Nellie Beetham Stark (1933- ) was born in Norwich, Connecticut and attended the Norwich Free Academy and later Connecticut College in New London, CT before graduating with a MA and a Ph.D. degree in Botany (Ecology) from Duke University.
Stark worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a botanist for six years and then joined the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada where she worked on desert and forest ecology and later tropical nutrient cycling. She has consulted in many countries, working for some time in Russia, Australia and South America. She developed the theory that explains why tropical white sand soils cannot grow good food crops and described the decline processes of soils. She has also developed a science of surethology, or survival behavior which describes how humans must adapt to their environments if they hope to survive long term. She has 96 professional publications and has published in four languages.
Her life long hobby has been English history, with emphasis on naval history. Her family came originally from Tristan Da Cunha in the South Atlantic in the early 1900's. Her grandfather was a whale ship captain for a time which spurred her interest in naval history. She also paints pictures of sailing ships which she has used as covers for her historical novels. She has built several scale models of sailing ships and does extensive research on ships and naval history.
AOS Naval Fiction |
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| Series: The Napoleonic Wars at Sea | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| 1787 | Humble Launching | A Story of a Little Boy Growing Up at Sea |
| 1795 | Midshipman Rundel: The Wandering Midshipman | Rundel is faced with slavers, pirates, court martial, tropical diseases and other challenges |
| 1797 | Mediterranean Madness: The Luckless Leftenant Rundel | Rundel is present at serveral battles including the Battle of the Nile |
| 1797- 1799 |
The Adventures of Leftenant Rundel | Rundel learns to handle a bomb boat, serves at Quiberon Bay and Kilalla Bay |
| 1800- 1803 |
Forever Leftenant Rundel | Ben serves under an incompetent captain and must cover for him, while building invaluable experience as a captain |
| 1803- 1806 |
Captain Rundel I: Trafalgar and Beyond | Ben serves aboard Victory at Trafalgar and attends Nelson's funeral |
| 1806- 1809 |
Captain Rundel II: Give Me a Fair Wind | Ben struggles with ship wreckers and the capture of the wrong ship after a peace treaty has been signed |
| 1810- 1813 |
Captain Rundel III: Bend Me a Sail | Ben is sent to the White Sea to meet an informant with news on the progress of Napoleon's army in Russia |
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1814- |
Admiral Rundel | Now a port admiral, Ben struggles to maintain his sanity amongst piles of papers and petitioners |
| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| 1793- 1820 |
Nasty Jack | Jack abuses his crew ruthlessly and eventually leaves the navy to get involved with opium in China. |
AOS Other Nautical Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| Condor: Flying in Drake's Wake | Thirst for adventure puts two young men on a ship with Francis Drake | |
The author’s official web site is nbeethamstark.com