This list includes novels of nautical history, piracy and adventure on the high seas. If there is a series by a particular author, the series title is listed first, followed by the individual titles owned in print format by the Fairfax County Public Library. Additional copies of individual titles listed may also be available in audiobook or eaudiobook format.

The Alan Lewrie Naval Adventure (series) by Dewey Lambdin FIC LAM
This is a series of novels relating to British naval history set in the 18th century.

The Aubrey-Maturin novels (series) by Patrick O’Brian FIC OBR
Jack Aubrey is a rising officer in the British Navy during the Napoleonic wars. His old friend is Stephen Maturin, a British intelligence officer. The recent film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), is based on two of these novels.

Billy Budd by Herman Melville FIC MEL
This novel is about a British sailor who accidentally kills a man who accuses him of mutiny. He is court-martialed and executed, though he is innocent of the charge.

The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II by Herman Wouk FIC WOU
This book won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel/Fiction in 1952. It concerns a mutiny on an American Navy minesweeper called The Caine in the Pacific Theatre during World War II which is commanded by a tyrannical skipper. An ensign leads a mutiny which results in a military court-martial.

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini FIC SAB
Peter Blood is a physician and English gentleman who becomes a pirate after treating rebels to the English King James in the 17th century on islands under English control in the Caribbean. He becomes leader of a band of buccaneers. Errol Flynn starred in the Hollywood film.

The Horatio Hornblower (series) by Cecil Scott (C.S.) Forester FIC FOR
This is the classic series about an officer in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. It has a number of imitators.

The Kydd Sea Adventure (series) by Julian Stockwin FIC STO
British Navy officer Thomas Kydd has his adventures during the Napoleonic war era, written by a retired Royal Navy officer. (In the Patrick O’Brian and Forester traditions)

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad FIC CON
A British sailor commits a cowardly act of betrayal when he is young, and spends many years trying to redeem himself.

The Lucifer Cypher by J. E. Fender FIC FEN
Geoffrey Frost is an American sea captain who is experienced in the China Trade. He is involved as a privateer with the American struggle for independence at sea following the American Revolution.

Moby Dick Herman Melville FIC MEL
This is the classic tale of a New Bedford whaling captain names Ahab and his relentless pursuit and epic battle with the white whale. It is a graphic portrayal of the whaling industry in America in the 1800’s.

Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Bernard Nordhoff FIC NOR
This is the account of the tragic voyage of His Majesty’s Ship Bounty in 1788-1789, which ended with Fletcher Christian’s mutiny against Captain Bligh. This is the first book (1932) of a trilogy.

The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte FIC PER
A contemporary Spanish novelist writes about a 17th century swashbuckler named Captain Alatriste and the hero, Manuel Coy. Coy, a former member of the Merchant Marine gets between two bidders on an 18th century nautical chart which is offered for auction. Scuba diving, a shipwreck, buried treasure and a cast of scurvy knaves are involved.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway FIC HEM
This novel of an old man’s struggle to land a marlin while fishing off the coast of Cuba won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953.

The Richard Bolitho novels by Alexander Kent FIC KEN
This series is about a British seafaring family from Cornwall, England who battles pirates off the African coast and smugglers at home, as well as fighting for the British Navy during the first two decades of the Nineteenth century.

Sails on the Horizon by Jay Worrall FIC WOR
A new series about the British Navy during the Napoleonic wars starring British Naval officer Charles Edgemont. A sequel is Any Approaching Enemy.

The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini FIC SAB
A gentleman from Cornwall who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England becomes a Barbary pirate. Errol Flynn starred in the Hollywood film of the same name based on this book.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne FIC VER
This book, written by a 19th century French science fiction author, is an account of an underwater expedition in an early submarine, whose crew encounters a giant squid and other perils.