About the Author

Antoine Vanner has had an adventurous and varied life that prepared him well to write novels he describes as "Duty and Daring in the Heyday of the British Empire." "I have survived military coups, a guerrilla war, storms at sea and life in mangrove swamps, tropical forest, offshore oil-platforms and the boardroom," he says. "That's a good starting point for any writer." Antoine has lived and worked long-term in eight countries, has travelled widely in all continents except Antarctica and is fluent in three languages. He has a passion for nineteenth-century political and military history and has a deep understanding of what was the cutting-edge technology of the time. His knowledge of human nature and his first-hand experience of the locales - often surprising - of the most important conflicts of the period provide the impetus for his chronicling of the life of the Royal Navy officer Nicholas Dawlish. "I'm fascinated by the Victorian period," Antoine says, "for not only was it one of colonial expansion and of Great Power rivalry that often came to the brink of war, but it was also one of unprecedented social, political, technological and scientific change. Britain's power may have been at an apogee but it was under constant threat and would demand constant adaptation from those who aspired to shape events. Many born in the 1840s would not only play significant roles in the later decades of the century but be key players in the maelstrom that would engulf the world in 1914. The Dawlish Chronicles are set in that world of change, uncertainty and risk and they involve projection of naval power to meet complex social, political and diplomatic challenges." Find out more on Antoine's website www.dawlishchronicles.com which covers a very wide range of historical and naval topics related to the late Victorian period. You can also follow Antoine's blog on http: //dawlishchronicles.blogspot.co.uk/ Antoine also welcomes you to follow him on Twitter at @AntoineVanner