Cyril Abraham ( 1915-1979) created The Onedin Line, a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line. He subsequently wrote a series of novels based on the television series.
Born in Liverpool, UK, he attended the Liverpool Collegiate School before going on the training ship HMS Conway and then to sea as an apprentice with the Liverpool shipping line Lambert and Holt. He had a period as a Bevin Boy down Bold Colliery before serving as a Marconi wireless operator in the Merchant Navy during World War II. After the war he was a bus driver with Liverpool City Transport; working with George Harrison's father.
After his first marriage was dissolved he met local school teacher, Joan Thomas; who encouraged him to start writing. The couple married in Liverpool in 1964.
Age of Sail: Fiction
AOS Other Nautical Fiction |
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| Series: The Onedin Line | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| 1860 | The Shipmaster | The heyday of the great windjammers and clippers is waning but James Onedin is an opportunist. |
| The Iron Ships | James Onedin is safely established in the shipping world. Now he can concentrate on his ambitious plan. | |
| The High Seas | A public company has been launched for the construction of the first steamship of the Onedin Line | |
| The Trade Winds | Hard hit by the sudden tragic death of his wife, James Onedin has abandoned himself to his work | |
| The White Ships | (Plot description not available) | |
| The Turning Tide | (book 6 is by a different author - Bruce Stewart) | |
Modern Era: Fiction
Modern Era Naval Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| WWII | The Blazing Ocean | Cunning and seamanship got the Kentucky Minstrel out of Oran while the Royal Navy pounded the French fleet. |