Order of Book Series
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Richard Woodman Books in Order

Richard Woodman has written 74 books, published between 1981 and 2023. The first book is An Eye of the Fleet (1981) and the newest is The Petrel's Cry (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
74
Published
1981–2023
Pages on record
15,637 in 55 of 74 books
Reading time
261–391 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 15,637 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 55 of 74 titles with a page count on record.

See all 74 books in order Printable Richard Woodman checklist

Captain Richard Woodman (1944-2024) was an English merchant navy officer, novelist and naval historian who served mainly with Trinity House and retired in 1997 after a 37-year career at sea to write full time. Nathaniel Drinkwater carries the Napoleonic naval fiction, opening with An Eye of the Fleet (1981) and running through A King's Cutter (1982), A Brig of War (1983), The Bomb Vessel (1985) and Baltic Mission (1986). William Kite, Kit Faulkner, James Dunbar and Sword of the State follow, with A History of the British Merchant Navy and Keepers of the Sea on the nonfiction side. The catalogue holds 74 books through 2023, at a median 250 pages.

How many Richard Woodman books are there?

Richard Woodman has 74 books, released between 1981 and 2023. They include 9 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.

Richard Woodman Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 74 Richard Woodman books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of An Eye of the Fleet by Richard Woodman, book 1 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1981)
  2. Cover of A King's Cutter by Richard Woodman, book 2 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1982)
  3. Cover of Keepers of the Sea by Richard Woodman, book 1 of the Keepers of the Sea series (1983)
  4. Cover of A Brig of War by Richard Woodman, book 3 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1983)
  5. Cover of Decision at Trafalgar by Richard Woodman (1985)
  6. Cover of The Bomb Vessel by Richard Woodman, book 4 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1985)
  7. Cover of The Corvette / Arctic Treachery by Richard Woodman, book 5 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1985)
  8. Cover of 1805 by Richard Woodman, book 6 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1985)
  9. Cover of Baltic Mission by Richard Woodman, book 7 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1986)
  10. Cover of In Distant Waters by Richard Woodman, book 8 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1988)
  11. Cover of A Private Revenge by Richard Woodman, book 9 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1989)
  12. Cover of the Darkening Sea by Richard Woodman (1991)
  13. Cover of Under False Colours by Richard Woodman, book 10 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1991)
  14. Cover of Endangered Species by Richard Woodman (1992)
  15. Cover of The Flying Squadron by Richard Woodman, book 11 of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series (1992)
  16. Cover of The Arctic Convoys by Richard Woodman, book 3 of the Keepers of the Sea series (1994)
  17. Cover of Waterfront by Richard Woodman, book 1 of the James Dunbar series (1995)
  18. Cover of Act of Terror by Richard Woodman (1996)
  19. Cover of The History of the Ship by Richard Woodman, book 4 of the Keepers of the Sea series (1997)
  20. Cover of The Victory of Seapower by Richard Woodman, book 5 of the Keepers of the Sea series (1998)
  21. Cover of The Story Of Sail by Richard Woodman, book 6 of the Keepers of the Sea series (1999)
  22. Cover of Cruise of the Commissioner by Richard Woodman (1999)
  23. Cover of The Guineaman by Richard Woodman, book 1 of the William Kite series (2000)
  24. Cover of The Privateersman by Richard Woodman, book 2 of the William Kite series (2000)
  1. 1
    An Eye of the FleetNathaniel Drinkwater #11981 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    A King's CutterNathaniel Drinkwater #21982 · 170 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982170
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Keepers of the SeaKeepers of the Sea #11983 · 190 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Brig of WarNathaniel Drinkwater #31983 · 233 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983233
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Decision at Trafalgar1985 · 209 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985209
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    View from the SeaKeepers of the Sea #21985 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Bomb VesselNathaniel Drinkwater #41985 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985215
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Corvette / Arctic TreacheryNathaniel Drinkwater #51985 · 232 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    1805Nathaniel Drinkwater #61985 · 209 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985209
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Baltic MissionNathaniel Drinkwater #71986 · 211 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986211
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Voyage East1988 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    In Distant WatersNathaniel Drinkwater #81988 · 246 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    A Private RevengeNathaniel Drinkwater #91989 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Wager1990 · 259 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990259
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    the Darkening Sea1991 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Under False ColoursNathaniel Drinkwater #101991 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Endangered Species1992 · 416 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Flying SquadronNathaniel Drinkwater #111992 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Arctic ConvoysKeepers of the Sea #31994 · 532 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994532
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    WaterfrontJames Dunbar #11995 · 315 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995315
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Accident1995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Act of Terror1996 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The History of the ShipKeepers of the Sea #41997 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Antigone1997 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Under SailJames Dunbar #21998 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Victory of SeapowerKeepers of the Sea #51998 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Captain of the Caryatid1998 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Story Of SailKeepers of the Sea #61999 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Cruise of the Commissioner1999 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Captain & The Commissioner1999 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Richard Woodman books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Keepers of the Sea in order

18 books
  1. 1. Keepers of the Sea
  2. 2. View from the Sea
  3. 3. The Arctic Convoys
  4. 4. The History of the Ship
  5. 5. The Victory of Seapower
  6. 6. The Story Of Sail
  7. 7. Malta Convoys
  8. 8. The Sea Warriors
  9. 9. The Lighthouses of Trinity House
  10. 10. The Real Cruel Sea
  11. 11. A Brief History of Mutiny
  12. 12. .. Of Daring Temper
  13. and 6 more in the table above

Nathaniel Drinkwater in order

14 books
  1. 1. An Eye of the Fleet
  2. 2. A King's Cutter
  3. 3. A Brig of War
  4. 4. The Bomb Vessel
  5. 5. The Corvette / Arctic Treachery
  6. 6. 1805
  7. 7. Baltic Mission
  8. 8. In Distant Waters
  9. 9. A Private Revenge
  10. 10. Under False Colours
  11. 11. The Flying Squadron
  12. 12. Beneath the Aurora
  13. and 2 more in the table above

Tales of the Sea in order

6 books
  1. 1. Cold Truth
  2. 2. An Absence of Imagination: A Tale of the China coast
  3. 3. The Judgement of his Peers
  4. 4. Magnetic Anomaly
  5. 5. Unintended Consequences
  6. 6. The Petrel's Cry

A History of the British Merchant Navy in order

5 books
  1. 1. Neptune's Trident
  2. 2. Britannia's Realm
  3. 3. More Days, More Dollars
  4. 4. Fiddler's Green
  5. 5. Masters Under God

William Kite in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Guineaman
  2. 2. The Privateersman
  3. 3. The East Indianman

Kit Faulkner in order

3 books
  1. 1. A Ship for The King
  2. 2. For King or Commonwealth
  3. 3. The King's Chameleon

Sword of the State in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Forging
  2. 2. The Tempering
  3. 3. The Wielding

William Marshal in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Knight Banneret
  2. 2. The King's Knight
  3. 3. Guardian of the Realm

James Dunbar in order

2 books
  1. 1. Waterfront
  2. 2. Under Sail

Standalone books

17 books

17 Richard Woodman titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Richard Woodman books in order?

You only need to read Richard Woodman books in order within each series: the books listed here span 9 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Richard Woodman

Start with An Eye of the Fleet (1981), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Richard Woodman book?

The Petrel's Cry (2023) is the newest Richard Woodman book released so far.

Is there a new Richard Woodman book coming?

No next Richard Woodman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Richard Woodman at a glance

Died
Richard Woodman died in 2024, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Richard Woodman on record dates from 2023.
Release pace
Richard Woodman books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
15,637 pages across the 55 of 74 books with a recorded length, a median of 250 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Richard Woodman books, 19 of 74, were published in the 2000s.

What the Richard Woodman books are about

52 of the 74 Richard Woodman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: historical fiction is tagged on 22 of 52. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.