadron. With no chance of fighting their way through, Hayden and his officers are taken prisoner.

Shipwrecked in a storm on the French coast and mistaken for a French sea officer, Hayden must attempt a desperate escape to warn the Lords of the Admiralty. Failure will mean the invasion of England—and the guillotine for Hayden.

NB: This book is also known as A Ship of War.

Under the command of Captain Charles Hayden, Royal Navy frigate HMS Themis is sent to counter the threat of the French forces in the West Indies. In the middle of the vast Atlantic, Hayden discovers two Spanish noblemen, castaway in a ship’s boat—a stroke of almost impossible good fortune. The Spaniards’ explanation for their plight seems so improbable that Hayden’s officers suspect them of being criminals or even spies. But they have secrets far more shocking than that—secrets which will haunt Hayden in his new posting.

Upon reaching the Barbados station, Hayden finds himself under the command of the vainglorious Sir William Jones, an impetuous and foolhardy officer. Refusing orders will cost Hayden his command. But accepting them might cost him his ship, his crew…and his life.