Jan Needle was born in Portsmouth on the south coast of England and moved to the north west when he was 20 to join the Daily Herald. At 25 he left full-time journalism and took a degree in drama at Manchester University, where he started writing plays for stage and radio, then short stories and later novels.
In later years he made a living with journalism, radio and television drama, stage plays, and novel-writing, at first for children and later for adults too. He has also written books and essays of dramatic criticism.
Age of Sail: Fiction
AOS Naval Fiction |
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| Series: Sea Officer William Bentley | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| A Fine Boy for Killing | Under sealed orders for a long, arduous voyage, Captain Daniel Swift dispenses shipboard law with an iron fist | |
| The Wicked Trade | William Bentley resumes his naval career as an officer on the press tender Biter in the London River | |
| The Spithead Nymph | Midshipman William Bentley awaits trial on charges of treason | |
| Undertakers Wind | With the Biter sunk beneath the Caribbean waves Bentley is forced into the world of Jamaican politics. | |
| Series: The Nelson series | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| Nelson: The Poisoned River | The governor of Jamaica decides to send an expedition up the San Juan river (short story) | |
| Nelson: The Dreadful Havoc | Nelson – at the age of only 22 – was 'a dead man walking.' (short story) | |
| Nelson: The Powder Keg | With the American War of Independence over, it is all too tame for Horatio (short story) | |
| Series: Charlie Raven Adventure | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| The Devil's Luck | Charlie Raven joins his uncle Captain Hector Maxwell, a man who despises him (short story) | |
| The Death Card | Charlie Raven is part of the crew on board the Pointer, trying to gain control of the seas (short story) | |
| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| Napoleon: The Escape | One possible outcome for the many rumours which have surrounded Napoleon’s death (short story) | |
Modern Era: Fiction
Modern Era Naval Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| In Too Deep | The Murder of Lionel 'Buster' Crabb | |
The author’s official web site is janneedle.com