Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Under Enemy Colors
    Unavailable
    Under Enemy Colors
    Unavailable
    Under Enemy Colors
    Audiobook15 hours

    Under Enemy Colors

    Written by S. Thomas Russell

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Born to an English father and a French mother, lieutenant Charles Saunders Hayden's career is damned by his "mixed" heritage. Assigned to the HMS Themis, an aging frigate under the command of a captain reviled by his crew for both his brutality towards his men and his cowardice in battle, Hayden is torn between honor and duty, as the British navy engages the French in a centuries-old struggle for power.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 6, 2007
    ISBN9781429589536
    Unavailable
    Under Enemy Colors

    Related to Under Enemy Colors

    Related audiobooks

    Action & Adventure Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      ‘Edward Was Lucky To Survive’

      Sep 22, 2020

      ‘Edward Was Lucky To Survive’
      2 min read

    • Article

      Norman Conquests

      Jul 7, 2022

      Norman Conquests
      10 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of The Golden Spurs

      Mar 27, 2020

      Battle Of The Golden Spurs
      4 min read

    • Article

      William Wallace

      Mar 27, 2020

      William Wallace
      10 min read

    • Article

      Soldiers On The High Seas

      Mar 1, 2022

      Soldiers On The High Seas
      2 min read

    • Article

      Edward the Black Prince

      Mar 27, 2020

      Edward the Black Prince
      8 min read

    • Article

      Welcome

      Apr 11, 2024

      Welcome
      1 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Jan 23, 2020

      In some respects, the Barons’ Wars were conventionally fought. Commanded by noblemen with an emphasis on cavalry and support by large numbers of foot soldiers, the wars were conducted over a series of battles and sieges. Nevertheless, at their heart

      3 min read

    • Article

      Crécy

      Sep 6, 2018

      Crécy
      12 min read

    • Article

      Turning The Tide In Hudson Bay

      Oct 11, 2022

      Turning The Tide In Hudson Bay
      8 min read

    • Article

      Bane Of The ‘Sea Wolf’

      Sep 28, 2021

      Bane Of The ‘Sea Wolf’
      12 min read

    • Article

      The Pirate Queen

      Oct 13, 2021

      Born in 1530, Grace O’Malley was the only daughter of chieftain Dudara O’Malley of the kingdom of Umhall in west Ireland. While women in Ireland could inherit and hold land, they could never become chieftains — except for Grace. The O’Malleys were a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Richard II In Ireland

      Jan 30, 2020

      Richard II In Ireland
      1 min read

    • Article

      Heroes & Commanders

      Jan 22, 2018

      In a period where English military glory was reserved almost exclusively for the navy, Vere stood out as one of the finest soldiers of his day. Having made an uncertain start to his career under the hapless Earl of Leicester, he quickly carved out a

      4 min read

    • Article

      England’s Holy Hardman

      Aug 6, 2020

      England’s Holy Hardman
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mining Medieval Paperwork

      Jul 11, 2023

      Mining Medieval Paperwork
      11 min read

    • Article

      War And Peace

      Dec 21, 2023

      War And Peace
      5 min read

    • Article

      Medina Sidonia’s Armour

      Jan 23, 2020

      Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia (1550-1615), came from one of the most illustrious noble families in Spain. The inheritor of a huge fortune, he was well regarded by King Philip II who appointed him as captain-general of the Andalus

      1 min read

    • Article

      Alfred The Great’s Battles With The Vikings

      Sep 30, 2021

      Poor Alfred. The not-insignificant achievements of one of the most important Saxon kings have, largely thanks to primary school history lessons, never got much of a look-in when it comes to the nation’s collective knowledge of him. Instead, he’s ofte

      3 min read

    • Article

      HEROES & COMMANDERS

      Oct 4, 2018

      In a period where English military glory was reserved almost exclusively for the navy, Vere stood out as one of the finest soldiers of his day. Having made an uncertain start to his career under the hapless Earl of Leicester, he quickly carved out a

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Tale Of Two Statues

      Aug 14, 2021

      A Tale Of Two Statues
      11 min read

    • Article

      Fortifying Wales

      Jun 11, 2020

      Fortifying Wales
      6 min read

    • Article

      HEROES & VILLAINS

      Feb 3, 2023

      HEROES & VILLAINS
      4 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of Crécy

      Oct 8, 2020

      Battle Of Crécy
      8 min read

    • Article

      Hotspur’s Army

      Oct 5, 2023

      Earning the nickname ‘Harry Hotspur’ thanks to his swift and decisive leadership in battle, Henry had fought for Henry IV in his efforts to depose Richard II and been involved in battles against the Scots and French. However, increasing grievance wit

      1 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The mary Rose

      Jun 8, 2023

      Secrets Of The mary Rose
      13 min read

    Reviews for Under Enemy Colors

    4/5

    68 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Interesting new Napoleanic nautical novel. Historically and nautically correct. Characterization is quite compelling with subtle nuances such as French/English British naval officer hero, well read and intelligent midshipman from the nobility, a woman of interest from a well read and liberal education background. Even seamen that read Thomas Paine and a thinking marine lieutenant are members of the frigate crew. The captain is "shy", navy talk for a coward, of noble birth and quite repugnant as is the toady 2nd lt. The plot moves swiftly to a rational but not popular ending. And, the author promises another book in 2009
    • 1/5
      I gave this a good 30 pages or so before I stopped. It started out well on the ship but once it moved to land to take up the life of the main character, it slowed quite a bit. The first activites of the main chacter were interesting enough but then it settled into a parlor and his fascination with a particular woman. The dialog did me in. It was a gabby kind of dialog intended to reveal the backstories of the main character and what I assumed would be his love interest. It is in my mind a very weak way to introduce backstory. It also was overdone, went on too long, etc. So I stopped reading. I was looking forward to this work very much as it had been recommended to me and I am interested in nautical novels in this historic timeframe but it wasn't written in a style that I could tolerate.
    • 4/5
      My first nautical novel since my reading Hornblower novels and Bounty Trilogy of years past. This one engaged my interest all through. The hero, Charles Hayden, of mixed parentage [French mother, English father] is assigned as first lieutenant to the Themis, under the tyrannical and "shy" [read cowardly] Captain Hart. I took Hart as sort of a mixture of Bligh and Queeg, with his own peculiarities. The men are mutinous. Charles must contend with his captain and crew. There's much action between the French and the English; England is trying to keep the revolutionary ideas from spreading to England. As well as the captain's ill treatment of the crew, Tom Paine's "seditious" pamphlets are the sources of discontent onboard ship, although the bad feeling had begun before Hayden had entered the story: with a murder, a miscarriage of justice, and a severe beating.Hayden proves his resourcefulness and mettle in taking a French prize, but back in England along with mutineers of the Themis faces court martial--Hayden for alleged dereliction of duty and disobeying captain's orders. The book was well done and delivered just the right amount of excitement. There was overemphasis on how Hayden's mixed background had hampered him in advancement. I would have liked a glossary of nautical terms, for us landlubbers. This is the first novel in a promising series.
    • 5/5
      I purchased this book sometime ago, and had not gotten around to reading it. Then I won the 3rd book in the series, and so went searching for this first book.I have done myself a disservice by not reading it earlier. It is a wonderful story, and though I find a few faults, Charles Hayden, our hero, is a taut-hand as other writers talk of their heroes in the Nautical Fiction genre.Hayden in the hands of Russell proves his worth time and again, and even the interlude of being sent into the enemy lands of France, is handled much better than the many who seek to make their characters spies extraordinary for Lord Castlereagh. I did mention faults and the first is the character and how often we visit the heritage of our hero. His mother was French and now in America. That he would be held back because of this is allowable, but Russell dwells on this far too many times. The second is that there is so much action, sometimes there is too much in the way of nautical nomenclature that it gets in the way of the tale. It may give us the feel of the piece, at sea in a Frigate, but there is sometimes so much that your eyes glaze waiting for the next bit of action.Last, the lead up to the climax runs to many pages and often there is repetition that we do not need having seen the events, even should the characters be bringing each other up to speed about the event.Could possibly be a reread and should Russell take the effort to increase the amount he releases, may rival Stockwin and Lambdin for excitement.
    • 4/5
      An excellent audio book that is well read. Thomas creates a wonderful story about loyalty and honor, courage and cowardice, love and hatred. The characters are rich, the setting well researched, and the writing "authentic." In my humble opinion, an heir to the likes of O'Brian and Cornwell.
    • 5/5
      S. Thomas Russell debuts with `Under Enemy Colors' an age of sail novel set in 1793. Lieutenant Charles Hayden finds himself summoned by the First Secretary of the Navy Philip Stephens who offers him a position aboard the Themis as first lieutenant - with an added duty to file secret reports with Stephens. Hayden reluctantly accepts what he feels are Stephens' somewhat dishonorable demands. Arriving for service he finds a ship in utter disarray under the command of the `shy' tyrant Josiah Hart. Hayden's efforts to set the ship aright are frustrated by the captain and the second lieutenant as much as by a fractious crew. That much the reader learns in the first 50 pages. From there Russell takes the reader along on a rollicking good tale with a stealthy night-time ambuscade, espionage on French soil, sea battles with broadsides and boardings, and a mutiny. For all the action Russell also manages to weave in Hayden's back story (his mother is French), a budding romance, a debate society among the middies, and even an inventor's attempted improvement on the ship's guns. Russell's talents shine as he unfolds the courts martial and accompanying naval intrigue. `Under Enemy Colors' inevitably draws comparison to the tales of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Russell relishes the challenge. This reviewer finds himself somewhat surprised, but delighted to report that Russell's Charles Hayden just may be up to the task. Russell at times seems to be in a rush to get his series fully under sail, but perhaps that may be excused by the obvious care and devotion the author gave to writing this book. Russell promises another installment in 2009. Let's hope it fulfills the promise of `Under Enemy Colors', which was just a heck of a lot of fun to read.