Dudley Pope (1925–1997)

Their Lordships of the Admiralty have seen fit to make Lord Nicholas Ramage the youngest captain of a ship of the line since Nelson himself. His new vessel is the most formidable war machine in the British Navy, carrying enough weight of metal to sink a frigate with a single broadside, and arms capable of cutting down enemy seamen like a scythe through grass.
Accompanied by his faithful old crew, Captain Ramage sets out for the West Indies. But before he reaches the Carribean he runs into a storm of trouble. The Dido is a powerful weapon: if he is to survive his first mission as a captain, he must learn to use her destructive capabilities to the full… (meer)

When Captain Ramage is ordered to Naples, neither he nor his crew of the frigate Calypso expect to meet mostile ships in the Mediterranean so soon after the battle of Trafalgar.
Yet hardly have they cleared the Straits of Gibraltar than they sight two French battleships of the Line.
Arriving eventually in Napels, Ramage reports to Admiral Rudd, expecting to be given the tedious task of escorting merchantmen. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mission he is given is one far better suited to his reputation: he is to sail to Sicily where the Barbary Coast pirates - the Saraceni - have been terrorizing the fishing ports.… (meer)

Captain Ramage wordt door Admiral Nelson persoonlijk opgeroepen zich bij Nelson's vloot bij Cadiz te voegen waar ze de franse en spaanse vloot blokkeren.

Thuis in Kent is Ramage's jonge vrouw, Sarah, radeloos als haar het nieuws bereikt dat één van de grootste zeeslagen die de wereld ooit gekend heeft, de slag bij Trafalgar, elk moment los kan barsten.
Sarah hoopt dat Ramage de frontlinie in het gevecht kan vermijden, maar haar hoop is vergeefs. Strijdend voor zijn land bevindt Ramage zich als snel in een gevecht voor zijn leven en dat van zijn onverschrokken kleine fregat, Calypso.… (meer)