Jan Needle (1943-2023) 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 also wrote books and essays of dramatic criticism.
Age of Sail: Fiction
AOS Naval Fiction
Series: Sea Officer William Bentley
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
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
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
Napoleon: The Escape : One possible outcome for the many rumours which have surrounded Napoleon’s death (short story)