THE SILK TREE

By Julian Stockwin

Synopsis

Forced to flee Rome, merchant Nicander meets an unlikely ally in the form of Marius, a fierce Roman legionary. Needing to make money fast, they plot a wicked plan to steal precious silk seeds from the faraway land of Seres, so must embark upon a terrifyingly treacherous journey across unknown lands, never before completed.

Sample Player

Narrator	Peter Noble
Length	14hrs
Catalogue No.	10801
Publisher	Lamplight Audio; 2015

Other audiobooks by Julian Stockwin

THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER

Volume 8 of the Thomas Kydd series. A beautiful and determined admiral's daughter could be the key to realising all Kydd's career ambitions and dreams of love. However high society, he finds, can be as treacherous as his first mistress - the sea.

ARTEMIS

Volume 2 of the Thomas Kydd series. Aboard the frigate, HMS Artemis, life can be invigorating, but dangerous. After a hero's welcome for fighting the French, Artemis is soon setting sail for the Far East, where there are new dangers to be encountered.

BALKAN GLORY

1811. The Adriatic, the 'French Lake', is now the most valuable territory Napoleon Bonaparte possesses. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds his glorious return to England cut short when the Admiralty summons him to lead a squadron of frigates into these waters to cause havoc and distress to the enemy. Kydd is dubbed 'The Sea Devil' by Bonaparte who personally appoints one of his favourites, Dubourdieu, along with a fleet that greatly outweighs the British, to rid him of this menace. At the same time, Nicholas Renzi is sent to Austria on a secret mission to sound out the devious arch-statesman, Count Metternich. His meeting reveals a deadly plan by Bonaparte that threatens the whole balance of power in Europe. The only thing that can stop it is a decisive move at sea and for this he must somehow cross the Alps to the Adriatic to contact Kydd directly. A climactic sea battle where the stakes could not be higher is inevitable. Kydd faces Dubourdieu with impossible odds stacked against him. Can he shatter Bonaparte's dreams of breaking out of Europe and marching to the gates of India and Asia?

THE BALTIC PRIZE

Volume 19 of the Thomas Kydd series. It's 1808. Captain Thomas Kydd is called on to join the Northern Expedition to Sweden, now Britain's only ally in the Baltic. In an entirely hostile sea, Tyger ranges from the frozen north to the deadly confines of the Danish Sound - and plays a pivotal role in the situation ensuing after the czar's sudden attack on Finland. This climaxes in the first clash of fleets between Great Britain and Russia in history. To the victor will be the prize of the Baltic!

BETRAYAL

Volume 13 of the Thomas Kydd series. South America's Spanish colonies are in unrest, but the uprising that promises the end of Spanish rule never arrives. Now Kydd's men must face resistance and the betrayal of their closest allies.

CARIBBEE

Volume 14 of the Thomas Kydd series. A Caribbean posting seems a welcome respite for war hero Thomas Kydd, but when merchantmen begin vanishing from the sea, fear starts to spread. Kydd must embark on a dangerous game of espionage in order to destroy this new danger to the Empire.

COMMAND

Volume 7 of the Thomas Kydd series. Kydd sails in his first command to defend Malta against Barbary pirates. Soon peace is declared and Kydd is out of work. To make ends meet, he captains a convict ship to Australia. There, his seamanship and humanity are tested to the limit.

CONQUEST

Volume 12 of the Thomas Kydd series. Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar removes the spectre of invasion and England is now free to seek conquests in the furthest reaches of the world. Captain Kydd joins an expedition to take Dutch-held Cape Town to secure the rich trade-route to India.

THE IBERIAN FLAME

Volume 20 of the Thomas Kydd series. 1808. With the Peninsula in turmoil, Napoleon Bonaparte signs a treaty to dismember Portugal and put his brother, Joseph, on the throne of Spain. Thrust into the crucible of the uprising, Captain Thomas Kydd is dismayed to come up against an old foe from his past - now his superior and commander - who is determined to break him. Kydd will soon face the greatest decision of his professional career.

INFERNO

Volume 17 of the Thomas Kydd series. 1807: Captain Thomas Kydd’s great friend Nicholas Renzi, now Lord Farndon, is sent on a desperate diplomatic mission to persuade the Danes to give up their fleet to Britain. But the Danes will not yield, opting instead for the inferno of battle.

INVASION

Volume 10 of the Thomas Kydd series. Rumours are flying of Napoleon’s planned invasion of England and Kydd is sent to Dover to guard a mysterious American inventor. His superiors are angry to lose him and his ship at such a dangerous time but Kydd’s role may turn out to be crucial.

KYDD

Volume 1 of the Thomas Kydd series. Thomas Payne Kydd, a wig-maker from Guildford, is seized by the press gang to be part of a crew of the 98-gun battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast.

MUTINY

Volume 4 of the Thomas Kydd series. Kydd, to win the heart of a lady, volunteers to join a mission to Venice to rescue a diplomat fleeing over the Alps in the wake of Buonaparte's victories. When he returns to England he finds himself involved in the Mutiny at the Nore.

PASHA

Volume 15 of the Thomas Kydd series. Following Nelson's death Kydd is sent into the Dardanelles to protect the route to India. The French covet this route and when they whip up strong anti-English sentiment, the British ambassador to Constantinople has to flee, and a deadly stand-off ensues…

PERSEPHONE

1807: The Prince of Wales asks Captain Thomas Kydd to take temporary command of the Royal Yacht. Sailing to Yarmouth, Kydd realises they are being stalked by French privateers. The terrible threat sees Kydd call on daring seamanship of the highest order. Volume 18 of the series.

QUARTERDECK

Volume 5 of the Thomas Kydd series. Kydd was promoted to acting lieutenant at the bloody Battle of Camperdown in 1797 and now he must sit an exam to confirm his rank. Aboard HMS Tenacious, Kydd comes to doubt he will ever match up to the high-born gentlemen officers.

A SEA OF GOLD

Volume 21 of the Thomas Kydd series. 1809. After his heroic actions during the retreat to Corunna, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd falls in with the legendary captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane. So begins a relationship, professional and personal, that will be unlike any that Kydd has known: The fallout from what follows will see Kydd financially ruined, with only his oldest friend, Nicholas Renzi, and the whisper of hidden Spanish treasure promising the sea of gold that he needs to save himself.

SEAFLOWER

Volume 3 of the Thomas Kydd series. It is two years since Kydd was spirited away in the night to serve his country aboard the 'Duke William'. Now, he and the other members of the ill-fated 'Artemis' are shipwrecked sailors, back in London waiting to be summoned as court martial witnesses.

TENACIOUS

Volume 6 of the Thomas Kydd series. Kydd is in Halifax, enjoying the recognition of his fellow officers, when his ship Tenacious is summoned to join Nelson's taskforce on a reconnaissance mission. Kydd will face his greatest challenge ever amidst bloodstained seas. Defeat will mean humiliation - or death.

THUNDERER

1812. Arriving back in England after his successes in the Adriatic, Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is bestowed with honours. In London he's greeted by the Prince Regent who, despite Kydd's protestations that he's happy with his present command, insists he be given a bigger ship - HMS Thunderer, a 74-gun ship of the line. But she's old, and being part of a standing fleet Kydd's chances of further fame and distinction are slim indeed. Winning over his new command is fraught with challenges. A hostile crew, abysmal levels of gunnery and sail-handling capabilities are intolerable to a fighting captain like Kydd. With the ship short of men and no incentives to attract more, can he ever bring Thunderer to a proper state of fighting preparedness? Kydd is sent to reinforce the Baltic squadron as Bonaparte's vast army invades Russia. News reaches him of French victory at the Battle of Borodino. The road to Moscow is now open. To avert total French victory, Kydd must lead a vital convoy through battle and tempest to the aid of Britain's last ally.

TO THE EASTERN SEAS

With Bonaparte held to a stalemate in Europe, the race to empire is now resumed. Britain's ambitions turn to the Spice Islands, the Dutch East Indies, where Admiral Pellew has been sent to confront the enemy's vastly rich holdings in these tropical islands. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd joins reinforcements to snatch these for the British Crown. A battle for Java and an empire in the East stretches Kydd and his company to their very limits.

TREACHERY

Volume 9 of the Thomas Kydd series. Following the loss of his fiancée, Lieutenant Kydd descends into depression. Kydd longs to rejoin his rightful place in the navy, however, and when he gets his chance, he risks all for revenge and restoration.

TYGER

Volume 16 of the Thomas Kydd series. Kydd is given a commission on the recently mutinied Tyger and faces a crew still under some malign influence. To avoid disgrace he has to gamble his reputation and crew on a crazy mission to snatch a Prussian division out of the jaws of Napoleon's advancing army.

VICTORY

Volume 11 of the Thomas Kydd series. Napoleon Bonaparte continues planning for the invasion of England as Admiral Nelson and the Royal Navy patrol the seas. Amidst the chaos and bloodshed, Kydd and his shipmates must prove once and for all that the Royal Navy truly rules the seas.

YANKEE MISSION

1812. Off the coast of Brazil, HMS Java, a proud British 38-gun frigate, is captured in battle by the American USS Constitution - signaling across the world's oceans a challenge to Britain's naval premiership that cannot be ignored. Back in England Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is enjoying a moment of normal life with his wife and his newborn son. With his Thunderer in dock receiving some well-earned repairs he is, momentarily, without a command. It's a position the Admiralty does not leave him in for long, and he is soon given a mission: engage the young republic in a fair fight, frigate against frigate, and restore the Navy's reputation. And they have just the ship and crew for him . . . Tyger. But on reaching the US east coast, Kydd and his trusted Tygers realise that the hardest part of their mission will be drawing out one of the Yankee men-o'-war to engage in battle - especially once the Americans get wind of his purpose. It's a tall order, requiring every ounce of the crew's guile and persistence - and when fortune turns against them, Kydd finds not only his career, but his life, hanging in the balance.